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Topic: Ohio recruiting tactics

Topic: Ohio recruiting tactics

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Shaq of the MAC
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Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:11:58 PM

I know Ohio does fairly well on the recruiting trail - but it's a little disturbing to see them completely ignore local talent (which they have done so for years in all sports.)

Guard Anthony 'Humpty' Hitchens played right here in southeastern Ohio at Chillicothe. He played countless tournament games at the Convo during his high school career and led the Cavs to a DII state championship. But somehow ended up in Akron and was named to the all freshmen team in 2009.

Jake kretzer from Waverly - same situation. The kid was a stud in high school and absolutely lit up teams at the Convocation Center during district tournament action while playing for the Tigers. A 6'7 forward with all the size and skills you look for in a D1 recruit. Where did he end up? You guessed it - Akron. And he loves playing against the Bobcats - anyone who doesn't notice the chip on his shoulder when he plays Ohio is plain blind.

Now, we have a kid over at Athens - a 6'4 silky smooth sophomore who has all the tools to be a D1 player. He already had 1 workout over the summer with a Big Ten team, and when Athens played Akron SVSM earlier in the year - guess who was there waiting to talk to him after the game? Coach Keith Dambrot and the Zips assistants! Where are the Ohio recruiters? Why would they not be at Athens High School putting the 'full court press' on this kid? McAfee Gymnasium is about 6 miles from the Convo - you would think Jim Christian or some Ohio assistants would attend some games?

I think if Dambrot scoops up yet ANOTHER southeastern Ohio kid - I may just become a Zips fan.

BillyTheCat
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:14:20 PM

Shaq of the MAC wrote:

You only are allowed limited opportunities to evaluate players, OHIO has been evaluating him and has been in contact. Just because you have not seen this with your own eyes does NOT mean it's not happening.

shabamon
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Location: Cincinnati
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:17:26 PM

In hindsight, I am glad Humpty Hitchens was never a part of our program.

Groce wanted Kretzer and Kretzer wanted to play here, but we did not have a scholarship for him. We had already signed Caris Levert. Kretzer's a nice player, but when you look at what Levert is doing at Michigan, who would you rather have on your team?

BillyTheCat
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:18:19 PM

shabamon wrote:

Problem is we got neither, Kretzer or Levert.

GoCats105
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:21:06 PM

Why would Ohio want Humpty Hitchens when Ohio was recruiting DJ? I'm also glad he didn't play in Athens.

GoCats105
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:24:09 PM

Shaq of the MAC wrote:

I think if Dambrot scoops up yet ANOTHER southeastern Ohio kid - I may just become a Zips fan.

Don't let the door hit you then. I'll take Ohio's players from Chicago, Indianapolis, Colmbus, Kansas City, Gainesville, Cincinnati, Covington, etc. and enjoy winning NCAA Tournament games. You'll enjoy getting HAVOCed by VCU in the first round.

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:26:44 PM

That's odd. I have been to every single Athens home game the last two years and have not seen 1 single OU coach or assistant there.

When I was at Akron for the Athens/SVSM game - I looked up and seen Jeff Bowles sitting with Dambrot and some other college coaches and assistants. I made a comment to my buddy about him being there - and a SV fan overheard our conversation and said "yea, Bowles is here all the time. OSU is doing anything and everything to make sure V.J. King signs with the Buckeyes."

I don't think there is a rule forbidding college assistants from 'attending' games, paying as a general fan to just watch a kid play. But his mere presence means something and makes a difference.

shabamon
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:27:24 PM

BillyTheCat wrote:

shabamon wrote:

Problem is we got neither, Kretzer or Levert.

The only issue there is that Groce left us and Christian could not convince Levert to stay. Now, I don't know when Kretzer signed with Akron. If it was before Levert decommitted, what were we going to do? I see no fault in recruiting Levert over Kretzer.

Put me in the camp that does not care where our players come from as long as they are good for our basketball program, they are good students and citizens, and they are committed to earning a degree from Ohio University.

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:30:28 PM

GoCats105 wrote:

Shaq of the MAC wrote:

I think if Dambrot scoops up yet ANOTHER southeastern Ohio kid - I may just become a Zips fan.

I have been watching OU athletics since the 1980's. I highly doubt any door will be hitting me from behind. My post was a sarcastic one. If I can live through the Cleve Bryant era, surely I can handle a few mistakes on the recruiting trail.

Last Edited: 2/20/2014 12:49:42 PM by Shaq of the MAC

bornacatfan
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:32:02 PM

BillyTheCat wrote:

shabamon wrote:

Problem is we got neither, Kretzer or Levert.

A little misleading, we actually had Levert with a signed LOI. We can't rewrite of forget that part.....True , he left with Groce but it is not like it was not a done deal. Kretzer was a numbers problem and we are/were not in the habit of "Creaning" our roster. When you do not have a spot all the lamentations will not create a spot and if we start thinking we can get rid of kids to open spots .....welll that is a whole nother conversation.

Humpty was on our Radar under Ku and Rhodes but was deemed awfully short and wanted to get away from SEO according to some sources. He was evaluated pretty heavily and committed to Akron after the AAU club played in the King James tourney in Akron. I can not remember what there was about Humpty's grades but IIRC there was a concern. Akron and BUGS have standards where coaches have a better chance of getting students into school than OHIO. We have to pass on some talent that they can take.

never argue with idiots, they bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Winter comes and asks how you spent your summer.....

The game loves and rewards those who love and reward the game

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:34:16 PM

shabamon wrote:

Put me in the camp that does not care where our players come from as long as they are good for our basketball program, they are good students and citizens, and they are committed to earning a degree from Ohio University.

The kid at Athens fits that criteria. Surely if Big Ten coaches are having him attend camps and going through workouts - and other MAC schools are recruiting him heavily - then he is good enough to play at OU!

shabamon
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:37:50 PM

I'm not saying we should not be recruiting him, but I will not get bent out of shape if we don't sign him but the kids we sign instead fit that criteria too. I would be happy with a roster of Ndour/KVK types.

bornacatfan
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:41:19 PM

Shaq of the MAC wrote:

shabamon wrote:

You have that problem at every university. Kids who grow up in Muncie look at Balls with disdain. Even if you put the full court press on them most 17 year olds have delusions of a bigger program and getting out of mom and dad's pervue. Kid from Auburn High commits to Bama because he thinks it is a better fit. Locals are outraged. that they could not keep him at home.

Chicago kids leave the state and local fans of Depaul, UIC, Illinois go bonkers. You just have that high school kid looking at greener grass. How many kids do we steal out of western/northern ohio in football and basketball? I am pretty sure we have looked at him and invited him to open gyms in the summers. The rest is on him.

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 12:45:57 PM

I think you guys are missing my point that this has been a 30-year issue. Not just a recent one.

In 1990 Ohio University and coach Carbone passed on a kid named Scott Stricklin from Athens. The young man ended up at Kent State and was named 'MAC freshman of the year' as a catcher with the Golden Flashes. He would later go on to coach at Kent State, his alma mater, and lead them to the college world series a few years back. He is now the coach at Georgia in the SEC.

Had Carbone not ignored the 'local kid', a player who was named freshman of the year months after being snubbed by the Bobcats, who knows what the baseball program would look like today at Ohio U. He would have probably came back to coach here, instead of Kent, and maybe could have led the 'Cats to the college world series instead of the Golden Flashes.

And you can add Mike Bishop, from Nelsonville-York, to that list as well. Bishop still owns MAC records in baseball from playing with Kent State during the 1980's.

Last Edited: 2/20/2014 12:48:14 PM by Shaq of the MAC

Mike Johnson
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 1:02:27 PM

bornacatfan wrote:

BillyTheCat wrote:

shabamon wrote:

Problem is we got neither, Kretzer or Levert.

Good point, borna. At Stanford the university admissions people have more than a small say in which athletes are awarded schollies.

http://www.facebook.com/mikejohnson.author

Andrew Ruck
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 1:11:34 PM

The first 2 replies are all that needs to be said. There is no conspiracy against local kids. Also - Our healthy starting lineup:

Westerville, OH

Grove City, OH

Gahanna, OH

Covington, KY

Senegal

I realize you are keying in on southeastern Ohio specifically, but the fact remains that group is about as local of a starting group as you'll find in D1 hoops.

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 1:43:46 PM

Andrew Ruck wrote:

The first 2 replies are all that needs to be said. There is no conspiracy against local kids. Also - Our healthy starting lineup:

Westerville, OH
Grove City, OH
Gahanna, OH
Covington, KY
Senegal

I realize you are keying in on southeastern Ohio specifically, but the fact remains that group is about as local of a starting group as you'll find in D1 hoops.

I never said conspiracy - I said 'mistakes'.

And there is a list of data/players to prove it. I only mentioned a few. In 2004 southeast Ohio had a terrific baseball player named Jared Humphreys, who desperately wanted to go to OU. He was from Jackson and his parents, who are friends of mine, wanted him to stay close so they could watch him play. Carbone wouldn't even give him the time of day! Said he could walk on if he wanted. Well, it didn't take long for coach Stricklin to drive back down to Athens and sign him on the spot. He later would become a 2-year starting center fielder for the Golden Flashes and had a terrific college career. He even came back to Athens and was a starting outfielder for the Southern Ohio Copperheads.

All these players, and there are more, were not searching for a 'bigger' school like someone mentioned earlier. They ended up at different MAC schools after being snubbed by OU.

Andrew Ruck
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 1:58:45 PM

I guess I'd like to hear more examples. So far, we've heard of a player we wanted but understandably had no room for (Kretzer), a player that we ended up being correct in not wanting (Hutchens), and a player you are only speculating is not currently being recruited....To go with 2 baseball recruits from the era of a man who most would agree was not very bright and he is now gone.

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

Bobcatzblitz
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 3:46:25 PM

The kid from Athens Ibi Watson is very athletic,great shooter and has gotten a lot of attention via the camp circuit.

Ohio69
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 4:27:36 PM

I will repeat that I will be thoroughly bummed when (not if) Ibi Watson and Joe Burrow leave Athens for College.

Thoroughly.

Last Edited: 2/20/2014 4:29:09 PM by Ohio69

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 4:28:15 PM

Andrew Ruck wrote:

I know this is a basketball forum - and let's face it, southeast Ohio is not a 'hot bed' for talented hoops players. My point about Watson (the young man from Athens) coincides with the past 30 years in all sports. There has been plenty over the years in football, basketball and baseball that have been overlooked and ended up going elsewhere.

I would like for ONCE, a local kid to suit up for the 'Cats!

(players who I thought/wished would have wore the green and white)

1. Mike Bishop (Nelsonville-York)
2. Scott Stricklin (Athens)
3. Jeff Hendershot (Wellston, teammate of Stricklin's at Kent)
4. Justin Gail (Nelsonville-York)
5. Grant Gregory (Athens)
6. Jared Humphreys (Jackson)
7. Jake Kretzer (Waverly)
8. Anothony Hitchens (Chillicothe)
9. D.J. Cunningham (Waterford) - starting center for UNC-Ashville)
10. Cam Thoroughman (Portsmouth Notre Dame - played for Huggy Bear at WVU)

Last Edited: 2/20/2014 4:29:22 PM by Shaq of the MAC

Ohio69
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 4:29:42 PM

Shaq of the MAC wrote:

(players who I thought/wished whould have wore the green and white)

1. Mike Bishop (Nelsonville-York)
2. Scott Stricklin (Athens)
3. Jeff Hendershot (Wellston, teammate of Stricklin's at Kent)
4. Justin Gail (Nelsonville-York)
5. Grant Gregory (Athens)
6. Jared Humphreys (Jackson)
7. Jake Kretzer (Waverly)
8. Anothony Hitchens (Chillicothe)
9. D.J. Cunningham (Waterford) - starting center for UNC-Ashville)
10. Cam Thoroughman (Portsmouth Notre Dame - played for Huggy Bear at WVU)

Add Kevin Martin.

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

Shaq of the MAC
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 4:36:25 PM

Ohio69 wrote:

Add Kevin Martin.

Great point, I always forget about the Zanesville kids.

Bobcat
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 4:38:48 PM

There was an Ohio Assistant Basketball Coach at almost every Athens game last season. Asst. Coach Anthony Stewart was there watching his oldest son play for Athens. His son decided to not play this season and he sent his younger son (Frosh) to Pickerington Central because he deemed the Bulldog program would not prepare him well enough for the next level. Sad really, because the kid wanted to stay at Athens.

Go Cats & Go Bucks

jumper80
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RE: Ohio recruiting tactics

Posted: 2/20/2014 4:39:38 PM

I'll play along:

Chase Fieler

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