Commits/Recruiting

[BCEaglesFan]

Though still a raw talent, Samuel Dingba, a class of 2013 power forward from Salisbury (CT), has shown that he has the length, athleticism, and defensive instincts to play at an ACC program. EagleAction.com talked with Dingba on Monday about Boston College, and he spoke in detail about his relationship with Head Coach Steve Donahue and the Eagles' staff.

Dingba has been in touch with the BC staff
"I met him (Coach Donahue) last year. I'm very good with them and I like them a lot. They talk to me a lot," Dingba said.

Though Dingba has nothing set in stone, he has considered where he may like to take official visits to in the fall. "I have no idea yet, but the only schools I know now that I would want to visit (officially) are Boston College and Boston University, and maybe Yale, too," claimed Dingba.

He also mentioned that he is taking SAT's early in the fall, which depending on how he does could make his recruitment soar among the Ivy League and academic schools who are recruiting him.

Outside of BC, BU, and Yale, Dingba has a lengthy list of schools that are recruiting and keeping in contact with him, including: Xavier, Western Kentucky, West Virginia, Hofstra, Penn, San Francisco, and NC State among many others.

"I can't even remember the whole list most of the time," he said with a laugh.

Samuel, a 6'6 forward who runs with the Westchester Hawks, leaves tomorrow for Florida, where the Hawks will be playing on a big stage at AAU nationals. They recently competed in Hoop Group's Summer Classic East, where Dingba was reportedly one of the top New England players in attendance.

Going into his senior year, Dingba has been very dedicated in working out this summer, which is certainly an important factor for fans and coaches to consider:

"Every day I get up to go to the gym at 5:30 AM until about seven," he said, "I've been working on my defense and shooting, my offensive game."

With no timetable yet on his commitment, Samuel said that he will be thinking very hard before he commits to a college program. Getting input from his family and his coaches, while combining that input with where he thinks his best fit is, is very important to him.

I'm getting more and more optimistic about him committing to BC from these comments. Please make this happen.

[joesim]

Can someone post the O'Brien article?

[RedBaron67]

The Don at Under Armour Summer Jam:

Well-rounded on and off the court best describes 2014 Southwest Illinois Jets backcourt Darreon Reddick and Peyton Allen . The two started off the day with a strong performance as both scored the rock and distributed it as they won in convincing fashion. Allen, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Glennwood, can shoot, attack the rim and find open teammates in transition like a point guard. With offers from Oklahoma State, Bradley and Iowa, along with interest from Michigan, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Xavier and Tennessee, Allen will likely visit Oklahoma State, Boston College and Michigan, for the second time, in August.

Allen is from the middle of Illinois (a suburb of Springfield) and does all the things mentioned above in his YouTube highlight video. He's obviously heating up this summer, but it's encouraging that he'll probably visit BC.

Boston College has offered 2014 6'10" PF Isaac Copeland

Virginia, Western Kentucky, and St Joe's have offered

Missouri, Georgetown, Kansas, Clemson, Ohio State, NC State interested

visiting Gtown

Copeland is a big skinny kid just emerging from a major growth spurt, and is reported to be a very good shooter for his size. He just reclassified to 2014 after moving from his local public HS in Raleigh to a prep school in Charlottesville. This does not bode well for getting him, but at least he's clearly in ACC country.

BC and Minnesota are showing interest in 2013 Darius Thompson.

Thompson (6'3", 180) is a long-range bomber from Murfreesboro, TN, with a bunch of mid-major offers, who's begun to attract some high-major interest this summer.

[BCEaglesFan]

Can someone post the O'Brien article?

It's already posted, look on page 153.

[BCEaglesFan]

Watching this video shows how BJ Johnson would bring so much value to the team with his athletic ability:

[BCEaglesFan]

BC is showing heavy interest in Marial Shayok

[joeyfenn]

BC is showing heavy interest in Marial Shayok

2014 SG 6'4"

interest from BC, Purdue, Ohio State

[RedBaron67]

BC is showing heavy interest in Marial Shayok

2014 SG 6'4"

interest from BC, Purdue, Ohio State

Shayok is a Canadian of Sudanese ancestry, has been hidden away in Ottawa but has begun to emerge this summer and has generated considerable interest. Starred for Canada at the recent U17 World Championship in Lithuania. Skill set is still a bit raw, but is very strong and athletic, big upside on both offense and defense. Runs with CIA Bounce on the AAU circuit; high-visibility team affiliation suggests that blowup is imminent. Comes from BB family -- father and two older siblings have played college ball in US, father also played pro ball overseas. Will transfer to US prep school this fall, still undecided whether he'll be in NH, NJ, or FL. Desirable prospect, probably tough get.

[claver2010]

Shayok is a Canadian of Sudanese ancestry,

[cvilleagle]

Shayok is a Canadian of Sudanese ancestry,

Was his grandfather the king of Sudan, by any chance?

[RedBaron67]

Shayok is a Canadian of Sudanese ancestry,

Was his grandfather the king of Sudan, by any chance?

I don't recall Sudan ever being a monarchy; before independence, it was a de facto British colony with a pretense of Egyptian involvement.

It doesn't seem to me that Shayok's nationality-ethnicity mix is anything like an occasion for 4X shock; D-1 recruiting of African-Canadian players is increasing along with their talent level, and the violence in Sudan has produced a lot of Sudanese immigrants in various countries. If Shayok freaks you out, what are you going to make of 2016 superstar-in-the-making Thon Maker, a seven-foot Australian of Sudanese ancestry now playing in Metairie, across the river from New Orleans?

[twballgame9]

Shayok is a Canadian of Sudanese ancestry,

Was his grandfather the king of Sudan, by any chance?

I don't recall Sudan ever being a monarchy; before independence, it was a de facto British colony with a pretense of Egyptian involvement.

It doesn't seem to me that Shayok's nationality-ethnicity mix is anything like an occasion for 4X shock; D-1 recruiting of African-Canadian players is increasing along with their talent level, and the violence in Sudan has produced a lot of Sudanese immigrants in various countries. If Shayok freaks you out, what are you going to make of 2016 superstar-in-the-making Thon Maker, a seven-foot Australian of Sudanese ancestry now playing in Metairie, across the river from New Orleans?

Joke dude, predating your days on the football board. The running joke was which story would be hear first, Ayers getting a hit off of DiceK or Kiwi's grandfather being King of Uganda

[BCEaglesFan]

A lot of BC targets were recently at the Hoop Group invitational like Sam Dingba, Noah Vonleh and the Mass Rivals (Joseph, Cimino, Sharma), etc.

Here's a recent video:


Dingba has a sweet alley-oop at 1:16

[Shaddix]

Alec Peters went off for 26 points today

[RedBaron67]

Found an article in zagsblog.com about Cooley's eager pursuit of the Abu-Terrell package; UConn, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Temple, and Rutgers have also offered the pair, and Kansas is thinking about it. Given the fact that BC may not have two open scholarships in 2014, and that Vonleh is still a (long-shot) possibility, should Donahue & Co. perhaps be concentrating elsewhere -- say, on Joseph?

[eepstein0]

Found an article in zagsblog.com about Cooley's eager pursuit of the Abu-Terrell package; UConn, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Temple, and Rutgers have also offered the pair, and Kansas is thinking about it. Given the fact that BC may not have two open scholarships in 2014, and that Vonleh is still a (long-shot) possibility, should Donahue & Co. perhaps be concentrating elsewhere -- say, on Joseph?

BC should absolutely be in on them. I'd rather take no one in 2013.

[Shaddix]

Found an article in zagsblog.com about Cooley's eager pursuit of the Abu-Terrell package; UConn, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Temple, and Rutgers have also offered the pair, and Kansas is thinking about it. Given the fact that BC may not have two open scholarships in 2014, and that Vonleh is still a (long-shot) possibility, should Donahue & Co. perhaps be concentrating elsewhere -- say, on Joseph?

BC should absolutely be in on them. I'd rather take no one in 2013.

Agreed 100% Cooley is a good recruiter and all, but BC is still his back yard and reports are that Terrell is well aware of that. Plus a transfer slot will probably open up anyways after the season.

Also, been saying it all along.... I'm from Haverhill, have since moved away but I still know a few kids there who went to high school with Vonleh before he transferred to New Hampton.... BC is very much in the mix according to him. They have a good shot

[HJS]

I get so thoroughly confused with all the names that float around that BC is recruiting... because they are merely rising Sophs. BC never lands these kids... and I mean NEVER EVER. I consider it the quintessential waste of time to read about kids in the classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016 who we are after... BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER PLAY FOR BC.

Can anyone point to a list (or compile one) that let's people know who we are hot on the recruiting trail after for the Class of 2013???

[Shaddix]

I get so thoroughly confused with all the names that float around that BC is recruiting... because they are merely rising Sophs. BC never lands these kids... and I mean NEVER EVER. I consider it the quintessential waste of time to read about kids in the classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016 who we are after... BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER PLAY FOR BC.

Can anyone point to a list (or compile one) that let's people know who we are hot on the recruiting trail after for the Class of 2013???

Well it's not the same because BC is only taking one kid this year in the class of 2013, so they are recruiting 2014 hard because it is the best class ever to come from Massachusetts.

But Sam Dingba is probably the name to remember from the class of 2013

[RedBaron67]

I get so thoroughly confused with all the names that float around that BC is recruiting... because they are merely rising Sophs. BC never lands these kids... and I mean NEVER EVER. I consider it the quintessential waste of time to read about kids in the classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016 who we are after... BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER PLAY FOR BC.

Can anyone point to a list (or compile one) that let's people know who we are hot on the recruiting trail after for the Class of 2013???

Well it's not the same because BC is only taking one kid this year in the class of 2013, so they are recruiting 2014 hard because it is the best class ever to come from Massachusetts.

But Sam Dingba is probably the name to remember from the class of 2013

Dingba is certainly at the top of BC's list for 2013, but BC ought to stop at one recruit to leave room for 2014 (aside from the unlikely possibility that they come up with a can't-say-no recruit like Austin Colbert). In 2014, I agree that we ought to keep after Abu and Terrell if they're a viable possibility, but I'm worried about the scholarship bottleneck; I don't want BC to get caught in a situation where we don't get anyone because we've made more offers than we have scholarships and they all go somewhere else. (At this point, there are at least twice as many offers out as we could possibly cover in 2014.)

[Shaddix]

I get so thoroughly confused with all the names that float around that BC is recruiting... because they are merely rising Sophs. BC never lands these kids... and I mean NEVER EVER. I consider it the quintessential waste of time to read about kids in the classes of 2014, 2015 and 2016 who we are after... BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER PLAY FOR BC.

Can anyone point to a list (or compile one) that let's people know who we are hot on the recruiting trail after for the Class of 2013???

Well it's not the same because BC is only taking one kid this year in the class of 2013, so they are recruiting 2014 hard because it is the best class ever to come from Massachusetts.

But Sam Dingba is probably the name to remember from the class of 2013

Dingba is certainly at the top of BC's list for 2013, but BC ought to stop at one recruit to leave room for 2014 (aside from the unlikely possibility that they come up with a can't-say-no recruit like Austin Colbert). In 2014, I agree that we ought to keep after Abu and Terrell if they're a viable possibility, but I'm worried about the scholarship bottleneck; I don't want BC to get caught in a situation where we don't get anyone because we've made more offers than we have scholarships and they all go somewhere else. (At this point, there are at least twice as many offers out as we could possibly cover in 2014.)

Rumor had it that BC was Terrell's leader about a month ago. I know that him and Hanlan get along very well.

[NJM89]

According to Vonleh, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville and Providence are among the schools at the top of his list.

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/c-gRX-eEPUG5AH5RCQOq5w/vegas--noah-vonleh-rising-above-the-crowd-at-adidas-super-64.htm

It doesn't look good about Vonleh and I feel like Terrel and his buddy Abu will end up in the Big East. I think our best shot at one of these high major kids will be Joseph who seems to really like BC also maybe Matt Cimino. Those two would make a great recruiting class.

[HJS]

How about BC grabbing TWO players this year and not worry about what may or may not be available in 2014. Earlier in this thread people made it sound like Vonleh was a done deal. Now, we have no shot. Unless some 2014 kid is going to verbal to us a year in advance, we shouldn't be holding scholarships open. Kids transfer, get injured, get kicked out all the effing time. There is always a ship available... christ... we were all ready to offer a couple to transfers/late recruits but The Don struck out. Don should be focused on bringing in a couple high quality players (at a minimum one of which is a big). Sure... he should continue to recruit 2014, but if he lets 2013 get away from him, he greatly increases the chance that he won't be here for whoever he is recruiting in 2014.

[BCEaglesFan]

Do you guys notice the quote said, among the top schools? Key word is among.

[Shaddix]

Yea, he's fine. He's mentioned BC in the top for awhile now... he's probably just sick of repeating himself.

[31southst]

Earlier in this thread people made it sound like Vonleh was a done deal.

I don't follow basketball recruiting closely but was this ever really said by anyone?

[RedBaron67]

It's been clear for a long time that we have no better than an outside chance at Vonleh; they'll hold a slot open as long as feasible because getting him would be a major event in the history of the program. As for Terrell and Abu, I think it will be harder for BC to recruit them as a package than to recruit one or the other individually (although I'd be deliriously happy to get them both). In any case, it's not yet time to hit the panic button for 2014; the elite 2014 players will probably commit no earlier than next spring. The most important thing is to get quality players (not necessarily superstars like Vonleh) with the few scholarships we have for 2013 and 2014; if we got Dingba for 2013 and Joseph and Cimino for 2014, I would consider it a great success for Donahue. The team's performance in 2013-14 and recruiting for 2013 and 2014 are going to settle whether he stays around.

[Shaddix]

It's been clear for a long time that we have no better than an outside chance at Vonleh; they'll hold a slot open as long as feasible because getting him would be a major event in the history of the program. As for Terrell and Abu, I think it will be harder for BC to recruit them as a package than to recruit one or the other individually (although I'd be deliriously happy to get them both). In any case, it's not yet time to hit the panic button for 2014; the elite 2014 players will probably commit no earlier than next spring. The most important thing is to get quality players (not necessarily superstars like Vonleh) with the few scholarships we have for 2013 and 2014; if we got Dingba for 2013 and Joseph and Cimino for 2014, I would consider it a great success for Donahue. The team's performance in 2013-14 and recruiting for 2013 and 2014 are going to settle whether he stays around.

You are thinking wayyyy to much into this class wayyyy too soon. These kids are about a year from choosing a college. BC has all of next season to prove

[RedBaron67]

It's been clear for a long time that we have no better than an outside chance at Vonleh; they'll hold a slot open as long as feasible because getting him would be a major event in the history of the program. As for Terrell and Abu, I think it will be harder for BC to recruit them as a package than to recruit one or the other individually (although I'd be deliriously happy to get them both). In any case, it's not yet time to hit the panic button for 2014; the elite 2014 players will probably commit no earlier than next spring. The most important thing is to get quality players (not necessarily superstars like Vonleh) with the few scholarships we have for 2013 and 2014; if we got Dingba for 2013 and Joseph and Cimino for 2014, I would consider it a great success for Donahue. The team's performance in 2013-14 and recruiting for 2013 and 2014 are going to settle whether he stays around.

You are thinking wayyyy to much into this class wayyyy too soon. These kids are about a year from choosing a college. BC has all of next season to prove

I"m not sure about how much we're disagreeing. Perhaps I should have written "next spring at the earliest." It's more likely that commitments will be made during the summer and early fall, with perhaps a few running into the spring of 2014. As for next season, I entirely agree that next season's record will have a very large effect on commitments, since it's the most reliable demonstration of the staff's coaching ability. As for whether I'm looking too hard too soon at 2014, people can look at the offers piling up for these kids and make up their own minds; the competition is already well under way.

[joeyfenn]

James Ziemba visiting BC. I can't find anything on him except he is also visiting Harvard

Anyone know anything about him?