August 1, 2020
Because none of the players in the transfer portal appealed to us, we now have three scholarships available. Point guard
Jamie Kelso and wing
Tim Hutchinson are seniors this year, and we also have
Todd DeHaven's scholly available.
There are only four true bigs in our program now, and they're all sophomores. I am definitely looking to bring a post player in with this year's class. Otherwise, I can look around for a player who's a good fit, without much regard for the position he plays.
Our
prestige has risen to
72, and our
facilities score is up to
55. I'm guessing that the money that's been spent on our facilities is the reason why our budget has been cut. I seem to remember us having over $400,000 to spend, and now we're at $370,500. Our first-rate assistant coaches are well-paid, so we're left with just over 10 grand to spend each month on recruiting.
We spend July evaluating players. Who do we see that we like?
The most intriguing big man is
Kurt Richie, an all-state player from New Jersey.
Code:
#12 PF Kurt Ritchie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Height: 6-9
Weight: 232
High School: Hoboken High School
Hometown: Hoboken, NJ
GPA: 3.51
Test Score: 1310
Rating: ***
Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current: 32 29 36 36 29 7 14 53 61 11 18 33 19 70 41 41
Potential: D C D D B F C B A D D C
Season Stats:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12.9 1.8 9.2 0.8 2.2 0.37 1.2 2.9 1.8
Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.1 9.4 .545 2.7 4.7 .564 0.0 0.1 .000
Recruiting Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qualified: Yes
Current interest in Lafayette: High
Rankings: East Region #95 Overall, East Region #16 PF
High School Awards: All-State
Top 5 Schools: Columbia, St. John's, Iona, St. Peter's, Lafayette
He's slow and doesn't appear to offer too much offensively, but I like his rebounding and defense very much. We'll need to leap over four other programs to sign him. Perhaps a scholarship offer and a robust recruiting effort will do it.
Kory Edmondson's numbers and ratings don't leap off the page at you, but he looks like he can do several things fairly well. Again, I like his commitment to playing defense.
Code:
#13 SF Kory Edmondson
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Height: 6-5
Weight: 203
High School: Summit Senior High School
Hometown: Summit, NJ
GPA: 3.17
Test Score: 1270
Rating: ***
Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current: 35 36 27 52 23 37 22 50 38 44 19 21 62 41 82 4
Potential: C D B B D D D A C B D D
Season Stats:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14.5 1.3 7.3 2.1 4.3 0.48 1.1 0.3 2.0
Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.2 14.5 .426 1.3 2.4 .521 1.0 5.1 .186
Recruiting Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qualified: Yes
Current interest in Lafayette: High
Rankings: East Region #77 Overall, East Region #18 SF
High School Awards: None
Top 5 Schools: Columbia, St. Francis-NY, Fairleigh Dickinson, Monmouth, Princeton
Our "reach guy" will be
Byron Shores, Mr. Basketball from the state of Maine.
Code:
#13 SG Byron Shores
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Height: 6-4
Weight: 183
High School: Fort Kent High School
Hometown: Fort Kent, ME
GPA: 2.64
Test Score: 990
Rating: ***
Attributes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current: 44 76 40 72 4 7 18 1 42 0 4 16 72 39 53 21
Potential: A A A B F F F F C F D D
Season Stats:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25.8 0.7 3.5 1.0 3.7 0.27 0.3 0.6 2.3
Shooting Averages:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10.8 19.6 .551 1.4 2.6 .529 2.9 6.5 .438
Recruiting Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qualified: Yes
Current interest in Lafayette: High
Rankings: #43 SG, East Region #42 Overall, East Region #4 SG
High School Awards: All-State, Mr. Basketball (Maine)
Top 5 Schools: Boston College, Lafayette, Vermont
His scoring potential is off the charts.
Joe Lien's shooting potentials were A-B-C-B. We think this young man is significantly better than that. Byron shows no real interest in playing defense, but those are god-tier offensive possibilities.
I make my move now and offer Shores a scholarship. If Boston College also offers this month, we could be in trouble, but I won't go down without a fight.
Our reduced budget means I can't max out recruiting on all three players. I decide to invite all of them to campus. Coach Sims will visit Richie and Shores, while Coach Woods will pay a call on Edmondson.