The first big recruiting phase is over and with 6 open spots, and desperately needing to fill minutes (all 80!) at SG and SF, we took some mighty swings at some of the top talent in the nation, offering top 30 recruits from coast to coast. We missed out on our crown jewel, who went to Villanova, but we did hit big on two extremely talented high school players. I promised them both major minutes, and they are almost guaranteed to start at the 2 and 3 for us.
Starting with the lower ranked recruit (just barely):
#14 SF Ismael Green, 6'7", 203, Roseville, California, 5*
Chose us over NC State.
Green is like the prototypical SF for me. He's a tremendous perimeter defender who can switch onto a post without a problem. Shoots the ball pretty well from three, but isn't excellent. Great basketball IQ and intangibles. Could probably slide down and play the 2 with few issues with his ball handling ability. He's not super aggressive and he is going to be a 3rd option offensively probably. But, he's got pro written all over him. I expect him to start at SF and to go pro after the season.
the other recruit:
#10 Temple Timmerman, 6'5", 203, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Chose us over Arkansas.
Both Green and Timmerman were not my initial desires in recruiting, but they both had such immediate interest in me, and neither really had a ton of heavy competition throughout recruiting. So, I don't want to say they fell to me, but they kind of did, especially when I could be so aggressive with my offers to SG and SF's.
But this is about Timmerman, who has an excellent name, by the way. Timmerman to me is just a much better version of Aaron ONeal who we had a few years ago. He's not as big as ONeal, but he provides the same combination of defense, playmaking and rebounding out of the guard position. Timmerman is a much, much better offensive player and shooter than ONeal was though. He looks like a lead guard all day and another guy who might be a one and done candidate. He does seem to have some turnover problems, which worries me in a slow paced system. But, I've got other guys I can run the offense through, so I'm not too worried about it. I promised them both very big roles and a lot of minutes, and both of them look so good that we now have our starting lineup going into the season:
PG: Tevin Ridder SO, Soufiyane Mimms SR
SG: Temple Timmerman FR
SF: Ishmael Green FR
PF: AJ Rushin JR, Eros Zenga JR
C: Marquese Henshaw SO, Garth Ludwig SO, Kazimierz Kusmierz SR
Still have 4 scholarships to give. Now really only have backup minutes to offer, we have 4 offers out currently and have some other backup plans cooking if need be.