Welcome to the fifthth installment of The War Room for the 2006-2007. As always, I'll begin this session with the ground rules for those that may be new. Everything that is reported in The War Room must stay in The War Room. Sometimes the info is sensitive enough that it simply doesn't need to be passed on beyond the doors of this message board thread.
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation. Here it is, the fifth edition of The War Room for the 2006-2007 Recruiting Season:
The Juice is Loose
Michael "Juice" Thompson was a huge topic of conversation over the weekend when I spoke to a lot of recruiting experts, even Division I assistant coaches. I learned that Juice was on Dayton's campus last week for an unofficial visit and talking with some of my sources he really likes Dayton a lot and likely has him in their top two along with Northwestern. He hasn't received an offer yet from Dayton yet, but has received one in the past couple of weeks from the Wildcats. He could be waiting on Dayton's before he makes a final decision, whatever decision that may be. Talking with some sources about Jacob Pullen and Juice, one Division I assistant told me that Thompson is a better pure point guard, but Pullen just has this will to win, he's a competitor. Pullen is one that BG has gone to his school and watched him in the past couple weeks as well so BG is definitely liking both of these two point guards.
King James
First, while we're on the subject, HOW ABOUT THE KING LAST NIGHT?! Game-winner in a pivitol game five! Alright, back to the real reason for this topic. The King James Shooting Stars Classic gave me the opportunity to see some of these recruits Dayton is putting under the microscope. I provided some analysis this week that hopefully you all found helpful. I just wanted to go through the schedule a little bit and tell you which teams BG and Billy Schmidt were watching on Saturday during my time. Early in the morning, Billy Schmidt split time in the University of Akron Rec Center watching the Michigan Mustangs and Cleveland Basketball Club. The one obvious for the Mustangs is Chase Simon, but I am telling you if they are in the market for a point, they're definitely have to be looking at Laval Lucas-Perry as well. From the Cleveland Basketball Club, the one obvious is wing Daitwann Eppinger, while another not so obvious is Nick Winbush. Winbush is a 6-6 wing from Shaker Heights that first grabbed my eye in warmups. He's a long lefty that has a presence about him on the basketball court. He's hearing from a lot of Atlantic 10, MAC, and Horizon League schools at the current time. Later in the day, Brian Gregory was watching Mean Streets and Jacob Pullen so you can bet that BG is still evaluating his top choice at point guard. Don't forget about Lonnie Hayes, who another Division I assistant said he liked better than both of those Chicago point guards.
Though I was at a different game at the time, I was told both coaches were watching The Family. There's always been something to me about 6-9 Romulus star Devin Searcy. I asked an assistant about him and the quick response was Is Dayton recruiting him? I said I didn't know, because I don't honestly know. He's always been an intriguing player to me that I thought BG would be on with his Michigan roots. Sure enough, hours later, there the staff was watching their AAU team. They could also be looking at Jordan Crowford, a 6-4 combo guard. I'm going to try and get in contact with both of these players to see how their recruiting is going.
Former target transferring
Dan Waterstradt is back looking for a school. He is a 6-11 center out of Dearborn, Michigan. The name probably sounds familiar because Dayton recruited him a little out of high school, before he chose Rutgers. He's a tremendous competitor, maybe not all the gifts in the world, but is able to overcome a lot of things with his effort. He's hearing a lot from MAC schools right now, and I 'm not quite sure if Cleveland State (Rutgers old staff) will want to try and get him or not. Either way, he's a name UD recruited out of high school, but he would have to sit out the 2006 season.
Another JUCO, but how interested is Dayton?
One JUCO prospect that might be off the market soon that Dayton has showed some interest in is Monroe College's Lounceny Kaba. He's a 6-8, 215-pound forward that plays with a lot of energy and makes his name known on the defensive end of the floor. Had an outstanding JUCO Tournament, where he blocked a lot of shots and pulled down monster rebounds. Right now, UCSB and SBU have offered and look to be the teams to beat. Dayton has not, and I really don't feel that they will.
Here could be a match
Speaking of 2006. Just when I thought it looked like Dayton would carry both transfer scholarships into the 2007 recruiting class, Robert Eppinger becomes available once again. He's a 6-8, 240-pound power forward that is solid on the interior and plays the position with brut and can extend out. He committed to Fresno State in February, but has now re-opened his commitment. Eppinger, you might recall, started out at Rockford Jefferson in Illinois, and had an altercation with another student before switching to a school in Minnesota so he could play his senior season of high school basketball. He seems to have everything under control, and from what I can tell would be an outstanding addition this late in the game for the upcoming season. We'll keep you afloat with his recruitment in the coming days.
That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to all for your continued support, and welcome to the newbies of FlyerHoops.net. Because of all of you, this is the best place to get FlyerHoops info and the best place to talk Dayton basketball.
This is a special feature for our subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because that's the only way to ensure that the info stays exclusive to Dayton Flyer fans. Thanks for your cooperation. Here it is, the fifth edition of The War Room for the 2006-2007 Recruiting Season:
The Juice is Loose
Michael "Juice" Thompson was a huge topic of conversation over the weekend when I spoke to a lot of recruiting experts, even Division I assistant coaches. I learned that Juice was on Dayton's campus last week for an unofficial visit and talking with some of my sources he really likes Dayton a lot and likely has him in their top two along with Northwestern. He hasn't received an offer yet from Dayton yet, but has received one in the past couple of weeks from the Wildcats. He could be waiting on Dayton's before he makes a final decision, whatever decision that may be. Talking with some sources about Jacob Pullen and Juice, one Division I assistant told me that Thompson is a better pure point guard, but Pullen just has this will to win, he's a competitor. Pullen is one that BG has gone to his school and watched him in the past couple weeks as well so BG is definitely liking both of these two point guards.
King James
First, while we're on the subject, HOW ABOUT THE KING LAST NIGHT?! Game-winner in a pivitol game five! Alright, back to the real reason for this topic. The King James Shooting Stars Classic gave me the opportunity to see some of these recruits Dayton is putting under the microscope. I provided some analysis this week that hopefully you all found helpful. I just wanted to go through the schedule a little bit and tell you which teams BG and Billy Schmidt were watching on Saturday during my time. Early in the morning, Billy Schmidt split time in the University of Akron Rec Center watching the Michigan Mustangs and Cleveland Basketball Club. The one obvious for the Mustangs is Chase Simon, but I am telling you if they are in the market for a point, they're definitely have to be looking at Laval Lucas-Perry as well. From the Cleveland Basketball Club, the one obvious is wing Daitwann Eppinger, while another not so obvious is Nick Winbush. Winbush is a 6-6 wing from Shaker Heights that first grabbed my eye in warmups. He's a long lefty that has a presence about him on the basketball court. He's hearing from a lot of Atlantic 10, MAC, and Horizon League schools at the current time. Later in the day, Brian Gregory was watching Mean Streets and Jacob Pullen so you can bet that BG is still evaluating his top choice at point guard. Don't forget about Lonnie Hayes, who another Division I assistant said he liked better than both of those Chicago point guards.
Though I was at a different game at the time, I was told both coaches were watching The Family. There's always been something to me about 6-9 Romulus star Devin Searcy. I asked an assistant about him and the quick response was Is Dayton recruiting him? I said I didn't know, because I don't honestly know. He's always been an intriguing player to me that I thought BG would be on with his Michigan roots. Sure enough, hours later, there the staff was watching their AAU team. They could also be looking at Jordan Crowford, a 6-4 combo guard. I'm going to try and get in contact with both of these players to see how their recruiting is going.
Former target transferring
Dan Waterstradt is back looking for a school. He is a 6-11 center out of Dearborn, Michigan. The name probably sounds familiar because Dayton recruited him a little out of high school, before he chose Rutgers. He's a tremendous competitor, maybe not all the gifts in the world, but is able to overcome a lot of things with his effort. He's hearing a lot from MAC schools right now, and I 'm not quite sure if Cleveland State (Rutgers old staff) will want to try and get him or not. Either way, he's a name UD recruited out of high school, but he would have to sit out the 2006 season.
Another JUCO, but how interested is Dayton?
One JUCO prospect that might be off the market soon that Dayton has showed some interest in is Monroe College's Lounceny Kaba. He's a 6-8, 215-pound forward that plays with a lot of energy and makes his name known on the defensive end of the floor. Had an outstanding JUCO Tournament, where he blocked a lot of shots and pulled down monster rebounds. Right now, UCSB and SBU have offered and look to be the teams to beat. Dayton has not, and I really don't feel that they will.
Here could be a match
Speaking of 2006. Just when I thought it looked like Dayton would carry both transfer scholarships into the 2007 recruiting class, Robert Eppinger becomes available once again. He's a 6-8, 240-pound power forward that is solid on the interior and plays the position with brut and can extend out. He committed to Fresno State in February, but has now re-opened his commitment. Eppinger, you might recall, started out at Rockford Jefferson in Illinois, and had an altercation with another student before switching to a school in Minnesota so he could play his senior season of high school basketball. He seems to have everything under control, and from what I can tell would be an outstanding addition this late in the game for the upcoming season. We'll keep you afloat with his recruitment in the coming days.
That does it for this edition of the War Room. Thanks to all for your continued support, and welcome to the newbies of FlyerHoops.net. Because of all of you, this is the best place to get FlyerHoops info and the best place to talk Dayton basketball.
