Overall ODAC Recruit Commentary: Although it was really a down year for recruits, the ODAC still managed to bring in a bunch of guys with lots of athleticism and speed. I can’t wait to see how good this conference can be in a couple seasons when everyone has established their programs.
Randolph-Macon
pumphead
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Pump pulled in all local guys this year, two from NC, one from VA, and one from MD. For a while, R-M only had three recruits considering: Streitenberge, Plasencia, and Hill. I’m not a huge fan of any of these three guys. Willie S. is going to be a decent guard, but he won’t be overly fast or athletic and won’t have great offensive skills, although if the LP rating gets over 30, I think he could be an effective player. Plasencia is a guy who baffles me. His ath/spd combo isn’t very good, and his REB and BLK are a little low to be playing SF (although ultimately I think that’s where he’ll end up). He will be very skilled though, especially in scoring the basketball. Again, he’s another guy who is going to effective down the line, but I don’t see him being an elite player. Johnnie Hill was even more befuddling than Plasencia. Is this guy really slated to play PF pump? He doesn’t have the speed to play anywhere other than the post and although he’ll be decently athletic and alright in the low post, his BLK is very low for a big guy and his REB will be below average. Pump should hope for some high-highs on this guy. The guy who saves the class is C Barry Kissell out of Leonardtownd, MD. I had him as the #1 D2 big guy for our area (WV/MD/VA/NC/KY). He didn’t talk to me with my lowly B+ prestige, but he did talk to R-M and they brought him in. Kissell projects to be an excellent rebounding and defensive big man and he’ll be able to score in the lowpost as well as knock down the open J now and then. His 85 work ethic makes him just that much better.
Recruiting Grade: B
Bridgewater
bjken3
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Bridgewater only pulled in one recruit this year and he was a good one. John McMurrin is another product of the Dakotas, a hotbed for Bridgewater talent. McMurrin definitely has the skills to be a great player in the ODAC right away. He also has great potential, but the real question is whether he can reach that potential. Many have questioned his work ethic (18), which may have kept other schools away from McMurrin, but starting right away could really help McMurrin’s development as well as his attitude. Also, when you can pull in a top 5 recruit in the conference with 1 scholarship open, you’re doing pretty well.
Recruiting Grade: A-
Emory and Henry
benwf
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Definitely not anywhere close to last year’s haul of future super stars, but a decent class overall. Harton will be a very fast and athletic guard down the line and decent skills to go along with it. His 62 WE should help him move along quickly and have an impact sooner than later on benwf’s E&H squad. Mainor also looks like another decent recruit. He’ll have decent athleticism and pretty good rebounding. He’ll be decent on the defensive end will occasionally make a post move. Norman isn’t quite as good as the other two, but is decent. While he won’t be that athletic, which isn’t good for a guy playing in zone, he will be able to rebound and block shots right away. He’s another guy who you might see make an occasional post move, but you won’t be feeding him on the block.
Recruiting Grade: B
Washington and Jefferson
headpirate
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: I consider this the best class in the conference, regardless of prestige. In what was a very weak region for recruiting this year, HP went down to Florida to grab Bedford and Hisey. His other recruit, Zolocsik came from their home state of PA. Zolocsik projects out as not very fast, but a great pure point guard. He’ll reach 70+ BH and 85+ P and when you combine that with what will be good defense and the ability to drive the lane very effectively, you have yourself a future all-ODAC player. Bedford looks like a nice compliment to Zolocsik at the 2 guard spot. Although he won’t be that athletic, James Bedford will be very fast along with having impeccable handles. He won’t be the greatest defender, but he should make up for it on the offensive end. Hisey projects out as a pretty darn good PF and potentially a deadly SF. If Washington and Jefferson can pull in some size in their next recruiting class, it will allow Hisey to move to SF, where I think he would be a monster. He’d have a fantastic ATH/SPD combo along with being a great rebounder and defender. He wouldn’t be the best shooter, but set to -2 he could get to the bucket all day long. He will be a monster in the press defense.
Recruiting Grade: A
East Mennonite
catjuggler23
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Although I’m not a fan of anyone in this class particularly, there is no one I hate in it either. All the players have their downfalls, but they also all have their special skills. For example, John Ball can’t play defense, but he will be a very fast guard with the ability to put up a ton of point. Fouse doesn’t play much defense either, but he also has decent offensive skills to go along with what should be a decent ath/spd combo. His 29 LP and 14 REB really goes a long way for me because it’s possible this guy could play some SF and I always hate to see SFs like him. Hunt is one of those high ath/def guys we keep seeing in this new engine. He reminds me of my own recruit from last year Ben Kelly (who will play SF), but Hunt can’t rebound and doesn’t have very good offensive skills. Down the line, he might be a decent SG, but I don’t see him being anything special. Kang is probably my favorite recruit out of this class because he’ll be decently athletic, a fairly good rebounder, and a pretty strong force on the block, but again, I don’t see him being anything special.
Recruiting Grade: C+
Guilford
metsmaniac2
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Guilford got burned pretty bad this year. Not only did he end up losing three recruiting battles, but all three were to USA South teams (two to Methodist, one to Greensboro). With five openings they were only able to bring in one recruit, Murray O’Neil. While O’Neil should be solid, taking four walkons is not a direction you want to go (although if there was a year to do it, it would be this one). O’Neil should be an athletic big who can rebound, but his best quality is his ability to be a beast on the defensive end. You won’t see many points from him.
Recruiting grade: F+
Roanoke
tkimble
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Despite the bad recruits, I thought we came out fairly well. Of our three recruits, only one (Hopper) was a local. Both Reynolds and Derrick came from New Mexico, the home state to senior big man Ryan Onorato. Derrick projects out to be a very solid PG/SG. He’ll be redshirting this year, which should help him develop nicely. His athleticism/speed/defense should be very solid in anchoring the top of our 2-3 zone while his better-than-mediocre offensive skills should help him be a good scorer. Our local kid, Hopper, projects out to be a SG/SF. Down the line I plan on doing a lot of position movement within the 2-3 zone, which means that when I go small Hopper will be a valuable SF, and when we go big, he can be a good SG. While he won’t be a great offensive player, his defense was really what drew me to him. Also, all three core high potentials are high-high. Our final recruit was, in my opinion, our best, and he was only signed for $225. Reynolds wills start right away at SF mostly because I promised him one but also because of so many high potentials. With his 64 WE and starting every game, I think he could have massive improvement this year. Not sure if anything is high-high because I never sent a scouting trip, but with all that green it doesn’t really matter. Down the line, he will probably find himself playing some PF when we go with a small lineup, but he will definitely need to get his rebounding and LP up.
Recruiting grade; B+
Bethany
khook19
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: Although they originally did not have a scholarship, captain khook decided to cut a player and bring in Clarence William. William does not look like a great recruit at first, but when you realize he has 46 LP with high potential, your mouth starts to water a little big. William will be a decently fast G with a alright defense and just average skills, but his ability to take it to the basket might make him a huge player in the ODAC. There still is an element of the unknown with this though, as we don’t really know how high LP guards will fare. Roanoke’s Joel Myers won Freshman of the Year and average 15 ppg as a fast G with high LP and low Per, but that’s because he was playing SF. This year Myers will move over to the combo/guard spot and I’m sure khook will have an eye on him to see what the future holds for Clarence William.
Recruiting grade: B
Hampden-Sydney
carlbuzz
Recruits:
Recruit Commentary: In his first year in the ODAC, legendary coach carlbuzz brought in a pretty good class. Big man Milton Hare looks like your typical ODAC big- a very good rebounder with not a whole lot of game in the low post. Ray Kenney was passed over by the big schools because of his holes at athleticism, defense, and work ethic, but there is the chance that Kenney might eventually turn into a great offensive player. Laporte was another guy lacking in defense and work ethic, but he’ll be very fast and a good offensive player if carlbuzz can get him to commit to working on his game. Lee is yet another guard who is lacking in the defense department, although those around him say he has a reat passion for the game. His offensive skills surpass those of Laporte and down the road this guy could be a very good point guard. Tony Severin fits the mold of another low defense and WE guy, although he has already developed a great deal and might not have that much room to grow. He’s not that athletic, but he should be able to rebound and score on the low block. His development could be hindered by the 2.00 GPA.
Recruiting Grade: B-
Washington & Lee: I didn’t get any recruit message from them, but they signed two guys. One of them looks like a pretty worthless Walk-on type player and the other looks like a decent big guy from Puerto Rico, but no grade or commentary without potentials.
Virginia Wesleyan: With two open ‘ships they swung for the fences and struck out. Luckily, two walkons won’t really hurt them that much, although running FB/Press it might help to have the extra bodies.
Lynchburg: Very much the same position as VWC with two openings. They also failed to sign anyone, but that might prove to end up being a good decision.