August 1, 2015
In a year when we welcome five new players to campus, we're recruiting four more to replace our scholarship seniors:
James Sanders,
Venceslás Castillo,
Hubert Song, and
Rhett King. Song is a guard, and the other three are post players.
This year, we're starting four upperclassmen and one sophomore: guard
Joe Lien. Our top recruiting target will be a lead guard, and since our 2015 class was so big-heavy, we can settle for two post players and a wing this year.
The first recruit that catches my eye is
Daniel Warnock, a long, athletic wing from Spotswood, NJ.
HTML Code:
#32 SF Daniel Warnock
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Height: 6-8
Weight: 226
High School: Spotswood High School
Hometown: Spotswood, NJ
GPA: 2.58
Test Score: 900
Rating: ***
Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: 35 39 60 59 48 29 17 25 28 18 10 14 63 72 47 80
Potential: C C C A C D D C C F F C
Season Stats:
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PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
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20.9 2.1 8.7 2.2 1.8 1.26 0.8 1.7 3.0
Shooting Averages:
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FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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8.6 17.0 .503 1.5 2.4 .625 2.3 5.7 .398
Recruiting Notes:
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Qualified: Yes
Current interest in Lafayette: Very High
Rankings: #30 SF, East Region #44 Overall, East Region #10 SF
High School Awards: All-State
Top 5 Schools: Lafayette, St. John's, Rider, Seton Hall, Rutgers
Daniel is just inside the top 200 high school players in the nation. His high rankings, nationally and regionally, reflect his ability to put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways. Although he is quick, he struggles to defend perimeter players, but he'll use his size and mass effectively in the post.
We're in the pole position to land him right now, ahead of several more prestigious programs in his home state. I don't hesitate to offer Daniel a scholarship, and we'll go all-out to keep us first on his list--bringing him to campus and sending Coaches Sims and Manion to visit him.
Darwin Alessi, from the delightfully named town of Shickshinny, PA, is the kind of player I affectionately call a Blue Collar Man. He does the tough work--defending and rebounding--that his teammates and coaches often value more than the fans do. The Blue Collar Man's crowd-pleasing moments are rare; if shot blocking is also part of his repertoire, he might reject a shot with enough style to earn some love.
HTML Code:
#14 C Darwin Alessi
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Height: 6-10
Weight: 225
High School: Northwest Area High School
Hometown: Shickshinny, PA
GPA: 2.73
Test Score: 930
Rating: ***
Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: 7 58 40 0 21 9 41 63 64 28 34 46 20 84 24 38
Potential: D A C F D C C B A C C C
Season Stats:
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PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
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15.5 3.2 12.6 0.9 2.9 0.31 2.2 1.2 3.3
Shooting Averages:
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FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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6.2 11.3 .544 3.2 5.2 .615 0.0 0.0 .000
Recruiting Notes:
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Qualified: Yes
Current interest in Lafayette: Very High
Rankings: East Region #68 Overall, East Region #10 C
High School Awards: None
Top 5 Schools: Pennsylvania, Fairfield, La Salle, Syracuse, Rhode Island
I like having a Blue Collar Man on my roster.
Clark Nolan was that kind of player.
Rhett King has some of those skills, and so does freshman
Samuel Davis. Darwin looks like he's well on his way to earning his BCM union card, and he also has a nifty little jumper.
Darwin has at least five programs ahead of us right now, but he's expressing Very High interest in playing for us. We'll visit him this month, and see if he's impressed enough to move us onto his list.
Jack Senn looks like he has the potential to fill the role of backcourt boss. His handle isn't quite good enough for a true point guard, but we're developing one of those already: first year
Richard Leak.
HTML Code:
#21 SG Jack Senn
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Height: 6-2
Weight: 174
High School: Manville High School
Hometown: Manville, NJ
GPA: 2.88
Test Score: 1090
Rating: ***
Attributes:
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Type INS JPS FTS 3PS HND PAS ORB DRB PSD PRD STL BLK QKN STR JMP STA
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Current: 6 47 48 69 45 53 31 24 37 32 24 17 82 33 85 68
Potential: F A B A C C D C C C D C
Season Stats:
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PTS OREB REB AST TOS A/T STL BLK PFS
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19.1 2.0 5.5 5.1 2.5 2.08 1.4 0.7 3.5
Shooting Averages:
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FGM FGA FG% FTM FTA FT% 3PM 3PA 3P%
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8.1 17.0 .474 1.5 2.2 .659 1.6 4.5 .344
Recruiting Notes:
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Qualified: Yes
Current interest in Lafayette: Very High
Rankings: East Region #46 Overall, East Region #12 SG
High School Awards: All-State
Top 5 Schools: Lafayette, Monmouth, Rider, Manhattan, Lehigh
Despite his athleticism, Jack is mainly a catch-and-shoot guy who needs his teammates to create shots for him. With a stroke like his, though, we can work around that.
Three-star players who have us first on their list are a new thing for us. I offer Jack a scholarship and max out our recruiting actions for him.
I decide to go ahead and offer
Darwin Alessi a scholarship. Perhaps having an offer from us in his hand will convince him we're a good fit.
There are two or three other players I like well enough to send Coaches Sims and Manion to visit. If any of them become more important targets, you'll meet them, too.