Amadasun
- Thread starter docpanther26
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Pitt fans will love him I promise! I saw him this summer. He is everything Pitt fans complained about not having last year in a big: A guy who will play with a high motor, college ready strength and frame, athletic, bouncy, hard playing, aggressive, lob dunker, good hands, instinctive and athletic shot blocker and relentless rebounder. He has tremendous upside too! He’s a great pick up!
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I like the optimism! There are a couple of folks who seem upset we didn't sign a 8ft 6*, but as long we still nab hugley it's a great start. Need to nab Davis now, though it does feel like he is slipping away. I have no basis for that feeling. Just a beaten dog syndrome.
I like having a developmental big in the pipeline.
The coaches obviously believe he has the raw material, so not sure why there is any complaints..... its literally the only recruit like this that the staff has brought in yet.
The coaches obviously believe he has the raw material, so not sure why there is any complaints..... its literally the only recruit like this that the staff has brought in yet.
Do you think he can match the production of Malcolm Gilbert, Alonzo Nelson Ododa, Rafael Maia, Shaq Doorson, Joe Uchebo, Peace Ilegomah, and Rozelle Nix? Looking at one highlight film, I'd say the odds are good. He can run the court and elevate. He has center size. Let's see what he can do.
We have been forced to use guys like Ryan Luther and Talib Zanna at the five for years because we haven't had a true center. Amadasun is as good on paper as every one of the center recruits listed above. And Gary McGhee, Toree Morris, and Aaron Gray (who was only offered by Rutgers).
Welcome Max!
Drew1208 you know like I know there's always some people that's never going to be happy unless we get all 5* players.
If he can be anyrhing close to Gary McGhee I’d be happy enough. Except of course getting crossed over with broken ankles falling down.
How many developmental bigs has this staff reached on? If anything they’ve been extremely selective, so they must really like him
What people seem to be missing is what happened last season when every big man JC went after late except Hamilton went elsewhere . If JC missed on Hamilton Pitt would’ve been in a very bad spot in the front court . JC appears to have learned from the past . These guys all blow up late in the recruiting process and if Hugley is wrapped up as some speculate then JC can now roll the dice and try to sign an immediate high profile impact player in the front court . If he strikes out no big deal .
Now he just needs the pg .
So far has JC shit the bed on any of his recruits ? If he wants this kid I’m glad he got him !
Signing guys who need some seasoning means JC is playing the long game which imo is good thing for Pitt . I think Pitt would be hard pressed to find a better coach .
Now he just needs the pg .
So far has JC shit the bed on any of his recruits ? If he wants this kid I’m glad he got him !
Signing guys who need some seasoning means JC is playing the long game which imo is good thing for Pitt . I think Pitt would be hard pressed to find a better coach .
Exactly! They see something they really like. Most of you have some coaching experience in some sport; I would take an average kid but with an attitude to improve everyday, someone willing to put in an extra hour after practice or the extra three sets in the gym as opposed to a kid with all the talent but doesn’t want to work at it. Let’s go Max!
Fair point. Just a few months ago we were losing our minds because Josaphat Bilau chose Wichita State. He was a similarly raw big man, but was sought after in the summer because bigs are so scarce.
That falling down probably would have thrown off a lot of players with the ball, unfortunately K.Waker was not one of them.
To be fair it took McGhee a number of years to become the true predator he was meant to be.
And McGhee was as good as he was because he had a killer mentality and toughness in the post. Aaron Gray also was a workout warrior. Max has to work as hard as those 2.
Yep. Max hits the weights as soon as his feet touch campus and he stays there. No getting pushed around the block.
Something to keep in mind with Max is that he's only been in the US for three years. He played with Aidan Igiehon in Ireland, but crossed the pond a bit later. Very real chance he's a late bloomer.
Always should have a development big on the roster
you have 13 ships
They aren’t all starters
Aaron Gray was rated fairly high (there weren't as many offers listed back then, because recruits didn't tweet about them ad nauseam), and McGhee was nearly a top 100 player with offers from Indiana, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin.
And why is it a good thing if this guy is as good as the players in your first paragraph? In no way should that serve as some sort of confidence for fans.
Fair point, and I often think the same thing. I think the most you can reasonably do at this point is take the wait and see approach. My only concern is those types of players, while effective against us in recent years, aren't typically "top half of the ACC good."
I don't know... look at the offers last year. I think we tried getting some of those types; we just didn't land any.
Oh well, no sense getting too down just yet, I suppose. Hugley and a top-notch PG would salvage this class. I must admit, I thought by 2020 Capel would be destroying it on the recruiting trail, though. And that's in spite of Pitt's less than stellar recent history on the court.
I think this commitment helps us w/ Hugley. It says we're recruiting a 5 which will further allow you to demonstrate your abilities at the 4 where you will play in the NBA.....
IMHO, in college hoops you don't necessarily need a big to be able to step out and shoot the mid-range to 3-ball jumper (gravy if he can of course) your big mainly needs low post area offensive and defensive athleticism and skills. Coming out of high school, athleticism is the one thing you can't teach. On the other hand, you can teach anyone with the size,athleticism and proper attitude and commitment the skills needed to eventually effectively play offensively and defensively in the low post area. Talib Zanna was this kind of player coming out of HS (I went to see him play live when he was in HS and saw a player who was very athletic but lacked developed hoops skills.) From the limited video, Amadasun appears (perhaps?) to be a similar prospect having the necessary athleticism to be able to be developed into an effective low post area player in a couple of years.
Aaron Gray was a tub of goo who couldn't run up and down the court when he first arrived. Cassin Diggs got the best of him in HS. Gray chose Pitt over Rutgers.
148 national ranking, per Rivals:
134 composite ranking:
https://247sports.com/Player/Aaron-Gray-68050/high-school-119811/
So far, Capel has only landed three guys in three classes with a higher composite ranking. Not saying that's gospel, but I'm just telling you what the numbers say. I see the term "developmental big" being tossed around like there is a certain nobility attached to it, but what big man out of high school isn't a developmental big? Maybe ten or so can walk into college and compete right away, but it isn't much more than that. The recruiting rankings factor potential into their equation.
I saw both Zanna and Taylor at their Greentree debut , there was no doubt in my mind nor anyone else’s who was the better player . While Donte was highly rated Zanna was far and away the better player . So much for always judging a recruit by his national composite score . You can’t teach size or athleticism . Zanna would’ve been a great 4 , but was forced inside by Pitt having no one better to play inside .
2019 college basketball does not require an offensive big-man with NBA potential to win games. It's a perimeter-focused game now (as is the NBA). At a minimum, you just need a center to challenge shots in the paint, secure rebounds, and occasionally score on a put-back or dunk at the other end. Amadasun has the size and athleticism to do those things. He also has a similar offer-sheet and feel as a prospect as Ibrahima Diallo. I actually think he's a bit more muscular and has slightly better footwork than Diallo but that's just my opinion. They both seem like they can get up the floor pretty well and finish above the rim and that's about the extent of what we need on offense from a 5 in Capel's system.
The plus side of him not having immediate NBA potential is that he won't leave while we're still trying to build the rest of the roster. Pitt is going to have a top 20 class once Hugley commits. Trust the Process.
The plus side of him not having immediate NBA potential is that he won't leave while we're still trying to build the rest of the roster. Pitt is going to have a top 20 class once Hugley commits. Trust the Process.
Just out of curiosity, any idea how many more open ships we have. We need Davis and Hall is visiting NC State tomorrow. Where once I felt good about Timberlake this has started to dwindle some. Feel really good about getting a center and as lilspainishflea mentioned above Capel is building this roster for LONG TERM success.
There’s technically one scholarship remaining, which Hugley will take on Friday. We will almost certainly have at least one more open up at the end of the year with at least one of Samson and/or Xavier leaving.
Anyway, pretty pleased with this pickup. This is a kid with the kind of skillset and upside that teams would come calling for in the spring if he was unsigned and P5s missed out on their top targets (kids like Cliff). Maybe he’ll end up being a starting center, which would be great! If he ends up being a backup center, that’s not at all a bad option. There are a whole lot of college basketball teams who don’t have one quality center; if you can have two centers who can be athletic, give you some minutes and defend, that’s a pretty good thing to have - and is an improvement over the past few years at Pitt by several orders of magnitude.
To get him locked in to Pitt now does a few things, but primarily allows the staff to lock in on 2021 post targets - with Adama Sanogo almost certainly being the #1 guy on the board, with a year plus to work on him without worrying about 2020.
Anyway, pretty pleased with this pickup. This is a kid with the kind of skillset and upside that teams would come calling for in the spring if he was unsigned and P5s missed out on their top targets (kids like Cliff). Maybe he’ll end up being a starting center, which would be great! If he ends up being a backup center, that’s not at all a bad option. There are a whole lot of college basketball teams who don’t have one quality center; if you can have two centers who can be athletic, give you some minutes and defend, that’s a pretty good thing to have - and is an improvement over the past few years at Pitt by several orders of magnitude.
To get him locked in to Pitt now does a few things, but primarily allows the staff to lock in on 2021 post targets - with Adama Sanogo almost certainly being the #1 guy on the board, with a year plus to work on him without worrying about 2020.
I thought we had one open scholarship with Chukwuka, Hamilton, and Murphy as seniors, for a total of four... less the two we have already filled in the 2020 class. Are you counting Chukwuka as coming back?
Murphy’s a junior this year, so he’ll be on the roster in 2020-21. JUCO kid, not a grad transfer. Chukwuka and Hamilton are seniors, and there’s one open that we’re not using.
We started the 2020 class with three spots, and with at least one of X and/or George leaving, it sure seems like they’re recruiting as though they have at least four spots open for 2020 kids.
Yep, technically 1 available. Samson George is likely another. And then X is a possible 3rd.
2020-2021 (1 available scholarship)
Seniors: Terrell Brown, Samson George, Ryan Murphy
Juniors: Trey McGowens, Xavier Johnson, Au’Diese Toney
Sophomores: Gerald Drumgoole, Karim Coulibaly, Justin Champagnie, Ithiel Horton
Freshmen: Noah Collier, Max Amadasun
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