Vader: Capel has Recruiting Momentum heading into September

[Vader_Storm]

RJ Davis and Earl Timberlake are the top 2 players on the entire board regardless of position. Do not over think this regardless of a need for a center. They are the 2 best players we are recruiting in the entire 2020 class. I said previously Im not making an A vs B list, but I will say who the Top 2 targets are and who the 2 best players overall we are targeting.



RJ Davis just visited Pitt with his entire family. Jeff Capel is doing a presentation at Stepinac high school September 20th and will meet again with RJ Davis and 5 star AJ Griffin. The Top 3 schools in order to land RJ Davis are Pitt, Marquette followed by Georgetown in that exact order as of today. Roy Williams is making a major run at Davis. North Carolina will, I repeat, will, take Caleb Love and RJ Davis together, Roy Williams likes Davis that much.


Love is a 5 star point guard currently. Love has UNC in his Top 3 and Ive heard from 3 different sources UNC, Louisville, and Kansas all think they lead for Love. UCLA is hanging around too in that top 5 for Davis. Jeff Capel has pushed the chips in with Davis and for reason, he will be an absolute star at the college level.



North Carolina sits in prime position for Jaden Springer and Zaire Williams. Their staff feels they land both right now. Im not going to be like some people and say North Carolina leads for 20 players in 2020 like the same people say they do every year. But UNC is closing in on these 2 from a source connected directly into the UNC program. Duke is the darkhorse for Williams. These 2 players going to UNC possibly / probably impacts the decision of Timberlake and Puff. A lot More so Puff with UNC.



Pitt is on the very short list of Earl Timberlake, much shorter than his final 7. Timberlake officially visits Pitt at the end of August as I said that he would, his 3rd visit to Pitt. Timberlake has already visited South Carolina and Providence. Timberlake plans to commit early as of now



RJ Davis shot 46.9% from 3 point range at all 3 sessions combined from the EYBL. He was the 2nd best 3 point shooter all spring and summer by 3 point percentage in the entire country and one of the top scorers all summer long at over 20ppg. Davis had an offensive spring and summer rating of 128, 7th highest in the entire country regardless of class.


Earl Timberlake averaged 17.3 points per game and 9.6 boards per game this summer. Timberlake is the best rebounding wing in the entire country and one of the top defensive players regardless of class. Timberlake finished 6th overall in rebounding regardless of position all spring and summer. Timberlake’s DR rebound percentage was 33%, 2nd highest of any player regardless of class all summer. Both of them were completely dominant. Both of them are Pitts top 2 targets regardless of position. Don't overthink it.



Puff Johnson’s top 4 is still the same as what I said months ago. Only difference is he is unlikely to go to North Carolina making it a Top 3. Pitt is right there still hanging around with Arizona and Notre Dame. I do agree Puff is closer to the bottom of the Top 100 right now as opposed to a Top 50 player. He got prelim hype from his brother but didn’t showcase it enough in my opinion. Puff averaged 4 boards per game this summer and that needs improvement. Puff is high on Pitt's board and Pitt has made up significant ground with Puff.



Pitt is not going to take 4 or 5 wings in 2020 regardless of how many top 5s or 7s on these school lists Pitt makes. Jalen Bridges is a wing as is Gordon. Bridges averaged 2.9 rebounds this spring and summer. Bridges is a good developing scorer and solid defensive player, but he cannot rebound and he would have gotten killed in the acc rebounding next year at the 4 and he currently isn’t close to being Coulibaly or Champagnie rebounding the basketball.


Again, Bridges can score and play defense, but he cant rebound well. Bridges has zero impact on Noah Collier who is a 4. Timberlake (does) and maybe Puff does have an impact on Bridges. I still am saying Pitt is a player for Jalen Bridges.



Elijah Taylor has been very sneaky good this summer averaging 12ppg and 7.3rpg for Team Final, the same team as Noah Collier. Taylor will be making an official visit to Pitt soon, I don't know the date yet. Taylor’s offensive rebound percentage was 17.9%, 3rd highest in the country at EYBL. Taylor also had an eFG% of 65.2%, 10th highest in the entire country. Intel is the three teams to beat are Notre Dame, Pitt, and Florida in that current order. Notre Dame is the biggest threat and the small team to beat. Pitt has a good chance and can make up ground when he visits. He has the very look of Bonzie Colson. I said previously he should be in the National Top 100. He is arguably much better. Both his high school and aau coaches are pushing the ACC schools. With education being a factor, Notre Dame will be tough to beat in the end. Taylor has already visited VCU and SH.



DJ Gordon announced he has things on hold for a commitment which I knew previously. So did Posh Alexander when rumors floated he was St. Johns bound after bogus rumors floated he was a SH lock. Recent games at Rucker have Posh getting the top of his head near the rim again showcasing that elite athleticism Ive been talking about since December. He is getting back into much better shape now and I expect interest to pick up again with his Top 5 and others starting to come in again outside his top 5 after recovering from the broken arm. Posh wants to see how things play out with certain teams including Pitt and Illinois. He has already visited SH and St. Johns.



Gordon, much like Bridges, cant rebound the basketball well. Pitt is not going to load the team up with a bunch of players playing the same position that cant rebound well when Pitt already has a rebounding problem.


Which takes me back to point 1, the top 2 targets on the board are Davis and Timberlake. Pitt can take 1 of Puff / Bridges / Gordon at most. 2 would be reaching with their skill sets. There is zero chance Pitt is taking all 3. Pitt already landed an elite outside shooter with Horton who is an average rebounding guard. I think Gordon is fairly rated being between 100-150 right now.



I noted a month or so ago Illinois was in solid position because of Oliver Antigua with Andre Curbelo. It looks like Andrew Slater recently got the same intel as me on his twitter feed. Only detail Slater left out on his twitter, Antigua was in Greece watching Curbelo at the Fiba World Cup earlier this summer. Myles Tate was supposed to visit Pitt in September. Tate wanted to be a 1a priority recruit and went to Butler because RJ Davis is the Top PG on Pitt’s board. Some players wait for certain schools, others don’t wait and want to be the top target. Davis, like Tate, wants to be recruited as the top target which is a big problem for North Carolina with Love. Its why Georgetown lost ground with him over the summer. Georgetown is still in contention for Davis. Tate wasn't waiting and went to Butler.



Hugley and Bridges are both visiting Miami at the same time. Timberlake is supposed to visit Miami the week prior. Pitt is still the leader for Hugley from what I know. Nothing is guaranteed in recruiting until an LOI is signed.


I strongly like Pitt’s chances with the players I have mentioned and talked about the last 6+ months for 2020. And once again the players I mentioned in this thread are not all the players Pitt is recruiting


Regardless of who else Pitt signs and our need for a center, if Pitt lands Davis and Timberlake this class is an absolute Grand Slam. I will reiterate what I previously said that Pitt is in major contention to get both of them and is in major contention for a monster 2020 recruiting class with the other players mentioned.

 

[docpanther26]

Thanks Vader, I too would think that Davis, Timberlake and Hugley are top targets. Imagine pulling in all three!

 

[Tonyt66]

Thanks again Vader for all the info. I know some people are skeptical of you but none of them have given as much information as you have so I'm going to still ride with you.

 

[Elsalvador]

Appreciate the thoughts as always Vader! 2020 can and really needs to be a major, impactful class.

Hearing anything on Collier? Between Pitt, Cal and Clemson - not an overly scary list. He seems athletic and good around the rim.

 

[bobfree]

Hugley got a crystal ball to Miami tonight

 

[Vader_Storm]

Appreciate the thoughts as always Vader! 2020 can and really needs to be a major, impactful class.

Hearing anything on Collier? Between Pitt, Cal and Clemson - not an overly scary list. He seems athletic and good around the rim.

Recruits just as much as college coaches need to be aware of top options at all times.

Collier really had his mindset on UConn, Syracuse, and Virginia for a long time and Pitt was just lurking and talking to him in the background. He was recruited by all 3 and visited all 3. But Virginia was taking in commits and filled their class fast, UConn took Richie Springs and Syracuse landed Woody Newton. Collier wanted to go to UConn as he was roommates with one of UConn's commits . They just don't have the room for him and Springs who had a big Peach Jam took his spot while reclassifying to 2019 joining Akok at UConn.

Pitt offered him last year and the other 2 schools didn't offer until June I think of this year. He has the longest standing relationship with Pitt of the Final 3 by a good margin. I like his upside. He's still quite raw on offense but has great athletic ability and potential. Top 100-150 type of player. I don't think Cal has much of a chance.

Pitt obviously is making a move by getting him on campus for an official with Timberlake. There could be more to this as I mentioned I don't have the date yet Taylor is visiting Pitt and Taylor is teammates with Collier.

Capel likes long athletic athletes at the 4 with upside and large wingspans.

I also know of 3 more frontcourt players that "want" to visit Pitt. Ill wait until there is more interest on Pitt's end before talking about them yet.

 

[DT_PITT]

RJ Davis and Earl Timberlake are the top 2 players on the entire board regardless of position. Do not over think this regardless of a need for a center. They are the 2 best players we are recruiting in the entire 2020 class. I said previously Im not making an A vs B list, but I will say who the Top 2 targets are and who the 2 best players overall we are targeting.



RJ Davis just visited Pitt with his entire family. Jeff Capel is doing a presentation at Stepinac high school September 20th and will meet again with RJ Davis and 5 star AJ Griffin. The Top 3 schools in order to land RJ Davis are Pitt, Marquette followed by Georgetown in that exact order as of today. Roy Williams is making a major run at Davis. North Carolina will, I repeat, will, take Caleb Love and RJ Davis together, Roy Williams likes Davis that much.


Love is a 5 star point guard currently. Love has UNC in his Top 3 and Ive heard from 3 different sources UNC, Louisville, and Kansas all think they lead for Love. UCLA is hanging around too in that top 5 for Davis. Jeff Capel has pushed the chips in with Davis and for reason, he will be an absolute star at the college level.



North Carolina sits in prime position for Jaden Springer and Zaire Williams. Their staff feels they land both right now. Im not going to be like some people and say North Carolina leads for 20 players in 2020 like the same people say they do every year. But UNC is closing in on these 2 from a source connected directly into the UNC program. Duke is the darkhorse for Williams. These 2 players going to UNC possibly / probably impacts the decision of Timberlake and Puff. A lot More so Puff with UNC.



Pitt is on the very short list of Earl Timberlake, much shorter than his final 7. Timberlake officially visits Pitt at the end of August as I said that he would, his 3rd visit to Pitt. Timberlake has already visited South Carolina and Providence. Timberlake plans to commit early as of now



RJ Davis shot 46.9% from 3 point range at all 3 sessions combined from the EYBL. He was the 2nd best 3 point shooter all spring and summer by 3 point percentage in the entire country and one of the top scorers all summer long at over 20ppg. Davis had an offensive spring and summer rating of 128, 7th highest in the entire country regardless of class.


Earl Timberlake averaged 17.3 points per game and 9.6 boards per game this summer. Timberlake is the best rebounding wing in the entire country and one of the top defensive players regardless of class. Timberlake finished 6th overall in rebounding regardless of position all spring and summer. Timberlake’s DR rebound percentage was 33%, 2nd highest of any player regardless of class all summer. Both of them were completely dominant. Both of them are Pitts top 2 targets regardless of position. Don't overthink it.



Puff Johnson’s top 4 is still the same as what I said months ago. Only difference is he is unlikely to go to North Carolina making it a Top 3. Pitt is right there still hanging around with Arizona and Notre Dame. I do agree Puff is closer to the bottom of the Top 100 right now as opposed to a Top 50 player. He got prelim hype from his brother but didn’t showcase it enough in my opinion. Puff averaged 4 boards per game this summer and that needs improvement. Puff is high on Pitt's board and Pitt has made up significant ground with Puff.



Pitt is not going to take 4 or 5 wings in 2020 regardless of how many top 5s or 7s on these school lists Pitt makes. Jalen Bridges is a wing as is Gordon. Bridges averaged 2.9 rebounds this spring and summer. Bridges is a good developing scorer and solid defensive player, but he cannot rebound and he would have gotten killed in the acc rebounding next year at the 4 and he currently isn’t close to being Coulibaly or Champagnie rebounding the basketball.


Again, Bridges can score and play defense, but he cant rebound well. Bridges has zero impact on Noah Collier who is a 4. Timberlake (does) and maybe Puff does have an impact on Bridges. I still am saying Pitt is a player for Jalen Bridges.



Elijah Taylor has been very sneaky good this summer averaging 12ppg and 7.3rpg for Team Final, the same team as Noah Collier. Taylor will be making an official visit to Pitt soon, I don't know the date yet. Taylor’s offensive rebound percentage was 17.9%, 3rd highest in the country at EYBL. Taylor also had an eFG% of 65.2%, 10th highest in the entire country. Intel is the three teams to beat are Notre Dame, Pitt, and Florida in that current order. Notre Dame is the biggest threat and the small team to beat. Pitt has a good chance and can make up ground when he visits. He has the very look of Bonzie Colson. I said previously he should be in the National Top 100. He is arguably much better. Both his high school and aau coaches are pushing the ACC schools. With education being a factor, Notre Dame will be tough to beat in the end. Taylor has already visited VCU and SH.



DJ Gordon announced he has things on hold for a commitment which I knew previously. So did Posh Alexander when rumors floated he was St. Johns bound after bogus rumors floated he was a SH lock. Recent games at Rucker have Posh getting the top of his head near the rim again showcasing that elite athleticism Ive been talking about since December. He is getting back into much better shape now and I expect interest to pick up again with his Top 5 and others starting to come in again outside his top 5 after recovering from the broken arm. Posh wants to see how things play out with certain teams including Pitt and Illinois. He has already visited SH and St. Johns.



Gordon, much like Bridges, cant rebound the basketball well. Pitt is not going to load the team up with a bunch of players playing the same position that cant rebound well when Pitt already has a rebounding problem.


Which takes me back to point 1, the top 2 targets on the board are Davis and Timberlake. Pitt can take 1 of Puff / Bridges / Gordon at most. 2 would be reaching with their skill sets. There is zero chance Pitt is taking all 3. Pitt already landed an elite outside shooter with Horton who is an average rebounding guard. I think Gordon is fairly rated being between 100-150 right now.



I noted a month or so ago Illinois was in solid position because of Oliver Antigua with Andre Curbelo. It looks like Andrew Slater recently got the same intel as me on his twitter feed. Only detail Slater left out on his twitter, Antigua was in Greece watching Curbelo at the Fiba World Cup earlier this summer. Myles Tate was supposed to visit Pitt in September. Tate wanted to be a 1a priority recruit and went to Butler because RJ Davis is the Top PG on Pitt’s board. Some players wait for certain schools, others don’t wait and want to be the top target. Davis, like Tate, wants to be recruited as the top target which is a big problem for North Carolina with Love. Its why Georgetown lost ground with him over the summer. Georgetown is still in contention for Davis. Tate wasn't waiting and went to Butler.



Hugley and Bridges are both visiting Miami at the same time. Timberlake is supposed to visit Miami the week prior. Pitt is still the leader for Hugley from what I know. Nothing is guaranteed in recruiting until an LOI is signed.


I strongly like Pitt’s chances with the players I have mentioned and talked about the last 6+ months for 2020. And once again the players I mentioned in this thread are not all the players Pitt is recruiting


Regardless of who else Pitt signs and our need for a center, if Pitt lands Davis and Timberlake this class is an absolute Grand Slam. I will reiterate what I previously said that Pitt is in major contention to get both of them and is in major contention for a monster 2020 recruiting class with the other players mentioned.

Thank you for the enthusiasm, but I need to question your reasoning/source that makes you say: "Pitt has made up significant ground with Puff."

What makes you say this?

I know someone who knows the Johnson family extremely well, and talks to them almost daily. I spoke to this person after you posted this and read them your take and their response to me was: "I can't imagine why someone would say this."

I can't say that my person is right and you are wrong but I was hoping that you could provide more insight as to why you have stated Pitt has made up significant ground.

 

[Ski11585]

It’s interesting that the OP opens his last post about Hugley and now is all of a sudden is starting to change his tune to downplay his priority to the staff.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

It’s interesting that the OP opens his last post about Hugley and now is all of a sudden is starting to change his tune to downplay his priority to the staff.

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

It’s interesting that the OP opens his last post about Hugley and now is all of a sudden is starting to change his tune to downplay his priority to the staff.

Also interesting how all of a sudden We’re downplaying how good is Jalen Bridges is now after I’ve made it clear he isn’t Pitt bound.

Gordon is a 2 guard he doesn’t need to rebound. Maybe that will be the rationalization for not taking him, but after doing some digging I don’t think He’s coming to Pitt and I don’t think they land bridges or Puff either. So 0-3 in that would not be good

 

[Chescat]

Thank you for the enthusiasm, but I need to question your reasoning/source that makes you say: "Pitt has made up significant ground with Puff."

What makes you say this?

I know someone who knows the Johnson family extremely well, and talks to them almost daily. I spoke to this person after you posted this and read them your take and their response to me was: "I can't imagine why someone would say this."

I can't say that my person is right and you are wrong but I was hoping that you could provide more insight as to why you have stated Pitt has made up significant ground.

DT, thank you for adding some objectivity to the original post.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I can't say that my person is right and you are wrong but I was hoping that you could provide more insight as to why you have stated Pitt has made up significant ground.

I can’t either but one of you has some credibility and the other one is Vader.

 

[Elsalvador]

This Hugley news and the CB's to Miami really suck. I still would tend to believe Pitt is a favorite (top 3-ish) for him. Just an educated, non-insider guess.

Maybe taking Collier would help with Taylor possibly?

 

[Ski11585]

This Hugley news and the CB's to Miami really suck. I still would tend to believe Pitt is a favorite (top 3-ish) for him. Just an educated, non-insider guess.

Maybe taking Collier would help with Taylor possibly?

Losing out on Hugley would be a huge blow.

 

[Vader_Storm]

This Hugley news and the CB's to Miami really suck. I still would tend to believe Pitt is a favorite (top 3-ish) for him. Just an educated, non-insider guess.

Maybe taking Collier would help with Taylor possibly?

I already said everything I know as of now is that Hugley is Pitt's to lose. I wouldn't worry about what Chris Fisher says. He's one of people I was talking about that throws out 100s of predictions and changes them all the time. He's one of the people I am talking about that has 20+ players going to Kentucky or one of the blue bloods every single year. Anybody that changes their prediction 100 times before getting it right or changes the prediction within 24-48 hours of a commitment is a flip flopper. None of my posts are edited or changed. Its easy to be a leech and flip flop a prediction 24 hours before the commitment date. I was the person on this board telling everyone that Georgetown was the team to beat for Wahab, repeatedly, when every expert had Wahab to Pitt. Anyone can go back and read my first post I ever made if you don't believe me.

I would suggest a few people go back to the very first post I wrote last December, unedited, starting with Karim Coulibaly. I mentioned 10 players in that post. 1 is committed to Pitt, 2 are still on the table to come to Pitt. Pitt came close with many of the others. Pitt cant land everybody I talk about, and neither can any other school.

Nothing with what I wrote was changed nonmatter how badly some people want to try to twist what I say. Jalen Bridges is a wing, he is a great player, he is a Top 75-100 player. I said he is a player rising in the rankings. I said Pitt has a great chance to land him. Im following that up saying Bridges is not ready to be an ACC level 4 at Power Forward. Just because you are a good player does not mean you can play any position you want to play in college basketball. He can't rebound well. He isn't a 4 right now. He's a wing with Puff, Gordon, etc... He would get crushed on the glass as an ACC 4 as of today. He also isn't close to being anywhere near as good as Earl Timberlake.

I said the 2 best players / prospects are Davis and Timberlake. Its blatantly obvious they are better than every other player on our entire big board when they have stockpiles of offers from blue blood programs and coaches are following them around everywhere. The stats and efficiency numbers back it up from this summer. They are the 2 best players on our entire board. Hugley is still a very high priority recruit. He is an A list player for Pitt and Jeff Capel. Losing Hugley to Miami or any other team "could" be considered a blow depending on who else we land. Its to early to say that yet. Davis and Timberlake are major impact players at the college level from day 1. There is a difference. I already said I feel Hugley is Pitt's to lose.

As far as Puff, DT can take it for what I said as there is a reason I said it.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

As far as Puff, DT can take it for what I said as there is a reason I said it.

Well this should certainly clear it up DT

 

[DT_PITT]

I already said everything I know as of now is that Hugley is Pitt's to lose. I wouldn't worry about what Chris Fisher says. He's one of people I was talking about that throws out 100s of predictions and changes them all the time. He's one of the people I am talking about that has 20+ players going to Kentucky or one of the blue bloods every single year. Anybody that changes their prediction 100 times before getting it right or changes the prediction within 24-48 hours of a commitment is a flip flopper. None of my posts are edited or changed. Its easy to be a leech and flip flop a prediction 24 hours before the commitment date. I was the person on this board telling everyone that Georgetown was the team to beat for Wahab, repeatedly, when every expert had Wahab to Pitt. Anyone can go back and read my first post I ever made if you don't believe me.

I would suggest a few people go back to the very first post I wrote last December, unedited, starting with Karim Coulibaly. I mentioned 10 players in that post. 1 is committed to Pitt, 2 are still on the table to come to Pitt. Pitt came close with many of the others. Pitt cant land everybody I talk about, and neither can any other school.

Nothing with what I wrote was changed nonmatter how badly some people want to try to twist what I say. Jalen Bridges is a wing, he is a great player, he is a Top 75-100 player. I said he is a player rising in the rankings. I said Pitt has a great chance to land him. Im following that up saying Bridges is not ready to be an ACC level 4 at Power Forward. Just because you are a good player does not mean you can play any position you want to play in college basketball. He can't rebound well. He isn't a 4 right now. He's a wing with Puff, Gordon, etc... He would get crushed on the glass as an ACC 4 as of today. He also isn't close to being anywhere near as good as Earl Timberlake.

I said the 2 best players / prospects are Davis and Timberlake. Its blatantly obvious they are better than every other player on our entire big board when they have stockpiles of offers from blue blood programs and coaches are following them around everywhere. The stats and efficiency numbers back it up from this summer. They are the 2 best players on our entire board. Hugley is still a very high priority recruit. He is an A list player for Pitt and Jeff Capel. Losing Hugley to Miami or any other team "could" be considered a blow depending on who else we land. Its to early to say that yet. Davis and Timberlake are major impact players at the college level from day 1. There is a difference. I already said I feel Hugley is Pitt's to lose.

As far as Puff, DT can take it for what I said as there is a reason I said it.

Can you at least shed a little light on the reason you said it? The person I spoke to said they would try to validate it if they could.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

If we see a couple of these guys commit to Miami......well two things.

1) We KNOW Miami is paying people.
2) We will know Vader is completely full of it.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

If we see a couple of these guys commit to Miami......well two things.

1) We KNOW Miami is paying people.
2) We will know Vader is completely full of it.

You know sometimes you can just get an offer you can’t refuse !

 

[DT_PITT]

If we see a couple of these guys commit to Miami......well two things.

1) We KNOW Miami is paying people.
2) We will know Vader is completely full of it.

I know payments happen. Of course they do.

But do kids really go to the highest bidder school?

And is Pitt really the only school who doesn’t pay and that’s why we lose recruits.

If that’s true, how did we get Trey? I’m not pointing these questions at you specifically Owt, but the whole thing just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[rockypanther]

Vadar uses quantity so he can always say he was right about something. Literally naming like 10 guys everyone knows are high priority recruits that we are putting all of our time and resources in makes it easy for Vadar to compliment himself because at least 1 guy will choose Pitt.

 

[rockypanther]

Can you at least shed a little light on the reason you said it? The person I spoke to said they would try to validate it if they could.

I would think Vadar could and should easily be able to message DT with this requested info. DT can be trusted. This would give you credibility Vadar.

 

[levance2]

Can you at least shed a little light on the reason you said it? The person I spoke to said they would try to validate it if they could.

 

[Tonyt66]

IMO I don't know if Vader's info that he puts out is credible or not but at the end of the day I just like reading and seeing some info on these guys so I hope it's good info because the process takes so long before they commit.

 

[Vader_Storm]

Vadar uses quantity so he can always say he was right about something. Literally naming like 10 guys everyone knows are high priority recruits that we are putting all of our time and resources in makes it easy for Vadar to compliment himself because at least 1 guy will choose Pitt.

Im not going to get baited in by posts like this.

My one time and only response to you is, Ive also clearly, very clearly, said certain players were vastly underrated or overrated in the past. Those posts are timestamped too and unedited before the offers started rolling in for RJ Davis, Hugley, etc.. when they were 3 star nobodies on the grand scale of things. Back then many people were upset with Pitt even going after these players because they had small offer sheets with only a 3 star label next to their name and that wasn't "good enough" for some people because they didn't trust Jeff Capel's scouting ability over recruiting websites like this one.

Now look how that narrative has changed with these players blowing up with offers. It still makes me perturbed a few of my writeups were deleted by the pantherlair staff because of trolls ruining the thread which is what you are trying to do once again.


Karim Coulibaly is one of those players I said was underrated 9 months ago with a time stamp and I said it multiple times. A vast majority of this forum was not happy with Coulibaly or the 2019 recruiting class because of his "star" ranking and "National" ranking because a 3 star isn't good enough.

How do people feel now after what Coulibaly did at the Fiba World Cup against players like 4 star Tyrese Samuel outperforming Samuel in every single facet of the basketball game and also beating his team at the World Cup? Capel got it right with Coulibaly and Champagnie choosing those 2 as priority over players like 4 star Samuel or Jalen Mccreary etc.. who did not have a committable offer to Pitt the time of their announcements.

I said the same thing about players like Hugley, Timberlake, RJ Davis, Taylor etc about being underrated.... Those posts are also unedited.

If someone is going to claim I said Pitt needs to land 4 Top 75 caliber players and push for a Top 5 National Recruiting Ranking or I am a fraud, I never said that. Just because I said Pitt has a strong chance to land a player does not guarantee Pitt gets that player.

99% of this board should / would be very happy if Pitt lands just 2 of these players including Davis / Timberlake etc..

The players Capel is landing and recruiting right now is a completely different universe in terms of talent as the players Dixon and Stallings landed the 5 years prior to Capel.

To be honest with you Rocky, Im really looking forward to the start of the season because some people are going to learn to greatly appreciate this 2019 recruiting class a lot more than they previously did and currently do.

 

[Fsgolfdr]

I know payments happen. Of course they do.

But do kids really go to the highest bidder school?

And is Pitt really the only school who doesn’t pay and that’s why we lose recruits.

If that’s true, how did we get Trey? I’m not pointing these questions at you specifically Owt, but the whole thing just doesn’t make sense to me.

Everyone doesn’t come from the same moral or ethical background . Offering a payment might immediately alienate some while it will entices others !

 

[BballinsiderfromPitt]

I know payments happen. Of course they do.

But do kids really go to the highest bidder school?

And is Pitt really the only school who doesn’t pay and that’s why we lose recruits.

If that’s true, how did we get Trey? I’m not pointing these questions at you specifically Owt, but the whole thing just doesn’t make sense to me.

Yeah this whole payment thing is overblown. No one is paying for Jalen Bridges.

And we all know that Pitt HAS played the game some in the past, so why would we hire a coach who has a somewhat reputation to play the game only for him to go clean now? That makes zero sense and is just rationalization when we lose recruits.

Recruiting wins should be praised. Recruiting losses should be evaluated. But it’s very penn state like to assume we lost every recruit just because we didn’t pay

 

[joeydavid]

Vadar uses quantity so he can always say he was right about something. Literally naming like 10 guys everyone knows are high priority recruits that we are putting all of our time and resources in makes it easy for Vadar to compliment himself because at least 1 guy will choose Pitt.

That's how basketball recruiting works for virtually every program but the top couple. You recruit 20-25 kids to land 3 or 4.

 

[DiehardPanther]

Why do some of you feel the need to attack anyone that posts something that is in depth? Whether the poster is an insider or not this message board is for Pitt basketball fans. Why do people feel the need to scrutinize B-ball Insider or Vader’s posts? Some of you need to lighten up on your responses to them.

 

[Ski11585]

Why do some of you feel the need to attack anyone that posts something that is in depth? Whether the poster is an insider or not this message board is for Pitt basketball fans. Why do people feel the need to scrutinize B-ball Insider or Vader’s posts? Some of you need to lighten up on your responses to them.

Because Vader presents himself as this genius insider and is always quick to pat himself on the back for perceived correct guesses.

If he was honest and just admitted he was aggregating news, that would be different.

 

[thebadby2]

Solid block by Mr. Redlegs. Saved Darth from a wild pitch.

 

[thebadby2]

Im not going to get baited in by posts like this.

My one time and only response to you is, Ive also clearly, very clearly, said certain players were vastly underrated or overrated in the past. Those posts are timestamped too and unedited before the offers started rolling in for RJ Davis, Hugley, etc.. when they were 3 star nobodies on the grand scale of things. Back then many people were upset with Pitt even going after these players because they had small offer sheets with only a 3 star label next to their name and that wasn't "good enough" for some people because they didn't trust Jeff Capel's scouting ability over recruiting websites like this one.

Now look how that narrative has changed with these players blowing up with offers. It still makes me perturbed a few of my writeups were deleted by the pantherlair staff because of trolls ruining the thread which is what you are trying to do once again.


Karim Coulibaly is one of those players I said was underrated 9 months ago with a time stamp and I said it multiple times. A vast majority of this forum was not happy with Coulibaly or the 2019 recruiting class because of his "star" ranking and "National" ranking because a 3 star isn't good enough.

How do people feel now after what Coulibaly did at the Fiba World Cup against players like 4 star Tyrese Samuel outperforming Samuel in every single facet of the basketball game and also beating his team at the World Cup? Capel got it right with Coulibaly and Champagnie choosing those 2 as priority over players like 4 star Samuel or Jalen Mccreary etc.. who did not have a committable offer to Pitt the time of their announcements.

I said the same thing about players like Hugley, Timberlake, RJ Davis, Taylor etc about being underrated.... Those posts are also unedited.

If someone is going to claim I said Pitt needs to land 4 Top 75 caliber players and push for a Top 5 National Recruiting Ranking or I am a fraud, I never said that. Just because I said Pitt has a strong chance to land a player does not guarantee Pitt gets that player.

99% of this board should / would be very happy if Pitt lands just 2 of these players including Davis / Timberlake etc..

The players Capel is landing and recruiting right now is a completely different universe in terms of talent as the players Dixon and Stallings landed the 5 years prior to Capel.

To be honest with you Rocky, Im really looking forward to the start of the season because some people are going to learn to greatly appreciate this 2019 recruiting class a lot more than they previously did and currently do.

You’re as serious as a Kithcart attack about that.

 

[rockypanther]

Im not going to get baited in by posts like this.

My one time and only response to you is, Ive also clearly, very clearly, said certain players were vastly underrated or overrated in the past. Those posts are timestamped too and unedited before the offers started rolling in for RJ Davis, Hugley, etc.. when they were 3 star nobodies on the grand scale of things. Back then many people were upset with Pitt even going after these players because they had small offer sheets with only a 3 star label next to their name and that wasn't "good enough" for some people because they didn't trust Jeff Capel's scouting ability over recruiting websites like this one.

Now look how that narrative has changed with these players blowing up with offers. It still makes me perturbed a few of my writeups were deleted by the pantherlair staff because of trolls ruining the thread which is what you are trying to do once again.


Karim Coulibaly is one of those players I said was underrated 9 months ago with a time stamp and I said it multiple times. A vast majority of this forum was not happy with Coulibaly or the 2019 recruiting class because of his "star" ranking and "National" ranking because a 3 star isn't good enough.

How do people feel now after what Coulibaly did at the Fiba World Cup against players like 4 star Tyrese Samuel outperforming Samuel in every single facet of the basketball game and also beating his team at the World Cup? Capel got it right with Coulibaly and Champagnie choosing those 2 as priority over players like 4 star Samuel or Jalen Mccreary etc.. who did not have a committable offer to Pitt the time of their announcements.

I said the same thing about players like Hugley, Timberlake, RJ Davis, Taylor etc about being underrated.... Those posts are also unedited.

If someone is going to claim I said Pitt needs to land 4 Top 75 caliber players and push for a Top 5 National Recruiting Ranking or I am a fraud, I never said that. Just because I said Pitt has a strong chance to land a player does not guarantee Pitt gets that player.

99% of this board should / would be very happy if Pitt lands just 2 of these players including Davis / Timberlake etc..

The players Capel is landing and recruiting right now is a completely different universe in terms of talent as the players Dixon and Stallings landed the 5 years prior to Capel.

To be honest with you Rocky, Im really looking forward to the start of the season because some people are going to learn to greatly appreciate this 2019 recruiting class a lot more than they previously did and currently do.

You are right. We will know soon how accurate your optimistic evaluations are of all these players.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I don’t attack other posters that post information that relates to Pitt. This board would be a boring, miserable, snooze fest if it were left to posters like you.

Yea ok. I’m not susceptible to believing anything just because it’s what I’d like to hear. So if that makes me miserable then I’ll wear that and wear it proudly.

Even in this thread. DT asked him a pretty reasonable and straightforward question. And he completely non answered answered it.

I’m sure some of his stuff is factual. Like who we’re recruiting. Even sounds reasonable to me that Timberlake and Davis are at the top. And I’ve said before there’s some value in that. I’m not on the pay site nor do I subscribe to anything. So I get it. But him continuing to act like he’s some expert or insider - I’m just not buying it. If it turns out I’m wrong and he gains some credibility and I turn out to be wrong I’ll wear that too.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

I love Vader's posts. It gives us something to talk about and it is just nice to see college basketball posts any time of year. I don't get the venom directed to him and I really don't expect him to be right even 50% of the time. Take it for what it is.

As far as how I feel, I would end up being upset if we don't get Davis and Hugley. The rest are gravy.

 

[wbrpanther]

Vadar uses quantity so he can always say he was right about something. Literally naming like 10 guys everyone knows are high priority recruits that we are putting all of our time and resources in makes it easy for Vadar to compliment himself because at least 1 guy will choose Pitt.

Put him on ignore if he bothers you that much. I enjoy his posts but take them with a grain of salt. It beats nobody posting anything.

 

[joeydavid]

Because Vader presents himself as this genius insider and is always quick to pat himself on the back for perceived correct guesses.

If he was honest and just admitted he was aggregating news, that would be different.

I don't read his posts as "he thinks he's a genius". You might reading too much into his post.

 

[Ski11585]

Put him on ignore if he bothers you that much. I enjoy his posts but take them with a grain of salt. It beats nobody posting anything.

Putting people on ignore is lazy. It’s more fun to poke holes in the OP’s posts.

 

[Las Panteras]

Because Vader presents himself as this genius insider and is always quick to pat himself on the back for perceived correct guesses.

If he was honest and just admitted he was aggregating news, that would be different.

I dont interpret his posts in that way at all.

 

[joeydavid]

Putting people on ignore is lazy. It’s more fun to poke holes in the OP’s posts.

If you want to poke holes in nonsense- try the locker room board.
Leave this one for Pitt basketball talk.