Adama Sanogo
Sanogo is a 6’10 240lb Center that is a beast frontcourt player from Mali. He is from the same place and played for the same National team represented by Karim Coulibaly. Adama is a very physical player in the paint and plays with attitude, toughness, and tenacity along with a huge 87 inch wingspan.
I previously talked about having "junkyard dog" mentality in the past and killer instinct for the type of player Capel wants and Sanogo has it. Adama was teammates with RJ Davis with the NY Rens this summer. His numbers were good and his adjusted 40 mpg stats are off the charts good. He’s pushing Top 50 Nationally in the entire country as a high 4 star already for the class of 2021. Here are his summer EYBL numbers and adjusted numbers.
Sanago is a “potential” reclass candidate for 2020. The staff has been to St. Pat’s three times recently and he is a major priority player. He turns 18 this February. While Pitt didn’t get a chance to host Elijah Taylor, Sanago is better than Taylor with more upside. He is one of the best defensive and rebounding players in the entire recruiting class. I was going to wait to post this with my 2021 target list that Ill probably put out in December like I did last year, but since 2020 “could” be an option and Pitt is recruiting him heavily Im posting it now. I have barely talked about 2021 players previously.
Speaking of length and wingspan, have a good look at the big man from Mali 6’9 Karim Coulibaly all the way to the right and the size of his frame as he towers over the other players. An 84 inch wingspan at power forward with his frame is going to be a thing of beauty on defense and on the glass. I am very excited for our current team’s defensive potential as it is going to be far better this year as opposed to last year. I am very confident, not hoping, Capel has our defense in the Top 25-50 in National Defensive Efficiency at worst.
At the opposite end of Coulibaly in this picture is….
Earl Timberlake
Seton Hall is a major threat here. He has visited there unofficially and is visiting officially right now both in recent weeks. Timberlake’s Final list sits at 3 and maybe 4 schools at most with Pitt. Tony Skinn has made a strong impression. Pitt is firmly in the running to get Timberlake and so is North Carolina. Mike Jones, Timberlake’s high school basketball coach, was previously coached by Jeff Capel’s father. I thought I would throw that little tidbit out there because relationships matter. Providence is still in the running. I would be stunned if anyone else has a chance as distance looks to be a factor now. Rumor has it UNC wanted to bump up Timberlake’s visit but he rejected the offer of doing that.
Josh Hall
I probably should have spent more time talking about him than I previously did as I only mentioned him a few times in the past. Capel has recruited him hard for over a year and a half, long before he blew up and much longer than almost anyone on his current school list when Hall was a 3 star nobody with zero national recognition last spring and summer.
Hall is a spring signee and not really setting up officials right now outside his short stop at Louisville. His family including his father are going to play a major part in his decision. His father likes Capel a lot which is very significant this early with his recruitment. Hall released a final 12, but his school list right now is about 5 at most with Pitt.
If North Carolina were to ever offer Hall who is not on Hall’s “final 12”, it is probably over for everyone else. His situation and recruitment are far different than Timberlake or Davis. While UNC has the pull to snatch up Hall quickly, they don’t have anywhere close to that same pull with Davis or Timberlake. The recruiting situations are different with these players. Hall’s family wants UNC but UNC might not have room. NC State is a big threat at this point but it is very early in his recruitment.
Puff Johnson
I mentioned this summer there is “still” something in play for Johnson and why he didn’t commit yet to Arizona and Puff still hasn’t committed yet. Let’s see if Puff continues to hold after his Arizona visit. I think he does but we’ll see.
Others…
I mentioned 2 months ago there were at “least” 2 players in the Top 100-150 range give or take that would probably commit to Pitt with a firm offer from Capel. One of the players I was talking about was Noah Collier, who committed. Myles Stute was the 2nd who really wanted to go to Florida or Pitt but never got a committable offer and he ended up at Vandy. The 3rd was DJ Gordon as I was keeping that information under wraps but another poster already spilled the information to the board on Gordon. I don’t like making (a vs b) lists for people / fans / coaches etc.. to freely read, especially recruits. It is too late now as its in the open Gordon is a B player. Although it was pretty obvious anyway I still don't like saying it for people to freely read.
The 4th is another 2020 center backup which I did not name yet. There are other players on the backburner right now, mostly frontcourt players. One of them would probably come here right now with a firm offer on the table.
North Carolina wants to take and will take 2 pg’s / cg’s guards in this class if they can get them. I said this 2 months ago on this board. Adam Zagoria said this in the last week with regards to RJ Davis and Love both going and playing together at UNC. Corey Evans just said it too. There is zero “Im hearing” nonsense guessing with this. This is crystal clear factual information as Roy Williams was recently at Stepinac to watch RJ Davis again and he will, I repeat, will, take Love and Davis if he can get both. As of today Pitt and Marquette are still in the drivers seat with Pitt leading, as of today, and that was the same as it was 2 months ago. People should be a tad more concerned with Marquette here, the same team I said was the biggest threat to Pitt months ago.
As far as John Hugley, I may release a secret about him in the future after he commits but the constant flipping by the analysts on where Hugley is going to school is pretty funny / ironic to me. You may read into that as you wish. Hugley really considers himself a tweener between the 4 and 5 spots and I agree with him. Pitt still wants a center in 2020 outside of Hugley. Chet Mason from Brush, Hugley’s coach, has handled this like a pro. You may read into that as you wish as well.
Jalen Bridges had his scholarship offer revoked on a phone conversation with Jeff Capel. Capel also deleted Bridges from his social media accounts, not something that happens with other recruits targeted by Jeff. I do not know the “full” reason why Capel took the ship away but I do know the offer was revoked. With ultimatums come decisions and Noah Collier took Bridges place with a firm Pitt offer given to him “after” Capel cut Bridges. I will provide a full Noah Collier recruiting breakdown around the early signing period. Collier was not the originial first choice over Bridges but Capel did indeed revoke Bridges offer.
Hunter Dickinson just got his Duke offer. I said that was “possible” to happen all the way back last winter when I mentioned Duke and the blue bloods were heavily sniffing around him 10 months ago when no one even hinted about Duke or North Carolina with him back then except me. The point I would like to make here is that one should not draw conclusions from one basketball game, especially a meaningless all star game.
A few here put the cart way before the horse watching Dematha and Hunter play La Lumiere last January and questioned my ability to rate talent after 1 game and said Dickinson was overrated. Now, Coach K and Duke offered Dickinson. Game changer. The only question I have, at what point did Capel know it was likely coming from Duke. It is now likely over for the rest of the teams in his final list because of Coach K
Big Cliff- I have conflicting information on him. I was told he would likely stay northeast but that may not be the case now. Anything on him at this point is a guess. He is signing late. We have dialed up heavy pressure on Sanago in the last month. We have recruited Sanogo for over a year now.
This year…
With Wynston Tabbs of Boston College and Clyde Trapp of Clemson both out for the season, the projected preseason leading scorers for BC and Clemson, the bottom 4 in the ACC is one big ugly mess. Virginia Tech enters the season with two players over 6’5 in height, and Wake Forest is going to be really bad this year without Hoard who went to the NBA. These 4 teams will be four of the worst teams in all of the power 6 next year if not the worst 4 teams out of the entire power 6..
I have not said a whole lot about this season coming up, but with how bad I think the middle and bottom of the acc is going to be I still think 20 wins including post season is in play for us if Champagnie returns sooner than expected. I also still feel our 2019 recruiting class is underrated and he is a big part of it. I also think it is likely (even with the Big 4 this year) the ACC finishes as the 3rd best conference next year. And the ACC might actually be worse than 3rd best next year.
I will conclude with this. Expect a major 2020 recruiting class and a better than expected upcoming season if we remain more or less injury free moving forward. Everyone should be exited entering the season and I know I am really looking forward to it.
Sanogo is a 6’10 240lb Center that is a beast frontcourt player from Mali. He is from the same place and played for the same National team represented by Karim Coulibaly. Adama is a very physical player in the paint and plays with attitude, toughness, and tenacity along with a huge 87 inch wingspan.
I previously talked about having "junkyard dog" mentality in the past and killer instinct for the type of player Capel wants and Sanogo has it. Adama was teammates with RJ Davis with the NY Rens this summer. His numbers were good and his adjusted 40 mpg stats are off the charts good. He’s pushing Top 50 Nationally in the entire country as a high 4 star already for the class of 2021. Here are his summer EYBL numbers and adjusted numbers.
Sanago is a “potential” reclass candidate for 2020. The staff has been to St. Pat’s three times recently and he is a major priority player. He turns 18 this February. While Pitt didn’t get a chance to host Elijah Taylor, Sanago is better than Taylor with more upside. He is one of the best defensive and rebounding players in the entire recruiting class. I was going to wait to post this with my 2021 target list that Ill probably put out in December like I did last year, but since 2020 “could” be an option and Pitt is recruiting him heavily Im posting it now. I have barely talked about 2021 players previously.
Speaking of length and wingspan, have a good look at the big man from Mali 6’9 Karim Coulibaly all the way to the right and the size of his frame as he towers over the other players. An 84 inch wingspan at power forward with his frame is going to be a thing of beauty on defense and on the glass. I am very excited for our current team’s defensive potential as it is going to be far better this year as opposed to last year. I am very confident, not hoping, Capel has our defense in the Top 25-50 in National Defensive Efficiency at worst.
At the opposite end of Coulibaly in this picture is….
Earl Timberlake
Seton Hall is a major threat here. He has visited there unofficially and is visiting officially right now both in recent weeks. Timberlake’s Final list sits at 3 and maybe 4 schools at most with Pitt. Tony Skinn has made a strong impression. Pitt is firmly in the running to get Timberlake and so is North Carolina. Mike Jones, Timberlake’s high school basketball coach, was previously coached by Jeff Capel’s father. I thought I would throw that little tidbit out there because relationships matter. Providence is still in the running. I would be stunned if anyone else has a chance as distance looks to be a factor now. Rumor has it UNC wanted to bump up Timberlake’s visit but he rejected the offer of doing that.
Josh Hall
I probably should have spent more time talking about him than I previously did as I only mentioned him a few times in the past. Capel has recruited him hard for over a year and a half, long before he blew up and much longer than almost anyone on his current school list when Hall was a 3 star nobody with zero national recognition last spring and summer.
Hall is a spring signee and not really setting up officials right now outside his short stop at Louisville. His family including his father are going to play a major part in his decision. His father likes Capel a lot which is very significant this early with his recruitment. Hall released a final 12, but his school list right now is about 5 at most with Pitt.
If North Carolina were to ever offer Hall who is not on Hall’s “final 12”, it is probably over for everyone else. His situation and recruitment are far different than Timberlake or Davis. While UNC has the pull to snatch up Hall quickly, they don’t have anywhere close to that same pull with Davis or Timberlake. The recruiting situations are different with these players. Hall’s family wants UNC but UNC might not have room. NC State is a big threat at this point but it is very early in his recruitment.
Puff Johnson
I mentioned this summer there is “still” something in play for Johnson and why he didn’t commit yet to Arizona and Puff still hasn’t committed yet. Let’s see if Puff continues to hold after his Arizona visit. I think he does but we’ll see.
Others…
I mentioned 2 months ago there were at “least” 2 players in the Top 100-150 range give or take that would probably commit to Pitt with a firm offer from Capel. One of the players I was talking about was Noah Collier, who committed. Myles Stute was the 2nd who really wanted to go to Florida or Pitt but never got a committable offer and he ended up at Vandy. The 3rd was DJ Gordon as I was keeping that information under wraps but another poster already spilled the information to the board on Gordon. I don’t like making (a vs b) lists for people / fans / coaches etc.. to freely read, especially recruits. It is too late now as its in the open Gordon is a B player. Although it was pretty obvious anyway I still don't like saying it for people to freely read.
The 4th is another 2020 center backup which I did not name yet. There are other players on the backburner right now, mostly frontcourt players. One of them would probably come here right now with a firm offer on the table.
North Carolina wants to take and will take 2 pg’s / cg’s guards in this class if they can get them. I said this 2 months ago on this board. Adam Zagoria said this in the last week with regards to RJ Davis and Love both going and playing together at UNC. Corey Evans just said it too. There is zero “Im hearing” nonsense guessing with this. This is crystal clear factual information as Roy Williams was recently at Stepinac to watch RJ Davis again and he will, I repeat, will, take Love and Davis if he can get both. As of today Pitt and Marquette are still in the drivers seat with Pitt leading, as of today, and that was the same as it was 2 months ago. People should be a tad more concerned with Marquette here, the same team I said was the biggest threat to Pitt months ago.
As far as John Hugley, I may release a secret about him in the future after he commits but the constant flipping by the analysts on where Hugley is going to school is pretty funny / ironic to me. You may read into that as you wish. Hugley really considers himself a tweener between the 4 and 5 spots and I agree with him. Pitt still wants a center in 2020 outside of Hugley. Chet Mason from Brush, Hugley’s coach, has handled this like a pro. You may read into that as you wish as well.
Jalen Bridges had his scholarship offer revoked on a phone conversation with Jeff Capel. Capel also deleted Bridges from his social media accounts, not something that happens with other recruits targeted by Jeff. I do not know the “full” reason why Capel took the ship away but I do know the offer was revoked. With ultimatums come decisions and Noah Collier took Bridges place with a firm Pitt offer given to him “after” Capel cut Bridges. I will provide a full Noah Collier recruiting breakdown around the early signing period. Collier was not the originial first choice over Bridges but Capel did indeed revoke Bridges offer.
Hunter Dickinson just got his Duke offer. I said that was “possible” to happen all the way back last winter when I mentioned Duke and the blue bloods were heavily sniffing around him 10 months ago when no one even hinted about Duke or North Carolina with him back then except me. The point I would like to make here is that one should not draw conclusions from one basketball game, especially a meaningless all star game.
A few here put the cart way before the horse watching Dematha and Hunter play La Lumiere last January and questioned my ability to rate talent after 1 game and said Dickinson was overrated. Now, Coach K and Duke offered Dickinson. Game changer. The only question I have, at what point did Capel know it was likely coming from Duke. It is now likely over for the rest of the teams in his final list because of Coach K
Big Cliff- I have conflicting information on him. I was told he would likely stay northeast but that may not be the case now. Anything on him at this point is a guess. He is signing late. We have dialed up heavy pressure on Sanago in the last month. We have recruited Sanogo for over a year now.
This year…
With Wynston Tabbs of Boston College and Clyde Trapp of Clemson both out for the season, the projected preseason leading scorers for BC and Clemson, the bottom 4 in the ACC is one big ugly mess. Virginia Tech enters the season with two players over 6’5 in height, and Wake Forest is going to be really bad this year without Hoard who went to the NBA. These 4 teams will be four of the worst teams in all of the power 6 next year if not the worst 4 teams out of the entire power 6..
I have not said a whole lot about this season coming up, but with how bad I think the middle and bottom of the acc is going to be I still think 20 wins including post season is in play for us if Champagnie returns sooner than expected. I also still feel our 2019 recruiting class is underrated and he is a big part of it. I also think it is likely (even with the Big 4 this year) the ACC finishes as the 3rd best conference next year. And the ACC might actually be worse than 3rd best next year.
I will conclude with this. Expect a major 2020 recruiting class and a better than expected upcoming season if we remain more or less injury free moving forward. Everyone should be exited entering the season and I know I am really looking forward to it.
