[GoCatsGo]

Very psyched for Sam. Does anyone know who else had offers out to him?

VerbalCommits says he was offered by Long Beach State. North Pole Hoops shows him as having some level of interest from Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. Not sure if any of those got to the offer stage, but clearly academically-oriented.

 

[Alumni96]

The quarantine finally worked for us for a change.

 

[Alumni96]

Full game video of Rothesay Netherwood. Alamutu is #2.

On a side note, I hope the UVM staff has taken a good look at Alamutu's teammate Matteo Zagar. Zagar is #10.

 

[LakeSinclair]

Very psyched for Sam. Does anyone know who else had offers out to him?

The "From the Parking Lot" blog said that he had interest from UVM, Long Beach State, Princeton, Yale and Stanford, and had a pic of him with those five logos. But Verbal Commits only shows him with UVM and Long Beach State offers. Granted, Ivy schools don't award athletic scholarships, but I'd think that an excellent student with NBA ambitions (per North Pole Hoops) would jump at a chance to take an offer from Stanford - perhaps there was just a preferred walk-on invitation there. Sam sounds like a terrific fit for UVM, both on and off the court, but a lot of the published rhetoric about him seems to be a bit over the top. NPH says he's a top five Canadian player, led his HS to to an undefeated season (that's true), should be an America East Rookie of the Year candidate, and that he wants to be one of the best to ever play. That's terrific and I love the ambition, but Verbal Commits has him as a 2-star recruit and he's chosen a mid-major program that has never had an alumnus to make it into an NBA game. Perhaps Sam will be the first, but I'm going to rein in my expectations until we have some evidence of his game vs. D-I caliber competition.

 

[VCat_2015]

Full game video of Rothesay Netherwood. Alamutu is #2.

On a side note, I hope the UVM staff has taken a good look at Alamutu's teammate Matteo Zagar. Zagar is #10.

It looks like they're playing against a rag-tag stoner pick-up league at the Burlington Y... are they wearing cotton t-shirts and chubbies?? lmfao

 

[VCat_2015]

The "From the Parking Lot" blog said that he had interest from UVM, Long Beach State, Princeton, Yale and Stanford, and had a pic of him with those five logos. But Verbal Commits only shows him with UVM and Long Beach State offers. Granted, Ivy schools don't award athletic scholarships, but I'd think that an excellent student with NBA ambitions (per North Pole Hoops) would jump at a chance to take an offer from Stanford - perhaps there was just a preferred walk-on invitation there. Sam sounds like a terrific fit for UVM, both on and off the court, but a lot of the published rhetoric about him seems to be a bit over the top. NPH says he's a top five Canadian player, led his HS to to an undefeated season (that's true), should be an America East Rookie of the Year candidate, and that he wants to be one of the best to ever play. That's terrific and I love the ambition, but Verbal Commits has him as a 2-star recruit and he's chosen a mid-major program that has never had an alumnus to make it into an NBA game. Perhaps Sam will be the first, but I'm going to rein in my expectations until we have some evidence of his game vs. D-I caliber competition.

I agree it seems like the rhetoric particularly in the Canadian high schools sports media is a bit excessive. It's good to put that in a little bit of context. But I think we can still have high expectations as he has strong fundamentals and is clearly quite talented. I think making the all-conference rooky team and being an impact player off the bench is a realistic expectation. That said, I also had similar expectations for DeMuth, while guys like Lamb far exceeded the still-relatively-high expectations I had for him.

Speaking of context, I'm not sure what "Top 5 Canadian HS player" really means, as most of the highly talented Canadians come to the US to play (from kids like Eric Beckett all the way up to the RJ Barretts) more competitive prep basketball.

 

[LakeSinclair]

Speaking of context, I'm not sure what "Top 5 Canadian HS player" really means, as most of the highly talented Canadians come to the US to play (from kids like Eric Beckett all the way up to the RJ Barretts) more competitive prep basketball.

That's a really good point. I'm not sure what going from the metro Toronto area to play in New Brunswick signifies. Clearly, Rothesay Netherwood is a very strong program and everyone on their roster comes from out of town (Atlantic Provinces + Ontario) to play there. Still, regardless of how well they're coached and developed, their game experience apparently consists of dominating other schools whose players weren't committed enough about their games to come south.

 

[Alumni96]

That's a really good point. I'm not sure what going from the metro Toronto area to play in New Brunswick signifies. Clearly, Rothesay Netherwood is a very strong program and everyone on their roster comes from out of town (Atlantic Provinces + Ontario) to play there. Still, regardless of how well they're coached and developed, their game experience apparently consists of dominating other schools whose players weren't committed enough about their games to come south.

:sigh:.....It's one video. That's likely an exhibition. They play in a league with a bunch of other prep schools. That school in the video isn't one of them. Sometimes I want to bang my head against my desk.....

 

[GoCatsGo]

A little background on Rothesay-Netherwood (Alamutu's school). They actually played a fairly challenging schedule. For starters, they're a member of the National Preparatory Association: 12 top-tier Canadian prep schools (some of which are basically geared toward basketball/athletics prep) which play each other in different mini-tournaments across Canada throughout the year. A lot of Ontario teams, a couple from the Prairies, a couple from Quebec/Maritimes. Scanning any rosters/info I could find, I drew the following conclusions:

1) Among the top seniors last year, there were a few mid-major guys (the top statistical player on RNS last year, Kellen Tynes, ended up at Montana State and was a Maine target late into the off-season), and a decent amount of D-1 JUCO guys.

2) Many of the best statistical players were actually underclassmen. I don't know that this is true, but it's possible some of these guys end up in the states before their HS careers are over after performing well in Canada as underclassmen. Just a hunch on my part.

Beyond the NPA schedule, Rothesay-Netherwood also played several tournaments in the US: Rhode Island, New York, North Carolina. They played in an event at IMG in Florida (and beat one of the IMG post-grad teams...don't ask me to tell you which one and who was on it, there were like 7 IMG teams in that showcase). They didn't play any of the traditional NEPSAC teams we're accustomed to seeing, but they definitely played (and mostly beat) teams that are frequent names in these HS/Prep showcase events (I believe they split a pair of games with Redemption Christian, where Vermonter/Robert Morris frosh Kam Farris played last year).

If you read this entire post and said "I could stand to be more obsessed with this," here's a page that has like 16 RNS games from last season.

Game Footage

rnsvarsitybball.github.io

Knock yourselves out, kids.

 

[dnapolit]

Wow! If you are doing players comps from previous UVM guys his game looks like a mix between Marcus Blakely and TBH. It looks like he's comfortable handling the ball and making some nifty passes or driving the hoop. It looks like he has Blakelyesque elevation and quick twitch muscles that separate good athletes from great ones. Some of his one handed passes remind me of Robin Duncan's game. With his athleticism and what looks like strong fundamentals the sky is the limit. This kid has the potential to be really special.

Surprised based on the coaches quotes and the highlights he didn't have more offers.

 

[Chance12]

Competition is decent but even if it wasn't, you have to like what Becker could potentially do with his strength and athleticism. His rebounding numbers are impressive as well as his all around game and how easy he elevates. Very excited about this addition.

 

[BillMurray_VT]

Competition is decent but even if it wasn't, you have to like what Becker could potentially do with his strength and athleticism. His rebounding numbers are impressive as well as his all around game and how easy he elevates. Very excited about this addition.

Yup. Look what the staff did with Benny Shungu. Staff doesn't get enough credit for player development, which I am sure is not the easiest task in the college game. If the kid is hungry, like some of our other recruits from up north, he will thrive. What his limit is or how much he contributes, who knows. But, looks like a good pickup.

Hopefully, we keep getting good news. Was kind of hoping Vermont's relative success with covid might help us on the recruiting trail. I may be thinking like a 50 year old and not a teen. Oh well.

 

[Catamaniac]

VerbalCommits says he was offered by Long Beach State. North Pole Hoops shows him as having some level of interest from Stanford, Yale, and Princeton. Not sure if any of those got to the offer stage, but clearly academically-oriented.

Thanks. Of the bunch you mentioned, I wonder how many were actual offers. Major props to the coaching staff for landing Sam.

 

[tizzy]

Thanks. Of the bunch you mentioned, I wonder how many were actual offers. Major props to the coaching staff for landing Sam.

Alamatu in one of his interviews said those Ivys were showing interest but that his SATs were too low and he needed to get them higher for those schools.

 

[Chance12]

Thanks. Of the bunch you mentioned, I wonder how many were actual offers. Major props to the coaching staff for landing Sam.

Yup. Look what the staff did with Benny Shungu. Staff doesn't get enough credit for player development, which I am sure is not the easiest task in the college game. If the kid is hungry, like some of our other recruits from up north, he will thrive. What his limit is or how much he contributes, who knows. But, looks like a good pickup.

Hopefully, we keep getting good news. Was kind of hoping Vermont's relative success with covid might help us on the recruiting trail. I may be thinking like a 50 year old and not a teen. Oh well.

Hard to believe he's a 2 star given his film and measurables. Have we ever had a 2 guard with this kind of athleticism, strength, and skill? I like the Canadian pipeline we have going because the players, like TBH and Stef, are often underrated and under-the-radar to U.S. programs. I expect Sam to be a stat-stuffing all-league player. The PG we've offered for the same class looks pretty good as well as athletic too.

 

[Catamaniac]

The "From the Parking Lot" blog said that he had interest from UVM, Long Beach State, Princeton, Yale and Stanford, and had a pic of him with those five logos. But Verbal Commits only shows him with UVM and Long Beach State offers. Granted, Ivy schools don't award athletic scholarships, but I'd think that an excellent student with NBA ambitions (per North Pole Hoops) would jump at a chance to take an offer from Stanford - perhaps there was just a preferred walk-on invitation there. Sam sounds like a terrific fit for UVM, both on and off the court, but a lot of the published rhetoric about him seems to be a bit over the top. NPH says he's a top five Canadian player, led his HS to to an undefeated season (that's true), should be an America East Rookie of the Year candidate, and that he wants to be one of the best to ever play. That's terrific and I love the ambition, but Verbal Commits has him as a 2-star recruit and he's chosen a mid-major program that has never had an alumnus to make it into an NBA game. Perhaps Sam will be the first, but I'm going to rein in my expectations until we have some evidence of his game vs. D-I caliber competition.

The Ivies like to boast that they don't give athletic scholarships. However - and I'm not sure about this - they provide aid to those in need. In other words, if you're in need and they want you, you'll get a free education. If anyone has more info on this gray area, please give input.

 

[Catamaniac]

Hard to believe he's a 2 star given his film and measurables. Have we ever had a 2 guard with this kind of athleticism, strength, and skill? I like the Canadian pipeline we have going because the players, like TBH and Stef, are often underrated and under-the-radar to U.S. programs. I expect Sam to be a stat-stuffing all-league player. The PG we've offered for the same class looks pretty good as well as athletic too.

Dre Wills? But he wasn't as tall. And he wasn't an outside shooter.

 

[GoCatsGo]

Dre Wills? But he wasn't as tall. And he wasn't an outside shooter.

I normally don't do comps, but "Super-Sized Dre Wills" is what I thought when I saw him. We should be so lucky if he's half the defender Dre was. But he's also got 4 inches on him and a much bigger frame.

 

[VCat_2015]

The Ivies like to boast that they don't give athletic scholarships. However - and I'm not sure about this - they provide aid to those in need. In other words, if you're in need and they want you, you'll get a free education. If anyone has more info on this gray area, please give input.

Yes I imagine virtually all Ivy league basketball players are receiving completely free rides. At Dartmouth nearly 40% of the student body doesn’t pay a dime in tuition. This isn’t merit scholarships or a “gray area”, this simply if your a student from a low income or middle-class background the school has you covered with financial aid.

I know for example Miye Oni ended up at Yale because of their generous financial aid package. As many of you may know, he was set to go to Williams (a well-endowed school with hefty financial aid resources itself), but then over the summer—not sure the exact timeline—Jones reached out and said something to the degree of “come over to Yale, we have a full ride financial aid package for you.”

However, the Ivies don’t compromise on academic standards the way Duke or Stanford does. My guess is Alotutu had his eyes set on going to an ivy, but every coach told “I like you, but I can’t get you in.” I think we end up with a lot of recruits like that.

If an athlete has the academic credentials it’s unlikely they’ll ever choose UVM over an Ivy. We have no advantage because we offer athketic scholarships. That’s just a reality we need to recognize. That said the pool of high school basketball players that can get into UVM is much, much bigger.

 

[lsbal]

Yes I imagine virtually all Ivy league basketball players are receiving completely free rides. At Dartmouth nearly 40% of the student body doesn’t pay a dime in tuition. This isn’t merit scholarships or a “gray area”, this simply if your a student from a low income or middle-class background the school has you covered with financial aid.

I know for example Miye Oni ended up at Yale because of their generous financial aid package. As many of you may know, he was set to go to Williams (a well-endowed school with hefty financial aid resources itself), but then over the summer—not sure the exact timeline—Jones reached out and said something to the degree of “come over to Yale, we have a full ride financial aid package for you.”

However, the Ivies don’t compromise on academic standards the way Duke or Stanford does. My guess is Alotutu had his eyes set on going to an ivy, but every coach told “I like you, but I can’t get you in.” I think we end up with a lot of recruits like that.

If an athlete has the academic credentials it’s unlikely they’ll ever choose UVM over an Ivy. We have no advantage because we offer athketic scholarships. That’s just a reality we need to recognize. That said the pool of high school basketball players that can get into UVM is much, much bigger.

at Yale if a families earnings are under 125,000 you go for free.