Everything we know about NKU recruiting
This one is long, sorry.
newsletter by Kyle Craven
For the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Norse did not win either the Horizon League Tournament or Regular Season title and their accompanying bids to the NCAA Tournament and the NIT … and it feels weird.
Beware the Transfer Portal
What feels even more strange than no tournament for the Norse, is the new culture of college basketball surrounding the transfer portal.
Allowing basketball players to transfer without having to sit out a year, on top of the decision to allow players to play this season without losing a year of eligibility has caused a ripple effect throughout the league in the form of a “transfer portal” that currently has upwards of 800 kids in it. Certainly the NCAA did not foresee this tidal wave that they created, but alas, here we are. Here’s how it all impacts the Norse.
Where We Left Off: The 2020-21 Roster
The Norse only used 11 of their 13 possible scholarships, despite having 3 walk-ons, two of which were used in the rotation in a decent amount of games. You might be asking yourself “Why would they do this, why not just give out the scholarships to those two players?” The answer is pretty simple.
With so much unknown, why not keep as much flexibility as possible? If you can sign two rotational players as walk-ons, and still keep two scholarships open for the next offseason, that’s just good roster management.
The Norse ended the season with 1 senior (Eleeda), 6 juniors (Langdon, Hines, Djoko, Faulkner, Harding and Nelson) and 4 freshmen (Warrick, Robinson, Böhm and Harge) on scholarship. In addition to those 11, the Norse also have 3 players on their roster as walk-ons (Wassler, Hupmann and Evans).
Transfers
Shortly after the season ended, we got word from Paul Djoko on his Twitter account that he would be leaving NKU and pursuing basketball elsewhere. We have not heard from him on what his next move will be, whether he plans to return to France and pursue a career overseas or attend another university stateside, but we’ll be tracking his next moves and will inform readers when we know more.
The next domino to fall was Adham Eleeda. This shouldn’t have been too surprising, both Adham celebrating senior night and the rhetoric around that event was quite telling that he might actually not return. Just a few days after entering the portal, Eleeda signed with Bryant University in the Northeast Conference.
Anyone else a “flight risk”?
With how wild the portal is right now *(again, over 700 names in it!!), and how easy it is to enter and wind up somewhere else, literally anyone could be a risk to go. We have to remember that every single player was recruited by other schools, too and everything is interconnected.
There is one thing we need to understand about NKU players transferring. It seems that when players transfer from NKU they are doing it for a couple of different reasons: either because they’re going to find a place where they can get some playing time (transfer down) or find a place that can increase their level of competition and exposure (transfer up). So with that in mind, let me give you my thoughts on the 9 guys we have on scholarship and what’s likely to happen with them.
Nervous, but not sweating (Possible “transfer ups”)
The players who make me nervous are Adrian Nelson, Marques Warrick and Trevon Faulkner. Now, let me be very clear: I do not think they are going anywhere. I think we’d have known by now and they’d have not wasted our time by waiting over two weeks to announce. That said, you really never do know, and these three players all had amazing seasons, well deserving of consideration, if they wanted to.
Do I think they will? No.
Do I think there’s a strong possibility: No.
Would I be absolutely floored if they did: Also no.
Also risky, still unlikely (Possible “transfer downs”)
Three players I also think are risky for similar reasons are: Trey Robinson, Darius Harding and Carlos Hines all for different reasons.
Trey had a frustrating Freshman year. Point blank, he struggled at times to compete defensively and was even the focal point of some public criticism at one point from Coach Horn due to his lack of effort. On the other hand, he was publicly praised just a few weeks later after an incredible performance. I think it’s obvious to many that Coach Horn wants it to work out for Trey at NKU, but you never know - with 4 years of eligibility still - Trey could decide maybe it’s not worth it and skedaddle. Let’s hope not.
Harding and Hines, I can kind of lump together. Both players are a little older, but both had a difficult time learning and integrating into a new system. What made it even more difficult for Hines was that he (reportedly) dealt with grades, illness and injuries all throughout the year. I think that both players will ultimately realize that they have nowhere to go right now but down a level (again) and they’ll decide to come back to NKU for what will ultimately be their second to last season of eligibility. I also think that if they can get some of the intangible stuff figured out, both players are plenty talented enough to contribute.
Little-to-no risk
I have the rest of the roster at little-to-no risk of transferring for different reasons, but all centered around the same general idea: they’re best deal is here at NKU. I don’t think that John Harge or David Böhm did enough this year with the minutes they got to make teams line up and get them to transfer, despite the fact that they both have 4 years of eligibility left.
Bryson Langdon could be a risk based on his numbers and ability alone, but I really don’t think the market above NKU (high majors or power 5 schools) will be hot for a 5’9” Point Guard. I think he could transfer to a lower level of competition if he wanted and be perfectly fine, but why do that when you’ve been NKU’s starting PG for the last two seasons? I think we are perfectly safe with Langdon staying.
Here’s our current roster after the Eleeda and Djoko transfers:
Incoming players
With 4 scholarships open, the Norse now have more than enough open space in 2021 to officially welcome in Sam Vinson and Isaiah “Zay” Mason to the 2021 recruiting class. Norse Report has been following these two all season and been covering them on Twitter, but we also recently wrote a player profile for each, click on each of their photos below to learn more about these guys:
Sam Vinson | PG/SG | 6’4 175 lbs
Isaiah “Zay Mason” | SG | 6’4 165 lbs
Others we’re interested in
Beyond the current 2021 NKU commits, NKU still does have 2 scholarships open that they could give out to 2021 players. There have been various players that have entered the transfer portal and NKU has been confirmed to show interest in. Here they are:
Greg Gantt Jr. | F (SO – Transfer) | 6’8″ 220 lbs.
Mason Faulkner | PG/G (RS SR – Transfer) | 6’1″ 190 lbs.
Scott Blakney | F (SR – Transfer) | 6’9″ 230 lbs.
Cameron “Cam” Healy | G (RS JR – Transfer) | 6’3″ 190 lbs.
Remaining needs for 2021
Assuming NKU does not land any of the above players, which technically they have not offered yet - we do still have 2 scholarships available in 2021. Sure, we could pursue players for next season with those scholarships, or we could use them on 2022 guys. Let’s assume for the sake of analysis that our intention is to use the scholarships we have for the upcoming season.
Team needs
I think most Norse fans would identify the same needs across the board, but generally speaking I’m seeing the following as a common response when I ask:
A big
Center or Forward over 6’8” that is a shot blocker and staunch rebounder. Ideally, someone who can score inside and either spell Adrian Nelson or offset him if they are good enough.
A great shooting wing
With Adham Eleeda leaving, he’s taking his 39% 3-point percentage (43% in conference) with him. The Norse will need to find production elsewhere, and it can’t all be expected to come from Marques Warrick.
A backup Point Guard
We could either be very deep or very thin at this position, depending on how a few guys pan out. Currently Bryson Langdon is the only player we have returning who saw significant minutes at the position, but we will need others to step up. Carlos Hines is likely to return, but gave the Norse very little last year so he remains a question mark. Marques Warrick and the two incoming freshmen Sam Vinson and Zay Mason all 3 played Point Guard in High School, but it’s unclear if that’s how Darrin Horn plans to use any of them. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Norse try and go out and grab another floor general if the right one is there.
How is the team approaching this process?
I contacted someone I know who is close to the team and asked what they knew about the team’s approach this offseason. The feedback I got was that the team is slow playing the process and being very thorough. They love the current makeup of their team, don’t want to lose anyone they currently have and are looking solely for players who can step in and provide some value to the team, not rock the boat in any way.
With all of that said, we’ve compiled a “wish list” of players we’d love to see the Norse contact (based on the above “needs” that we’ve identified. So far, we have 5 but we’ll release new ones periodically on Twitter, so you have to go follow us there!
Norse Report’s “Wish List”
Terrance Thompson | F, 6’8” 220 lbs | FR, transfer from Green Bay
17.7 minutes per game
4 points and 3 rebound per game
While the stats might be a bit underwhelming, Thompson makes the list due to his size and the fact that the Norse really just need a big man to help out inside. There are certainly better bigs out there, but it’s going to be difficult for the Norse to be competitive for bigs in the transfer portal, as they are the hottest commodity out there.
Rueadale “Rudi” Williams | PG | 6’3” 180 lbs | JR, transfer from Kansas State (prev. JUCO)
Key recruiting target for the Darrin Horn & staff in 2020.
Unlikely, but I’m not ruling it out. Why?
27 games played, only 4 starts, and 18.2 minutes per game in which he:
Scored 4.8 points
Gathered 2.6 rebounds
Distributed 1.4 assists per game
Shot 40% from the field
29.4% from 3
1.3 TOs per game.
I think he’s a lot better than that stat line would indicate, and I’d be happy to use a PG with some size.
Christian Shumate | Wing (SG, SF) | 6’6” 185 lbs | FR, transfer from Tulsa
8 games played, 0 starts, 5.4 minutes per game
1.5 points, 1.4 rebounds per game.
Zero assists on the season.
Here’s another player that the Norse went after in 2020. He had a really rough season last year, but I think we can chalk this one up to a rough Freshman year. I’d be interested in seeing if the Norse are willing to engage him again, but I wouldn’t expect it. I put him on the wish list for the simple fact that he is no stranger to our staff, clearly had a “down” season and may be willing to realign with a team on a slightly lower level, and he’s clearly incredibly talented.
Gabe Madsen | Wing (SG, SF) | 6’5” 195 lbs | FR, transfer from UC
Gabe averaged 26.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range and 89.8 percent from the free-throw line as a senior at Mayo Senior in Minnesota.
After only playing in just 2 games for UC at the beginning of the year, he decided to opt out for the reminder of the season and eventually deciding to transfer. The Norse could use another shooter, and Gabe could fill that void.
Mason Madsen | Wing (SG, SF) | 6’4” 190 lbs | FR, transfer from UC
Well, we obviously had to add Mason to the mix as well. Both of the Madsen brothers were high caliber recruits to UC and both would make the Norse better instantly.
Unlike his brother, Mason played out the season at UC, playing in 15 games and averaging 17.9 minutes per. In those 17.9 minutes, he scored 6.5 points per game and gathered 3.0 rebounds per. He was pretty inefficient from the field though, shooting 39% from the field, which includes 32.2% from 3.
It would be fair to assume he’d be much more efficient with the Norse, and certainly he’s worth the “risk” as a former 4-star recruit.
The one thing we’d need to watch out for is whatever controversy that went down with Coach Brannen - word on the street is that it was a pretty big riff between Mason and Coach Brannen, so we’d want to tread carefully because the details are plentiful, and it’s unclear which side is telling the truth.
Do you know of anyone in the portal that you think NKU has to look at?!?
Let us hear about it!
2022 Offers and Interests + Roster Makeup
The fun doesn’t stop in 2021!! We also have a 2022 recruiting board up as well! You can take a look at that (here) and see what you think. We also have an official offer out there, which means that we have a player profile!
Norse fans, meet Jacob Conner.
Jacob Conner | 2022 HS – SF (Point Forward)
Horizon League Transfer Portal
On top of tracking all things NKU recruiting, we’re working really hard to track the transfer portal league-wide. We’re doing this for a couple of reasons.
We want to see how much roster turnover happens throughout the rest of the league
We want to see the trends of the players that are transferring in the league.
Are they going to bigger programs?
Are they going to programs in worse conferences?
Are they transferring down a division or to JUCO?
All of this is interesting and gives us an idea of where the league is nationally
There are players around the league that we would take on our team in a second, and some of them are in the portal. We want to keep our eyes on them.
You can track that with us here!
The NKU Roster in 2021-22 and BEYOND
I’d like to leave fans with the following thought:
The transfer portal is not going away. This is the new normal. Just because we weren’t hit this year, does not mean we won’t be next year. I would expect significant turnover next year.
Yeah, I hate to be a debbie downer. But with how easy it is to transfer, we have to always assume that players are at risk for doing so. In the old days, players might transfer if they weren’t getting the playing time they thought they deserved - then they would transfer (usually “down”) to get more minutes. But that came at a cost. They’d have to sit out a year and weigh the cost of that vs. if they just stuck it out and tried to make it work at their current school. I think most people recognize that players needed a little bit more power in the NCAA vs. Players power struggle, but this seems to have gone too far. The NCAA giving players this power has given them ability to put their name in the portal for any reason they’d like and face little-to-no consequences for doing so. The risk never outweighs the reward because there is really no risk. Until this changes, we can always assume that players who perform incredibly well are at risk for leaving. I’m sorry to say it, but I think that’s the world we live in.
NORSE FANS: NEXT WEEK IS THE last WEEKLY newsletter until November.
We want to thank EVERY SINGLE one of you for subscribing to this newsletter this year.
It’s been such a joy to bring you updates throughout the season, and we look forward to doing so ONE MORE TIME on a weekly basis next week. After that, we’ll switch to monthly newsletters until November when basketball season returns.
In next week’s newsletter, we’ll share:
Spring sports updates
More basketball recruiting updates
Other fun stuff!
See you then!
That’s it for this week, folks! Be sure to share this newsletter and leave a comment if you have something to say.. We love hearing from you guys, too!
Great break down! With expected 1500 players to enter the transfer portal, I’m sure that interest will grow. Keep us posted as usual!! #NorseUp