Norm Peterson

We'd need to make room. We don't currently have a spot available. Who would leave?

From Shamiel's bio at Pitt: The Storyline An explosive athlete with the leaping ability and strength to finish in traffic Showed the ability to play as a big wing or undersized four-man a year ago ... can create matchup problems with his combination of size, quickness and athleticism Has a nice shooting stroke out beyond the three-point line as well as the ability to put the ball on the floor Possesses a 40 inch vertical and a 6-11 wingspan … strength and quickness allow him to be an effective defender and rebounder against bigger opponents Continued improvement with intensity and attention to detail in practice will lead to increased minutes Enrolled in Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

My recollection was that, in addition to the 7 ft wingspan, he also has a 40 inch vertical.

With the commit from Eduardo Andre, we're full up. No more room. So, looks like we missed out on this kid, who committed to Southeast Missouri State. (He probably had an inkling the Andre commit was coming and so took his fall-back option at SEMS.)

It's nice for purposes of recruiting cred. He isn't any better or worse as a player just because he moved up in stars and he'd have been just as good a player for us this coming season if they hadn't moved him up to 4. But it's nice to see that 4th star for him as a recognition of what he did on the court and it's also nice for us to see that other people have regarded the recruits we're bringing in as somehow worthy of our hopes and aspirations for them.

At the time that was posted, Eduardo was already 18. So, if we can figure out when it was posted, we can narrow down how much older than Yvan he is.

I was talking about this today with a friend of ours. Let's say you came up with a list of attributes or skills or qualities you want to have in a post in Hoiberg's system. Top 10 attributes. How many of those attributes favor Yvan and how many favor Eduardo? I'm just going to throw out 10 things. Maybe someone else would have 10 different things, but these are the ones I'm throwing out there. Can you see a scenario in which enough of those 10 things favor Eduardo that he beats out Yvan? I don't know; I'm just asking. But I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Yvan wins this spot in the rotation for sure. Ten things in no particular order: 1. Length (height and wingspan) 2. Quick leaping (explosiveness) 3. Speed up and down the floor 4. Mass/strength 5. Soft hands 6. Footwork 7. Motor 8. Rebounding (mentality) 9. Freethrow shooting 10. Touch around the rim/finishing I think Yvan clearly is superior in #4, mass/strength. He's *probably* better at #8. But #1, #2, #3, #5 and #9 probably favor Eduardo. The rest could go either way, we don't know. (Knowledge of system is a push because by the end of December, Eduardo should have closed the gap significantly enough that it wouldn't be a factor.) So, again, can you envision a scenario where Eduardo gives us advantages in enough of those areas that he could get the nod even as a true freshman? I think it's possible. I think it depends on what our needs are based on what we fill around him. We were so terrible at rebounding last year that, if Yvan was a far superior rebounder and we're still struggling on the boards, that factor alone could swing the decision making. On the other hand, we potentially have added length and rebounding up and down the roster such that we might need a 5 who is more of a rim-running shot blocker. Depends. Could go either way. But I don't think Yvan has enough of a lead that you'd use sharpie to write his name in the rotation over Eduardo.

According to the description, that was from a summer game played a year ago yesterday (5/11/19). Given the size of his opponents, I'm wondering if it was May of 2018 instead.

I wouldn't be so quick to write Andre off as an outside-the-rotation player. One thing that struck me about last year's team was how we needed that shot-blocking rim runner. He's that guy. Not sure how ready he is because there's so much we still don't know. But his competition for the rotation is a still-very-young Yvan Ouedraogo who, while beefy, isn't all that long or explosive, a juco transfer who weighs 205 lbs dripping wet, and a Tennessee transfer who wasn't in the rotation at Tennessee. I think there's at least an outside chance that a new guy like this, if he has some tools, has just as much of a chance to make the rotation as some of the other guys who also have holes in their game/abilities.

So, from the looks of things, our roster would now be pretty well set, no? Eligible players would be as follows: Thor Thorbjarnarson, 6'6 Sr. Kobe Webster, 6'0 Sr. Shamiel Stephenson, 6'6 Jr. Derrick Walker, 6'8 Jr. Teddy Allen, 6'5 Jr. Lat Mayen, 6'9 Jr. Akol Arop, 6'6 So. Yvan Ouedraogo, 6'7 So. Dalano Banton, 6'8 So. Eduardo Andre, 6'9 Fr. Potentially eligible additions would include: Kobe King, 6'4 Jr. Trey McGowens, 6'4 Jr. Sit-out transfer would be: Trevor Lakes, 6'7 Sr.

You have to sign up? Is it free or is it a pay thing?

For anyone who was thinking he didn't look like an explosive leaper, go to the 2:15 mark of the video above. It looks like he could touch 11 feet with both hands on that dunk.

Careful that you're not looking at his '16-'17 film when he would have been 15 yrs old. In the newer videos, I've seen him throw it down with relative ease. I like what I've seen from his hands, so far. He has a soft catch and the ball doesn't bounce off his mitts while he's trying to catch the dish or rebound.

If he's been playing basketball for 4 seasons and he started playing basketball when he was 15, that would make him 19 now, or a year OLDER than Yvan Ouedraogo. I can't find his DOB to confirm this, but I found highlights from the 16-17 season, which is 4 seasons ago. And he doesn't look in that video like he *just* started learning the game. So, is it possible our freshman center will be a year older than our sophomore center?

At first, I was like, WTF? But then I watched his film. After watching last season play out, I sure don't mind having an athletic long guy who can be your rim-running shot blocker. He doesn't need a lot of refined post skills at this point. By the way, this video (below) shows him knocking down a number of 3-pointers. And it's from 2017 when he was 9th grade or so?

Did someone say "batflips"?

Sorry, man. Premium content.

Someone locally who writes for a publication thinks it was the thing that flipped his commit from us to someone else. Used by the team who won his commit.

So, he's not exactly a rim-runner. He gets a kick-back pass on the secondary break and hits the three. OK. That's probably as good as beating your guy down the floor and getting a lob over the top for a dunk.

Just found the same video and almost duplicated your post, Jayschool. So, not overwhelming athleticism. BUT ... he has good hands and good feet and some post moves. Plus he moves reasonably well for a big, big guy. He may or may not be fast. He may or may not be explosive. But he's pretty fluid. And he's able to catch the ball while moving and, without having to pause and gather himself, go up and dunk. So ... not bad at all. I see a lot of skill that we could definitely benefit ... HOLY CRAP and then they get to the part where he's draining 3 pointers! SIGN THIS KID UP NOW.

One local sports reporter is apparently advancing the theory that another local sports reporter's recent coverage of Nebraska basketball (was used for negative recruiting purposes and) sabotaged our chances with Mr. Sanogo. Here's a hint: https://www.omaha.com/eedition/sunrise/articles/traditional-big-men-wont-be-big-part-of-hoibergs-formula/article_648f7a29-142f-5c9e-b04f-6bead3da4a27.html

Well, then, I'm pulling for Seton Hall.

Calling Sanogo a "nice piece" is a little bit damning with faint praise. He's more than a "nice piece." He's a top 50 player and we've never recruited one of those out of HS since the founding of Rivals. I wouldn't call him the "missing piece" either, because that implies we're set everywhere else. We're not. And he might not be a guy who can step out and nail the 3. But he's strong and long inside, with some solid athleticism for his size, and some ability to catch and finish. He's not as raw as Yvan offensively. And I think he's more explosive. I would see him as being our Day 1 starter. That's a lot more than just being a "nice piece." That's a player who could put a couple of Ls in the W column.