2015 G Khyri Thomas (Signed)

[Oldfan]

I don't think there is any argument that we lost out on pretty much all of our main 2015 targets before getting in on Stewart and Martin late in the process.

[R Jay]

I don't think there is any argument that we lost out on pretty much all of our main 2015 targets before getting in on Stewart and Martin late in the process.

And if Martin and Marlon succeed no one is going to remember the guys we didn't land in two or three years. Also, if you really think we're going to land all of our main targets, well then there's nothing I can do for you...
Isn't it a little early to start criticizing our class, since, you know, they haven't even stepped out onto the floor at CenturyLink?

[gtmoBlue]

Thomas is a high level player...Joel Francisco/Bossi have watched him and like his game.
He's a local - as LJay has said repeatedly - Jays have to protect the home turf.
At 6-3/6-4 he brings the height, athleticism, penetration/slashing to hoop skills we desire, plus has a decent pull up jumper and decent 3pt shot. What is there not to like?

[Chicagojayfan]

I don't think there is any argument that we lost out on pretty much all of our main 2015 targets before getting in on Stewart and Martin late in the process.

Patton jumped ahead of our top big recruit and we dumped Illikainen in order to take him (would you rather we would have stuck it out to take the guy we liked less because of his ranking?). We then would have been happy to take nobody instead of Martin, but when he popped up we grabbed him. Again you say we got in on Stewart and Martin late, but so what? One is probably a top 150 guy (maybe better considering how he's playing now), and Martin is a 6-8 wing who can shoot and drive and defend who had Va Tech and WVU offers and had dumped a pro contract in order to come to the states.. You may not like the style points, but that's a very good bunch.

We offered a lot of guys who we didn't have a realistic chance of getting because we wanted to get to know a lot of the coaches in those areas and because we had some decent depth coming in and wanted to only add people if they were of a certain level. You seem to think this is like recruiting in the Valley where we recruit someone a long time and hope to hold onto them as interest builds and where we target a few carefully selected guys (even then you probably didn't realize how many players had dismissed us without us making a report of it in a recruiting update). When you recruit with the big boys you make a lot of offers and a lot of times you miss, but you keep recruiting and you keep looking for your kind of guys:

this was '14:
http://espn.go.com/colleges/basketball/ ... age/offers
this was '15
http://espn.go.com/colleges/basketball/ ... age/offers

Part of what made '15 even more aggressive was that we just signed 2 top 100/150 guys AND got two top 50 transfers. We didn't need roster stuffers, we could swing for the fences and we did. We lost some, but in the end it's likely a top 50, a top 150 and a Euro player who dumped a pro contract to come here. That's a nice bunch.

compare to Nova's '13 class
http://espn.go.com/colleges/basketball/ ... age/offers

the guys they signed there were all within a hundred miles of home. They lost out on a ton of players, even on the higher ranked SF who they offered who was close to home and went to Syracuse instead.

Look at this class by Georgetown:
http://espn.go.com/colleges/basketball/ ... age/offers

You have to go way down the list to find the first guy they landed out of their offers.

Big programs often offer a lot of kids even though they are missing out on a ton also. It's part of the game at this level and likely an even bigger approach for us because we need to get out and meet a ton of new AAU coaches and HS coaches and introduce them to Creighton. We know we won't land many of the first recruits we target from those schools and AAU teams, but those contacts will be crucial moving forward.

Yeah, it sucks we lost out on some guys we liked, but it happens and you get over it. Instead of whining, I applaud our coaches for landing a class that brings in the kind of talent and athleticism we need.

[R Jay]

+1

[Paul Silas]

gtmo, in response to your question: There is nothing not to like about this kid. He appears to be the type of player we need to compete, and his addition would certainly be a great addition to our overall athleticism. But, if, as the Atty stated, it's academic questions keeping others from offering, does he really have a commitable offer from the Jays, or is it hinging on his scholastic progress?
The Kevin Ross debacle definitely will not be repeated by Creighton.

[R Jay]

gtmo, in response to your question: There is nothing not to like about this kid. He appears to be the type of player we need to compete, and his addition would certainly be a great addition to our overall athleticism. But, if, as the Atty stated, it's academic questions keeping others from offering, does he really have a commitable offer from the Jays, or is it hinging on his scholastic progress?
The Kevin Ross debacle definitely will not be repeated by Creighton.

I would think it's a conditional offer. If he can get and stay eligible, the offer stands.
We have a couple of other offers (or at least we did) to similar players like Marshawn Wilson and Sacar Anim, so it's clear we are going after a similar skill set, so if he's not eligible, I think we're going to get either one of the two previously mentioned, another freshmen, or a transfer.

[vivid_dude]

ESPN Insider ran a piece today titled "What we learned in the prep circuit." It listed the five best signees, two under-the-radar signees, and then the four BEST AVAILABLE PROSPECTS.

In that last category, Khyri Thomas made the top four, with Creighton being the only school mentioned. For what it's worth...

Khyri Thomas, Fork Union Military Academy
Thomas is similar to Michigan freshman Aubrey Dawkins -- who was under-recruited last year at New Hampton -- in that he’s a bigger, skilled guard who won’t do anything fancy to jump out at you, but is well suited to play within an offensive structure at the next level. Creighton is among his top suitors.

[Jeremyhauer]

I'm not sure what the status is here with Khyri. Most said both parties were interested and it was a matter of academics. The semester is over so I'm not sure where this leaves things. I've seen a couple tweets in the last week from @jucorecruiting where the Jays have been interested in a couple JUCO guards. Piv also mentioned in his chat that some coaches were visiting JUCOs. This makes me think that if something hasn't materialized by now with Khyri, it won't happen.

[ictjay]

Recruiting never stops. Jays might have 3 schollies available. Who knows. Never know what kind of talent you might stumble upon.