I don't get it. Is that him wearing the red shoe or what?
The post is of a picture posted on an instagram account by https://www.instagram.com/2_nasty_/. I'll give you 1 guess as to who @2_nasty_ is
Sorry, not yet. Decision should come soon though. 6'8" or 9" and 220. A banger type body with some D1 experience. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I saw a video of him practicing at the LKD center on his Instagram.
I dont think NMSU has any room left and they have plenty of bigs, and starting bigs at that. If we can't beat them out that would be pretty sad.
Looks like the Aggies got him. He would make 15 on their roster, how many are scholarship I don't know. It's not announced officially that I can see but he suddenly has NMSU on his twitter byline. Mike Peake, originally signed with Georgia in 2019, transferred to Austin Peay before last season. UTEP has lost out on several big men in the portal. Jans is a recruiting machine.
By my count that makes 20 (per verbal commits). Aggies go 2 deep already across the front line unless there is something I am missing. Not sure how he fits in at NMSU, but good luck to him then. His numbers at Austin Peay are ok for being a P5 downgrade. Any word on KK?
Sad indeed. Looks like your were right in questioning Golding and his staff recruiting abilities.
I agree. The right to question has been more than validated. I still think this is a 4 year process of continuous improvement, which will make recruiting easier from year to year. I think it is underestimated how difficult it is to recruit to a perennial less than mediocre team. Add to that, the perception from outsiders of EP doesn’t help.
They are definitely off to a tepid start, but to be fair I will see how the new guys look and give him at least a full recruiting cycle. A lot can play out in that time.
I was about to write something similar. Also, we need to give NMSU some credit too. They have made a lot of NCAAs and have a lot of conference championships, in between the last time UTEP had those. If you’re looking at NMSU vs UTEP from an independent perspective, it’s not that big a deal to lose recruits to them at the moment.
I agree that this should be an indication of how the current youth view the state of UTEP basketball. Then I remember that it wasn't even a year ago that Terry was bringing in former 4 star P5 transfers.
Neither Bieniemy nor Kennedy look like former 4 star players to me. Both lack solid all around games. If Golding can identify guys that can carry out his vision, I won’t care if they are 2 star guys or no star guys.
Exactly. Good coach AND good recruiting
Really, with the eye test, which guys have we had over the past 10 years that were 4 star recruits? Maybe J.Wash, Hunter, Artis and Lee Moore? Probably Williams too.
Nothing can really be in question this year, til we see how they play and fit with this team and then with a season under his belt next season we will have more of a sense at how well he'll recruit here and is abilities.
VH is the only guy I’d consider a 4 star using the eye test. Lee Moore maybe. Just was such a good finisher. JWash a high 3 imo. Artis a low 3…while here anyway. Williams a 3. Just my humble doesn’t-amount-to-shit opinion.
Agree. I know a lot of people here don't agree, but for some reason I think Onyema has the potential there to be pretty spectacular. I mean the kid is so explosive and is still growing. He reminds me a lot of a younger Robert Williams or Tchatchoua from Baylor
I am more optimistic than most of you seem to be about our status. I do agree that Bieniemy and Kennedy were very disappointing and we need upgrades drastically at those spots. I feel there's a decent chance that we might be pleasantly surprised at what could get from one our truly unknown bigs; Onyema, Sibley, Maring and Kalu plus Verhoeven's improvements offensively (Golding said he can be a scorer).
I’m extremely optimistic. I just think it’ll be a process. It won’t be overnight success, imo. Also, I wasn’t overly disappointed with Bieniemy or Kennedy. Just didn’t think they rose up to the 4 star status they each brought in with them. I think if they play to their strengths, and are held accountable to that, they’ll both help out a lot. Also think our front court will be more serviceable than most think. I liked Maring from the moment I saw his film. Would like to see Golding bring out the best in uber explosive Onyema, too.
Well WKU and NMSU are not there, so we have a chance!
Giffa is in the UTEP student directory but Kalu is not there yet.
