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2023 Recruiting. Orig Post Updated Jan 1. ZERO Scholarships Currently Available. 34 Offers So Far (incl. Pryce Sandfort, Owen Freeman, Brock Harding)

I thought there was genuine mutual interest.

Sherman Dillard offered JQ on Oct 29, 2021 after an open gym.

He unofficially visited Iowa on Dec 21, 2021 for the SE Louisiana game. What happened after that is anyone's guess.

LBvnOV2q
It sounds like itā€™s more that we are in on better prospects.
 
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It sounds like itā€™s more that we are in on better prospects.

It's just interesting how quickly things change with recruiting.

JQ Roberts was considered a hot prospect; people on here wondered if Iowa could get him out of Bloomington, Indiana. Then, this summer, he suddenly wasn't a hot prospect.

When Duke offered JP Estrella on June 7 many on here thought "here we go again." Then JP canceled the Duke visit and suddenly hopes were high again (Iowa now has probably a better than 50/50 chance in landing him).
 
Free story from this morning on JP's visit to Syracuse. Unfortunately, it went very well.

"Their big message to me was that I'm one of their biggest priorities," Estrella said. "They want to do whatever they can to get me. I really appreciate that....They want me to play either the 5 man to help stretch the floor or a 4 man as another big that can run with them too because I can shoot the ball really well. They think I can mesh into that really well and mesh into their defense as well."

"My mom really liked hanging out with coach Boeheim's wife. My dad liked hanging out with coach Boeheim, Red and G-Mac, all of them. Cameron (younger brother) really enjoyed hanging out with the players too. So they all really enjoyed the visit too."


What is next for Estrella with four officials in the rearview mirror?

"I think right now I need to go home, digest it a little bit," Estrella said. "Talk with my family, talk with my coaches and see if I'm ready to set a date and just get this thing started."


 
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Free story from this morning on JP's visit to Syracuse. Unfortunately, it went very well.

"Their big message to me was that I'm one of their biggest priorities," Estrella said. "They want to do whatever they can to get me. I really appreciate that....They want me to play either the 5 man to help stretch the floor or a 4 man as another big that can run with them too because I can shoot the ball really well. They think I can mesh into that really well and mesh into their defense as well."

"My mom really liked hanging out with coach Boeheim's wife. My dad liked hanging out with coach Boeheim, Red and G-Mac, all of them. Cameron (younger brother) really enjoyed hanging out with the players too. So they all really enjoyed the visit too."


What is next for Estrella with four officials in the rearview mirror?

"I think right now I need to go home, digest it a little bit," Estrella said. "Talk with my family, talk with my coaches and see if I'm ready to set a date and just get this thing started."


Fine. Let his family hang with the Boeheims and be besties. Just so he decides to hang with the Hawkeyes! There is nothing about the Syracuse offense that we don't do better and wouldn't be a perfectly comfortable fit for JP.
 
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I hope JP doesnā€™t buy into the Syracuse hype. I lived there for 9 years. The town is crap and Boehiem isnā€™t adored at his country club, where folks know him. I get his parents would like him to be closer to home, but if he doesnā€™t go to Iowa for his sake I hope he goes somewhere other than the cuse.
 
The original post has been updated.

Iowa has 1 scholarship currently available for the 2023 Class.

Iowa has given out 31 offers for the 2023 class.
--14 of the 31 have visited Iowa City (5 Officially, 9 Unofficially).

3 have committed to Iowa.
12 have committed elsewhere.
16 are Undecided
 
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Fran offered TJ on Aug 27, 2020.

TJ officially visited Iowa City the weekend of Oct 8, 2021.

According to Rivals, Iowa is the first school he visited.

BABC Connection: TJ (2023), Dasonte Bowen (2022), Josh Ogundele (2020) & Iowa Assistant Coach Courtney Eldridge (1998) are all part of BABC (Boston Amateur Basketball Club).


pinHAyqJ
 
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Iowa makes top 5 for TJ Power

This is a really good story from today.

Boston College is the hometown school and was viewed as the early favorite before he blew up nationally.

What Iowa has going for it:

* ā€œCoach (Fran) McCaffery gives a lot of confidence to his players and they play a style I think would really enhance my game. The success they have had developing players into productive NBA players is intriguing to me.ā€

* Fran has been recruiting Power ā€œfor as long as anyoneā€, and TJ says ā€œthere is definitely that loyalty pieceā€ with the Hawkeyes. Power also has friends on the team and says he really enjoyed his visit.


The FULL Story:

 
Fran developing All Americans, a National Player of the Year, NBA players & winning a B1G championship are starting to pay some dividends.

This is a story on TJ Power from Rivals from yesterday.

Some excerpts:

Iowa: ā€œCoach (Fran) McCaffrey and I probably have the longest relationship out of all of the coaches I talk to, so I mean, thatā€™s my guy. He instills a lot of confidence in his players and they play really loose. They have a lot of success recently in the Big Ten and getting guys to the league, so I can kind of have it all there, too.ā€

Visits: ā€œI donā€™t (have any visits coming up). Iā€™ve visited all five of those schools, so I might go back out, but I really havenā€™t planned it out yet. Right now, I donā€™t really see myself getting back out anywhere, but obviously that can change.ā€

Decision timeline: ā€œIā€™m aiming for the end of September right now. I donā€™t have a date, but Iā€™d definitely say the end of September.ā€

RIVALS REACTION​

Powerā€™s list makes a ton of sense for all schools involved. He fits the playing style at all five programs and also has key relationships thrown in there along with the hometown angle. Duke and North Carolina have been coming hard after the four-star prospect, and itā€™ll be interesting to see if a Blue Blood can overcome the longer relationships in the end.

 
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We are right there for TJ Power. This is a story from today. Will @Ronman get out his bride's maid dress, again? Or will TJ come to Iowa to win @EvilMonkeyInTheCloset a National Championship?

Some excerpts:

Nobody has a firm grasp on where Power is headed as things stand. In fact, we here at Rivals donā€™t yet have the intel to feel confident making a FutureCast as Power himself seems to be sorting out the pecking order in his head.

Nevertheless, the buzz around Powerā€™s impending decision is growing, so why not attempt to sort through the noise, based on logic, whispers and vibes? It may be a race too close to call, but itā€™s certainly not too close to analyze.

Below, we rank Powerā€™s final five schools in order of their likelihood to land his pledge.


1. DUKE

Duke tops this list for a couple different reasons. First, Powerā€™s reaction to the offer brought on a break from his usually even-keel demeanor. The four-star forward is normally reserved and measured when discussing his recruitment but called the moment ā€œsurrealā€ before diving into how he grew up watching Duke play.

His actions support those words, as Power essentially rushed to visit Durham following this yearā€™s Peach Jam. There seems to be a sense of urgency when it comes to his relationship with the program, which is oftentimes an indicator.

Add in the fact that new head coach Jon Scheyer and company havenā€™t made a habit of missing on priority targets since taking over the program, and the Blue Devils seem like a decent enough bet to win out.


2. IOWA

Thereā€™s something to be said about Iowaā€™s ability to survive the onslaught of blueblood interest that took hold of Powerā€™s recruitment this summer. He visited campus back in October and has stayed in close contact with the staff since.

In a recent interview with Rivalsā€™ Travis Graf, Power made sure to point out the fact that his relationship with Fran McCafffey was older and stronger than his bond with the other coaches recruiting him. Even in the era of NIL, relationships matter. The rapport the Hawkeyes staff has built with the 6-foot-10 forward makes Iowa a serious contender.


3. NORTH CAROLINA

4. Virginia

5. Boston College


The FULL Story:

 
Thanks for sharing HH. Quite a bit to unpack here

1) I assume that this offer is contingent on Estrella/Power committing elsewhere, but not entirely sure what Franā€™s plan for him would be ??
2) Heā€™s listed as a center by Rivals, but if you look at his most recent highlights on Hudl, they list him as a SF
3) Kind of an interesting final four list of schools considering the amount and quality of offers that Rivals reports for him (and no ranking!). That said, all four are quality hoops programs
4) Looks like a high level of athleticism and shot blocking ability. Beyond that, I didnā€™t get much from his highlights
 

I had forgotten about Onyekachi Nzeh, who goes by Kachi. He was offer #19 out of the 31 total offers that Fran has given out for the 2023 class. Fran offered Kachi 11 months ago, on Sep 27, 2021.

Even though we officially have one scholarship remaining for this class, we probably have 2 more spots to fill.

JP Estrella appears headed to Tennessee.

Rivals has Iowa in a close race with Duke for TJ Power.

It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.
 
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Sean Miller, recently the Arizona coach, is now the coach at Xavierā€¦.he has a reputation for his recruiting ā€œabilitiesā€ and effectiveness in getting players.
 
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Sean Miller, recently the Arizona coach, is now the coach at Xavierā€¦.he has a reputation for his recruiting ā€œabilitiesā€ and effectiveness in getting players.

His planned visits:

* St. Louis: Aug 25
* VCU: Sep 2
* Xavier: was supposed to be Sep 16 but will be moved up to a sooner date
* Still figuring out a date for Iowa

A decision is expected in September or October
 
Rivals does not show him having taken ANY visits to ANY school yet (unofficial or official).

Video of him is hard to find.

Making his final 4 is interesting to say the least.
I believe he understands the pecking order...

If Estrella and Power both commit to Iowa he wouldn't have a commitable offer. He's waiting to see how things shake out as in a couple weeks the picture may be clearer.
 
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Went through most of Nzeh's hudl video tonight--dude is an athletic freak as others have mentioned. Most highlights were dunks and blocks, but he also has a nice baby hook in the post from both hands. Also saw him knock down a few 3s, so he does have some range--couldn't find stats so I'm not sure on percentages though. He averaged 20 & 13 last year and was first-team all PA Independent schools which also featured #1 overall '22 prospect Dereck Lively (Duke).
This past year was only the second year of basketball for him, and the first full-time. His mom was apparently a very good track runner in Nigeria where is family immigrated from--that was Kachi's primary sport up until this past year.
Also read an article from back in June where Kachi listed Iowa and SLU as the teams he was most in contact with, so it seems like Iowa's been keeping this one on the backburner for a while. Hopefully Iowa gets him on campus here next month--I think he's a very good developmental prospect.
 
This past year was only the second year of basketball for him, and the first full-time.....seems like Iowa's been keeping this one on the backburner for a while. Hopefully Iowa gets him on campus here next month--I think he's a very good developmental prospect.

Interesting info. Thanks.

I guess him only playing basketball for 2 years in the United States explains why:
* He doesn't have a junior highlights video

* Video highlights in general are hard to find (Rivals & its main competitor don't have any video highlights on his recruiting profile)

* He has yet to take a visit to ANY school (hasn't even taken an unofficial visit anywhere)

* Rivals doesn't have him ranked yet (another site gave him 3 stars)

I guess my only concern (and what sucks) is that he is not only a fall back prospect but he likely is a project with a lot of development yet to come. JP Estrella & TJ Power are ready to play B1G basketball. Not so sure about Kachi.

Oh, well. In Fran we Trust.

Here are those Hudl highlights if anyone is interested:

 
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