Raw athletic kid who reminds me of Tyler Cook. It has been awhile since we had a powerful, athletic glass cleaner on the floor. Unfortunately, he'll probably stay out East but he would be a great piece to add to our class
Dembele
- Thread starter GunnerHawk
- Start date
Some scuttlebutt out there that Dembele might be committing to the good guys soon.
Things are sounding pretty positive. Let’s wait and see what happens.
Here's a timeline on the New Jersey kid's recruitment:
Per his Rivals page, he visited Wake Forest Nov 4 and Rutgers unofficially on Nov 6. Another recruiting site confirmed this & wrote that he completed his unofficial visit to Rutgers on Nov 6.
He reportedly was scheduled to attend the Rutgers men’s basketball game yesterday, Saturday, Nov 12 and then was going to make his college choice over this weekend. So, if yesterday's visit happened, it was Ladji's 2nd visit to Rutgers in the last week.
Timing of offers:
Apr 12 Wake Forest
Oct 21 Iowa
Oct 25 Rutgers
Visits:
Oct 29, Iowa, official
Nov 4, Wake Forest, official
Nov 6, Rutgers, Unofficial
Nov 12, Rutgers (unclear if it happened)
Per his Rivals page, he visited Wake Forest Nov 4 and Rutgers unofficially on Nov 6. Another recruiting site confirmed this & wrote that he completed his unofficial visit to Rutgers on Nov 6.
He reportedly was scheduled to attend the Rutgers men’s basketball game yesterday, Saturday, Nov 12 and then was going to make his college choice over this weekend. So, if yesterday's visit happened, it was Ladji's 2nd visit to Rutgers in the last week.
Timing of offers:
Apr 12 Wake Forest
Oct 21 Iowa
Oct 25 Rutgers
Visits:
Oct 29, Iowa, official
Nov 4, Wake Forest, official
Nov 6, Rutgers, Unofficial
Nov 12, Rutgers (unclear if it happened)
Ladji just posted to his Instagram story that he is announcing his commitment on Tuesday night at 11pm central. He's deleted all of his instagram posts except for his Iowa and Wake visit photos. Take it for what that is.
Some other solid offers, so some other quality programs also want him. If Fran wants him, come on down!
His baby hook shot is money and he can face up and hit a jumper too. Plays physical, everything you want in a low post player these days. Wish he was a wee bit taller but he will do.
Tyler Cook was a 4 star with offers from Kansas, Michigan, and anywhere else he wanted to go. He was also 30 lbs heavier than this kid, who is a zero star without the offer (or does Rutgers count as a basketball powerhouse now?). I get needing to hear some good news on the recruiting front, it’s been ages, but this is a stretch.
It has not been ages. We just signed 3 very good players. I don’t believe cook was 30 lbs heavier than Dembele, and they have different games. Dembele for example is a much better shooter than Tyler. Not as highly rated, that’s true. I guess I have a lot of faith in Fran knowing talent when he sees it. Not a stretch at all.
Rutgers, Xavier, Wake Forest ,Seton Hall and DePaul are all good offers. Would love to see Ladji become a Hawk !
Iowa needs another post player. Hopefully can get one in the Portal. Looks as if the NIL game needs to step up.
Suggest that you get a clue before posting next time.
As of now, I don't see any recruiting site forecasting him to either Wake Forest or Iowa.
Here are some highlights from a year ago. He uses both hands well & can nail the 3 point shot.
One thing I will give you credit for is your consistency to post wrong/misleading information in order to be as negative as possible and make Iowa look worse.
First of all, Cook did not have a Michigan offer.
Second of all, Dembele is a 3 Star with an 88 Rating and reporting Offers from Iowa, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Depaul, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, and Xavier. And while Rutgers is not a powerhouse, they are a Big Ten School and the other teams offering are mostly (at worst) solid basketball programs.
Third, Cook couldn't go anywhere he wanted. He had good offers definitely but it wasn't like he was a 5 Star that could just pick his spot.
The only thing you got right was that Cook is higher rated (of course you misled that there was quite a bit difference in their rating when there isn't) and was probably not as raw as Dembele.
Here are 3 more video clips from this summer. He scores from all 3 levels and runs the floor well.
LINK:
https://www.thehoophustle.com/news_article/show/1234800
LINK:
https://www.thehoophustle.com/news_article/show/1234800
Cook was listed at 240 out of HS, Dembele is listed at 230. The rest has been hit by others
Tyler was only 10 lbs heavier. Ladji also has offers from Pitt, Xavier, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, Rutgers and DePaul.
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I'll give you one thing - you're consistent. Consistently negative and misleading.
Thanks for the info and tapes Fran. I think Dembele would be a very good addition, especially given the uncertainty of JoshO and Mulvey's development. We need another interior player with some muscle, and I like that Fran isn't waiting, if he can get him.
Dembele doesn't have WOW skills, but brings a lot to complement the highly skilled players in the rest of Iowa's rotation. Hard to judge height, but looking at the tapes, I would guess he is 6-7-6-8 ish, and very well put together for a kid. He could be scary after a couple of years of weight training. He moves pretty well for his size... Based on the tapes, I think he has some things he will need to improve. He will need to learn to use both hands more to score around the basket in the B1G, and he seems to have a slow release on his outside shot.
Dembele doesn't have WOW skills, but brings a lot to complement the highly skilled players in the rest of Iowa's rotation. Hard to judge height, but looking at the tapes, I would guess he is 6-7-6-8 ish, and very well put together for a kid. He could be scary after a couple of years of weight training. He moves pretty well for his size... Based on the tapes, I think he has some things he will need to improve. He will need to learn to use both hands more to score around the basket in the B1G, and he seems to have a slow release on his outside shot.
I am fine with Fran trying to bring in some strong/athletic Forwards that will hopefully rebound and play physical D. In fact, I hope that is the one thing he goes for in the portal next year.
Sounds like Freeman, Sandfort, and Harding are all highly skilled players in the mold that Fran likes and I am not going to be worried in Iowa continuing to score and be multi-dimensional offensively even after this year. But they do need some bigger bodies that will be able to bang, rebound, and defend, especially with losing Murray and Rebraca next year.
Explain why Fran is trying to recruit another big in the class of 23. Next years team will have fan favorite 6-10 Josh Ogundele, whipping boy 6-11 Riley Mulvey and incoming recruit 6-11 Owen Freeman, plus Iowa will still have on their roster 6-10 Patrick McCaffery and 6-8 Payton Sandford.
Why does Iowa want to recruit a player that is going to be another project that will probably be a fixture on the bench for at least 2 years.
To me, waiting until the 24 class to add to the roster with 6-8 Cooper Koch makes more sense, evening out the classes, maybe bring in some one that doesn't need to be seasoned for 2 years before seeing the floor. Just don't understand.
Why does Iowa want to recruit a player that is going to be another project that will probably be a fixture on the bench for at least 2 years.
To me, waiting until the 24 class to add to the roster with 6-8 Cooper Koch makes more sense, evening out the classes, maybe bring in some one that doesn't need to be seasoned for 2 years before seeing the floor. Just don't understand.
You’re calling a child you don’t know a “weird dude” on the internet because of the timing of his announcement?Midnight Eastern announcement. Weird dude. All the online chatter points to Iowa. Thus he'll pick Wake Forest.. Honestly have no idea. Only sure it's between Iowa and Wake.
Yes yes I am. Nothing wrong with being weird. Aren't we all.
Well, we have one open scholarship right now but we all anticipate losing Kris early to the NBA Draft. Kris, at 6'9 out, Ladji, at 6'8, in.
And Ogundele & Mulvey are still only playing limited minutes so we have a "big" need.
Where things stand now:
2023-2024 Roster (12 on Scholarship; 1 scholarship available):
FRESHMEN: 3 players
6"10" C Owen Freeman
6'0" PG Brock Harding
6'7" SF Pryce Sandfort
SOPHOMORES: 2 players
6'3" PG Dasonte Bowen
6'5" SG Josh Dix
JUNIORS: 2 players
6'7" F Payton Sandfort
6'11" C Riley Mulvey
SENIORS: 5 players
6'4" G Tony Perkins
6'2" G Ahron Ulis
6'8" F Kris Murray
6'9" SF Patrick McCaffery
6'11" C Josh Ogundele
4 Notable Walk on players:
SENIORS: 1 player
Dante Eldridge (assistant coach Courtney Eldridge's son)--has played 2 years (through 2022) in college, first at William Penn & then Kirkwood CC; a 5'9"combo guard; on May 5, 2022, it was announced that he would be joining the Iowa roster as a walk on.
JUNIORS: 1 player
Luc Laketa--a 2021 6'6" wing/forward; on May 13, 2021, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on.
SOPHOMORES: 2 players
Carter Kingsbury--a 2021 6'5", 230 lb shooting guard; on July 10, 2021, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on. Carter ended up redshirting the 2021-2022 season so he is now scheduled to graduate in 2026.
Amarion Nimmers--a 2022 6'3" combo guard; on April 30, 2022, it was announced he would be joining the roster as a preferred walk on.
As Jerry Van Dyke used to say “I resemble that remark!”
If you have been watching, Patrick and Payton are NOT interior players. Height is not a good indicator. So far, Obundele and Mulvey have shown very little. I hope that changes, but Fran knows better than you and me. Right now, we have a true freshman to play the interior positions next year. IMO, if you get the chance to add a player like Dembele, when you have a scholarship available and you and other good coaches like, you should grab him.
I can confirm the scuttlebutt.
If you'll click on the link to Tyler's Rivals profile (posted by Franisdaman in this thread), it shows that he did indeed have a Michigan offer.
I went off 247 and they did not report an offer.
If he did, my apologies.
Regardless, as usual his overall comparison and statement was at best, misleading.
I think the simple answer is that Fran isn't sure he will be able to count on either Ogundele or Mulvey next year. And as others have noted, P-Mac and Sandfort are not really interior players. It makes sense to bring in another athletic interior option.
Besides that, "evening out the classes" never really works out. It's always better to bring in talent. The scholarships have a way of opening up.
A lot of times when recruits announce their commitment at an atypical time, it’s because that time has special significance in their family. For example, it’s been done in the past to honor a family member who has passed on.
How about we wait to hear the reasoning behind it before we decide this kid is a “weird dude.”
I guess if we don't have Frank Garza developing our big men, we're in trouble. SMH.
from the highlights, seems he has a nice midrange game and high release on his shot. doesn't have super athleticism from what i saw but preferred to use a sweeping hook around the basket. which is fine by me, i'd rather see someone who knows how to use the glass and a soft touch to someone who throws down thunder dunks but can't make anything outside of 3 feet. seems to go about his business, no showboating. didn't notice any evidence that he's a glass cleaner and that's my biggest gripe for fran's teams... they usually don't have a reliable, aggressive rebounder.
