Originally Posted by
theprofessor
We're in a tough spot. A lot of the good players that we want to sign have their eyes elsewhere, while a lot of the players who want to come to Tech aren't quite good enough to play at this level.
Just looking at the past three recruiting classes, here are Louisiana guys who we offered and where they signed:
Class of 2015
Brandon Sampson, 6-4, 180, SG, Madison Prep: Signed with LSU. The consensus top player in the state, he had offers from UCLA, Arizona, Louisville, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and many more. Became a full-time starter as a sophomore, when he averaged 11.6 points per game. Projected as the Tigers' best player this season.
Jacob Evans, 6-5, 200, SG, St. Michael's: Signed with Cincy. Also had offers from us, Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky, UTEP, Tulsa and Houston. Was an immediate impact player, averaging 8.4 points and 4.1 boards per game as a freshman. Became one of the top all-around players in the conference as a sophomore, averaging 13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Melvin Frazier, 6-4, 185, SF, Higgins: Signed with Tulane. We offered, but so did LSU, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Memphis and others. Emerged as a full-time starter as a sophomore, averaging 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 30 minutes per game. Led the American Athletic Conference with 1.9 steals per game.
Von Julien, 6-0, 180, PG, Riverside: Signed with Tulane, transferred to Southeastern. Had offers from NSU, Youngstown State and Old Dominion. We didn't offer. Started 16 games as a freshman, averaging 3 points and 2 assists, but saw his playing time dip last season before transferring.
Chad Lott, 6-3, 175, PG, Byrd: Signed with Rice. Transferred to Howard. Lott was a huge recruit, entering his junior year as the No. 1 player in the class. Had offers from Oklahoma, Arizona State, Baylor, Texas Tech, Creighton, LSU and many others, including Tech. Interest dipped before his senior season, and he ultimately signed with Rice. Battled injuries for two years in Houston, averaging 5.8 points in just under 20 minutes per game as a sophomore. Became one of six Rice transfers when coach Mike Rhoades left for VCU.
Christion Thompson, 6-4, 200, SG, Madison Prep: Signed with Rhode Island. We offered, along with Mississippi State. Hasn't averaged more than 4 points per game in two seasons as a reserve. Saw his playing time decrease from 18 minutes per game as a freshman to 10 minutes per game last year.
Jordan Andrews, 6-4, 165, SG, Riverside: Signed with Youngstown State, transferred to South Alabama. Had offers from ULM, Arkansas State, Southeastern, among others. We didn't offer out of high school. Averaged 7.8 ppg and was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team while setting a school freshman record with 50 3-pointers. Sat out last season as a transfer.
LaMarcus Lee, 6-2, 165, SG, Scotlandville: Signed with UT-Chatanooga. Was granted a release after Will Wade left for VCU. Went to Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Has offers from Southern, ULM, Tenn. Tech, Southern Utah and New Mexico State. We didn't offer out of high school or JUCO. Averaged 15.6 points per game last season as a redshirt freshman.
Class of 2016
DeJon Jarreau, 6-5, PG, McDonogh 35: Signed with UMass, transferred after one season, verbally committed to Houston. The top recruit in the state, Jarreau signed with his good buddy and high school/AAU teammate Brison Gresham. We were one of 30 offers, including such powerhouses as Florida, LSU and Oklahoma. Started all but 6 games and averaged 9.8 points and 4.5 assists per game last year.
Robert Williams, 6-9, PF, North Caddo: Signed with Texas A&M. Averaged 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, and is a possible lottery pick after this season.
Lamar Peters, 6-0, 165, PG, Landry-Walker: My pick as the top player in Louisiana in the 2016 class signed with Mississippi State. We didn't offer, and I have no clue why. Second on team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and assists (3.5 apg) while starting 17 games.
Brison Gresham, 6-9, 210, PF, McDonogh 35: Signed with UMass, transferred after one year, committed to Houston. Came off the bench in 28 games to score 3.3 points with 3.2 rebounds per game. Like Jarreau, he had offers from many of the top programs in the country.
Wayde Sims, 6-6, 210, PF, University Lab: Signed with LSU. He was always staying home in Baton Rouge as the son of LSU legend Wayne Sims. Averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a freshman.
Malik Crowfield, 6-4, 175, SG, Riverside: Signed with VCU. LSU, Baylor and ULL all offered, but we didn't. Averaged 10 minutes per game off the bench on a deep team that had 10 players play in at least 33 games.
Mike Layssard, 6-9, 270, PF, Northwood-Lena: Signed with Rhode Island. Big Mike had some big-time offers like Mississippi State, Wichita State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. We offered, but he went way north to play for Danny Hurley. Played in just 8 games as a reserve last season.
Adrio Bailey, 6-7, 215, SF, Lakeview: Signed with Arkansas. Had 16 offers and chose Arkansas over us, Texas Tech and Murray State. Played in 27 games, but averaged just 7.4 minutes per game.
Herb McGee, 6-2, 175, PG, Riverside: Signed with South Alabama. Had offers from ULL, Tulane, Southeastern, Houston, UTEP and Richmond. We didn't offer. Averaged 3.6 points in 18.7 minutes off the bench.
Jalen Johnson, 6-7, 190, SF, University Lab: Signed with St. Louis. Had offers from Southern Miss, UTEP, Tulane, FIU, Southeastern and Southern. We didn't offer. Averaged 7.5 points per game in 24 minutes as a part-time starter.
Class of 2017
Brandon Rachal, 6-5, SF, Natch. Central: Signed with LSU. Had 16 offers, including some top teams in the country. He's perhaps the top player in Louisiana in this class. We offered but didn't make his top 10.
Josh Anderson, 6-5, SG, Madison Prep: Signed with Western Kentucky. We were his first offer, but he chose to head to Western Kentucky with Mitchell Robinson.
Galen Alexander, 6-5, SF, Lafayette Christian: Signed with LSU. Again, we were his first offer. But he blew up the next summer with offers from Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, USC and many more.
Cedric Russell, 6-3, SG, Peabody: Signed with ULL. Offers from LSU, Baylor, N.C. State, Louisiana Tech. Committed to LSU as a sophomore. His development and recruiting sagged. He liked Tech, but we took our final commitment a week before he was supposed to come on his official visit. ULL was his only committable offer at the end of the day.
Joseph Thompson, 6-7, PF, Bonnabel: Signed with South Alabama. Offers from Richmond, Tulane, CSU-Bakersfield, Illinois-Chicago. We didn't offer.
Larry Owens, 6-8, PF, Carroll: Signed with Northwestern State. We offered him the same weekend we offered all of the studs in Louisiana after their sophomore season. His only other offers were ULM and NSU. We backed off as he struggled academically. I heard he was headed to a JUCO, but he ultimately qualified late and signed with NSU.
