Iup basketball

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP has signed SG Denzel Kabasele (6'4", 185 lbs) from Miles Community College (JUCO).

He played 37 mpg as a sophomore this past season and shot 43.7 percent from outside while averaging 14.8 ppg. He also had 130 rebounds from the guard position. Big, physical guard.

Miles CC is in Montana. Kabasele is from Lancaster, Pa. It appears, among others, IUP beat out Millersville and West Chester for his services. He will have two years in Indiana.

[EyeoftheHawk]

Hopefully these guys who have stayed in these programs for 6-7 years (or, some combination of programs) are at least leaving with a four-year degree.

I saw Fite signed the latest Sleva (this one is a guard).

Goodness, how many are there?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

After a few years of seeing largely familiar lineups for many of the PSAC teams (extra Covid years, pre-transfer portal recruits, etc.), you really are going to need the program to know the personnel in the upcoming season.

Hopefully these guys who have stayed in these programs for 6-7 years (or, some combination of programs) are at least leaving with a four-year degree.

I saw Fite signed the latest Sleva (this one is a guard).

[Ship69]

Updated (known) roster as of May 17:

* Recently signed


Guards

Dallis Dillard
Jaylen Stewart
Garvin Clarke *
Anthony Watson *



Forwards

Ethan Porterfield
Gabriel Romero-Sanz *
Damir Brooks
Dolan Waldo



Unknown

KJ Rhodes (just graduated ... may not be staying)


Notes:

Expect another transfer guard to sign - possibly today. This is a player they went after very hard. They are also likely going to announce the signing of another power forward by the end of the week. From there, I'd suspect one more transfer guard and that should about max out the salary cap. The deep bench will then be filled in with some walk-ons.

Of the three signed recruits thus far, Clarke and Romero-Sanz are Day 1 starters. Watson will likely spend '23-'24 as the backup PG.

After a few years of seeing largely familiar lineups for many of the PSAC teams (extra Covid years, pre-transfer portal recruits, etc.), you really are going to need the program to know the personnel in the upcoming season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Updated (known) roster as of May 17:

* Recently signed


Guards

Dallis Dillard
Jaylen Stewart
Garvin Clarke *
Anthony Watson *



Forwards

Ethan Porterfield
Gabriel Romero-Sanz *
Damir Brooks
Dolan Waldo



Unknown

KJ Rhodes (just graduated ... may not be staying)


Notes:

Expect another transfer guard to sign - possibly today. This is a player they went after very hard. They are also likely going to announce the signing of another power forward by the end of the week. From there, I'd suspect one more transfer guard and that should about max out the salary cap. The deep bench will then be filled in with some walk-ons.

Of the three signed recruits thus far, Clarke and Romero-Sanz are Day 1 starters. Watson will likely spend '23-'24 as the backup PG.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP signed its transfer post player today. Appears to be a one-year guy (possibly two).


Gabriel Romero-Sanz (6'8", 220 lbs) played last year in England (Bracknell and Wokingham College). He went for 22 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals in the CBL Finals.

Joe should have some fun with this guy. He actually played a combination of guard and forward, and should pair very nicely with Ethan Porterfield.


The other (or, rather, next) transfer guard they are anticipating to sign is set to announce this week. There is also one other post player they are targeting.

He's putting together a pretty talented roster. Hopefully they are all here this summer to start playing together.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

We have the return to weekend tournaments at IUP this coming season.


Tip-off:

Concord (Opening Night)
Alderson Broaddus


Thanksgiving:

St. Thomas Aquinas
Frostburg State


As usual, Pitt-Johnstown will attend both.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The third transfer guard should be announced soon.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think the timeline works out, otherwise, it's just a coincidence: Gavin Clarke played his senior year of high school at Cleveland Heights HS, which is coached by former Celtics and St. Bonaventure player JR Bremer, who interned on Joe's staff a few seasons back.

That is probably not a coincidence.

[hawks16]

He's not a deep shooter, that's for sure. But, he's a very good rim attacker and defender. He was injured for a duration last year. I'd assume he's the new starting PG. Appears to be a pretty good addition.

I think the timeline works out, otherwise, it's just a coincidence: Gavin Clarke played his senior year of high school at Cleveland Heights HS, which is coached by former Celtics and St. Bonaventure player JR Bremer, who interned on Joe's staff a few seasons back.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It appears Greg Bearer has left IUP to join Lamberti's staff at Western Colorado.

Greg played at IUP and was a volunteer assistant this past season. He likely has a bright future ahead of him in the coaching industry.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not counting the walk-ons Joe will eventually add, there should be coin available for two more scholarship players.


I'd say ride out the BC3 train. Guard Kevaughn Price (JUCO All-American) and PF Jason Baker are still available (although both have many offers).

Price was the leading scorer in the country at the JUCO level for much of the season. He's a big, physical guard. He has offers from Walsh and West Chester (among others). Our old friend Ron Fudala also just offered him.

Baker is a legit 6'10" and led the country in blocked shots this past year. Very athletic. He can also handle the ball well and is very aggressive. He's also from nearby Vandergrift, which is about 30 minutes from the KCAC. He has several D2 offers including Slippery Rock and Fairmont State.

Joe has a very good relationship with the coach at BC3. These guys are both ready to play.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

According to Twitter, IUP has signed Garvin Clarke, a guard who played three years at Akron. His stat line, particularly the shooting percentage, doesn’t really excite, but maybe D2 is his true home. We’ll see.

Edit: Looking a little closer at the numbers it does appear he missed a chunk of time this season so he could’ve been dealing with an injury that hampered his play. I imagine this info is out there somewhere, I just don’t feel like diving that deep.

He's not a deep shooter, that's for sure. But, he's a very good rim attacker and defender. He was injured for a duration last year. I'd assume he's the new starting PG. Appears to be a pretty good addition.

[Chuck Norris]

According to Twitter, IUP has signed Garvin Clarke, a guard who played three years at Akron. His stat line, particularly the shooting percentage, doesn’t really excite, but maybe D2 is his true home. We’ll see.

Edit: Looking a little closer at the numbers it does appear he missed a chunk of time this season so he could’ve been dealing with an injury that hampered his play. I imagine this info is out there somewhere, I just don’t feel like diving that deep.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'm not disputing anything you say here, but if Joe's cleaning house like this, does that not fall on him in some capacity? He brought in these guys he's (supposedly) booting from the program. If 50% of your roster transfers because you make them, that's not exactly a great look currently on your recruiting or evaluation skills. And if you need to do that to try to land a big fish, that's a really, really risky lifestyle you are living in today's NIL and portal era.

I'm not being hard or critical of Joe. Having a down year was bound to happen regardless simply given the experience they had on this most recent roster and how graduation was going to hit them. But I'm also growing rapidly tired of the young players who could be helping the program and growing simply getting cast off and ultimately transferring, whether by their own choice or not.

Bathea had a ton of hype coming in. Was that overblown some? Perhaps. But was he that bad that they needed to give up on him in just one year. He was the first guy off the bench against Syracuse for goodness sake. Polce could shoot it and was an aggressive defender, but he was nowhere to be found down the stretch. Is Kyle Polce as good as Mathis Keita? No. But I'm not sure why he's gotten so against "role players."

Joe was surrounded by great assistants for years. Last year not so much. Fudala was their star recruiter for five years. He's long gone. I don't think Joe's done much actual recruiting the past 8-10 years. He's doing it now.

Bethea will likely come back to haunt them. Polce won't be that hard to replace. He had potential but was hurt (or in Joe's dog house) far too frequently.

Joe has money and a lot connections. Those are two very important items.

The lack of news is causing most of the panic. His returning core is still pretty good. If Ethan is actually healthy that is a major boost.