I went early to my high school's sectional game against Kenmore tonight. We watched the entire St. V vs. Northwest game. I was wondering who the recruit is that we are recruiting because if it's Jakarr Sampson, we're set. That guy can flat out play. He's 6'8 with long arms, but an athletic body. He's only a Jr., but he's making a difference all by himself on a team that's full of difference makers. He drove baseline and dunked with 2 hands over 3 defenders! He's AWESOME! If anyone can confirm if we're recruiting him, please reply.

That's him. Sampson's the boy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll stay home & represent. He's exactly the type of player we need.

OH MY GOSH YES! What a player. He could go to a BCS school and make a difference IMO. The best part is he's only a Jr.

Sign him, help him test out by thursday, skip his senior year/rest of this year, and throw him in the lineup.

Landing Sampson is a pipedream. Mainly because he's going to be able to pick just about whoever he wants. Secondly, he's not a true hometown kid. He lives in Cuyahoga County (Solon). He just happens to attend high school in Akron.

damn, cuyahoga county? we are gonna have to fight against cuyahoga community college for him. might as well stop recruiting now. im hoping he has a sub par senior year, that way it may turn some of the big schools off of him.

Wonder if he knows or has any ties with CJ Oldham.

Akron has offered Jakarr, so has Xavier & Dayton

CCC has had a player bigger than anything UA has ever had.

I am hoping that he continues the trend of basketball layers from his high school who stay in the area to make a difference.

Sampson also has offers from Cincinnati, Michigan State, and Ohio State. He will likely get more at the end of the season.

Way to completely miss the point. The kid is going to have dozens of high major offers. I think a lot of people are holding out hope that he will stay "home" ala Romeo, Dru, Wood because he's an Akron kid. Well, he's not. He's from Solon. Staying "home" for him could be Cleveland State. Obviously, being at St. V doesn't hurt, but I question how much of an affinity he has for Akron or the University of Akron not growing up down here.

If Sampson was from, say, Firestone Park or the West side, then maybe Akron would have a slim chance.

Dambrot has to recruit Sampson. He'd be a fool not to. But it is so much of a longshot to land him, I'm not getting my hopes up.

Ziptrumpet,

Never thought about that, but he and Oldham would've been teammates Sampson's freshman year. FWIW, I'm pretty sure Ohio freshman Reggie Keeley was also on that team. I think Sampson and Keeley transferred out (Keeley to Cleveland Heights) following that season.

i know, ben wallace. it was just a joke haha

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damn, cuyahoga county? we are gonna have to fight against cuyahoga community college for him. might as well stop recruiting now. im hoping he has a sub par senior year, that way it may turn some of the big schools off of him.
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Staying "home" for him could be Cleveland State. Obviously, being at St. V doesn't hurt, but I question how much of an affinity he has for Akron or the University of Akron not growing up down here.

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well maybe we will get lucky and Lebron will go down there and talk to him about going to UA

I don't think Lebron is allowed to do anything like that, until a recruit signs with UA. I thought I heard that when we were recruiting Zeke....and it seems as if Lebron has been spending most of his time with Kentucky nowadays anyway.

LeBron has his own problems to worry about. Let Dambrot and his staff worry about recruiting for Akron and let LeBron worry about making the impossible a reality (a major sports championship in Cleveland).

true but I don't see Lebron winning a championship in his last year in cleveland...the Browns on the other hand will win the super bowl this year for sure

Are you feeling ok? Spiking a fever? Maybe having a stroke?

haha I was being sarcastic NO cleveland team will ever win another championship! the sad part is I'm beginning to think the curse has spread to Akron

My response: Akron Aeros

I'm sorry I guess you are right, I really do not pay attention to them since I'm not an Akron native and tend to root for my hometown Erie Seawolves haha...but I guess I was just referring to the Akron Zips being part of the curse more specifically,

My response: Akron Zips Basketball (it has been less than a year, hasn't it?)

The way I see it Akron winning the MAC is no different than the Browns or Indians getting division championships. I mean we lost in the first round of the tourney, not a big deal really. If we made it to the sweet sixteen or something I'd say the curse doesn't apply to us, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Soccer might be the only exception to the curse seeing as we were ranked #1 and made it to the national championship, but still choked at the end.

Well, then I guess every team that's ever lost in a national championship, especially those that showed themselves better than their opponent, "choked".

No but our soccer team technically didn't "choke". One player may have choked but to say the team choked when they played such good soccer and still lost is wrong.

I'm at the Buchtel v Marlington playoff game. St.V/M plays Kenmore next.

Looking over @ St.V/M, man, Jakarr is a man among boys. Watching him walk by blew me away. He's definitely got a big-time frame. As far as the eyeball-test goes, he's probably the best looking high school player I've seen since Raymar Morgan. Definitely a physical specimen. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of game he has.

We'll I just look at our soccer team as the same as the Patriots of 2007. Like the patriots we went undefeated all season and lost in the championship. Don't get me wrong I was happy the zips made it as far as they did but. ask anyone about the patriots of 07 and I'm sure they'd say they choked. That's all I'm saying...

I could be wrong, but I believe I see both Matt Futch and Willie McGee's older brother assistant coaching for St.V/M. Man, if there's any school with an inside track to signing JaKarr it's the Zips.

JaKarr is just as tall as Futch (they're eye to eye as they just gave each other a 'man-hug'). But he looks about 150 lbs less than Futch. Lol.

JaKarr had 3 powerful dunks in the first quarter.

Kenmore's Hearn brothers are great players also though. Lightning quick!

2011 Recruiting Class (hopefully) replacing McNees, Roberts, Brett McKnight and Bardo

Dylan Ennis: 6'0" PG-Lake Forest Academy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLm2RlOYztU

Jakarr Sampson: 6'7" SF-Akron St. Vincent St. Mary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHd5UFNchcg
Keep an eye out at 2:06 for his steal and breakaway layup if you want a real pretty play.

Markus Crider: 6'6" SF-Wayne High School-Huber Heights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0SAOYYHK1Y

Traevon Jackson: 6'2" SG-Westerville South
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HmKnp1UxAM

Athleticism problem solved. And btw, these are all players with reported offers from the Zips. Ennis is already verbally committed.

I think you might be leaving out Perry henry from your predictions.

Wow, JaKarr is an absolute dunking machine; one of those players who wants to humiliate you by posterizing you. Wow. If I might be so bold as to critique his game, he does need to work on his post moves. But he can handle the ball & runs the floor like a guard. What a player.

And, btw, Antonio Hearn is one of the best little point guards I've seen in quite a while - not that I watch a ton of high school basketball - and he's only a sophomore! Reminds me of Antwan Lavendar.

I saw more dunks tonight than I've ever seen in a high school game - and all by a single player... JaKarr Sampson.

But my hero for the night is Kenmore 5'8" PG Antonio Hearn - best all-around player on the floor. He almost led Kenmore to the come-from-behind upset win. And he's only a SOPHOMORE!

c'mon man three out of four of them have 4-stars! haha I would be happy with 2/4 on that list, but even just getting that would be a stretch

Seriously though, I think if somehow by the grace of God we go this recruiting class NO ONE in the MAC would even have a chance against us, especially with the classes of 2009 and 2010 being on the team too. This class would rock the college basketball world, but still we are only dreaming

I have only seen one of the three rated at 4 stars and that is Sampson. Crider and Jackson are both generally looked at as 2 or 3 star players, which isn't bad. Still, I think we are realistically in the race for all 3 of them. Sampson would clearly be the biggest steal if we could land him, but I am actually most intrigued by Crider. The kid reminds me a lot of Conyers with a little more developed game offensively.

As for the comment about Henry, I couldn't find a youtube video of him, hence I left him off the list in favor of Jackson. I really think we will need a SG or two out of this class as we will be losing Roberts and McNees. I would like to grab up a guy like Henry, Jackson or Remy Abell from Kentucky who is in the 6'3" to 6'5" range. IMO that is the biggest thing we are lacking on this team is some size at the guard positions. Ennis will help out being a PG who I see listed anywhere from 6'0" to 6'2" with athletic ability to spare.

Even if we don't get some of these guys, there is still plenty of talent on our radar for this recruiting class. Anton Grady, the 6'8" PF from Cleveland Central Catholic would look very nice in blue and gold. Stevie Taylor from Gahanna Lincoln is a bit on the small side but all the reports say he has mad PG skills. Crider's teamate PG Travis Trice. The aforementioned Henry and Abell.

Akron was probably there to watch a # of players, however I believe assistant Coach Lamont Paris has developed a good relationship with JaKarr and his mother. I read where JaKarr has been offered by Mich St. and Ohio St. So, needless to say it will be a challenge to land a player like JaKarr. But, I believe Coach Paris was responsible for bringing in the likes of Jimmy Conyers, Nate Linhart, Steve McNees, etc. Akron should have a legitimate shot at landing JaKarr. Quietly, Coach Paris has been at the heart of Akron's recruiting efforts!

Any thoughts?

I am hopeful. Lamont has been with Dambrot from the beginning. While it is somewhat of a long shot, the guy is at least coming to games which is a good sign.

I expect a very good 2011 recruiting class from the Zips regardless of whether or not we land Jakkar. IMO, Sampson would be the giant cherry on top. I am more hopeful after reading that Coach Paris has a working relationship with the Sampson's. Recruiting is so much about building relationships with kids and their families within the limited guidelines of the NCAA rules. If our top recruiter has a good relationship with a kid it will go a long way. This is nothing close to a lock, but I would say our chances have to go up with this kind of information.

I actually was playing against Jakarr last night....he is going to be a senior next year IIRC...

With that said...he needs a lot of work. He would need a lot of time if he wanted to contribute to a Big Ten team. He is rail thin, can't do much but dunk, but he is super athletic. He has the potential to be a very good player. Get a little bit bigger, add a mid-range jump shot and some post moves. Depending on how much he gets better over the next year, I really feel like he should be playing at a Horizon, Atlantic 10, CUSA type level. I think Akron would be a great school for him to shine. I remember playing against Raymar Morgan and saying the kid was ready, no doubt about it. I def do not get the feeling with this kid. I have a feeling if he goes big ten you may not hear about this kid again except for being a role player, situational starter his last two years in school. But then again, I have seen kids with that kind of potential just blow up once they get real coaching and trainers.

"Jakarr Sampson says Xavier leads Cincinnati, Dayton, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Tennessee. At this point the Volunteers and Wildcats haven't offered."

http://georgiatech.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1073478

Jakarr Sampson leaving St V.

What were his grades like? Was he in danger of being a non-qualifier? All I can think to say is, at least he didn't take his talent to South Beach, that would be formulaic.

It was highly unlikely that he was going to qualify.

Personally,I love the fact that Sampson left. Joyce talks about the kid being recruited to play there. That's like the pot calling the kettle black.

He just verballed to St. Johns.

Correct. I read the Sports Illustrated article last week about Steve Lavin's St John's turnaround and they mention Jakarr among six top-100 players joining next year. So he must be academically qualified.