2013 6'9 C Isaiah Johnson commits to Akron

[Districtballer]

The big man from Cincinnati popped for the Zips today! Congratulations the Zips are putting together a nice class that addresses several needs! If I were a rival MAC fan I'd be worried about what Coach Dambrot has going on over there!

[ZachTheZip]

Had offers from Can't, Ohio, and Xavier.

[Quickzips]

A few weeks back B.J. Gladden, Aaron Jackson, Jack Gibbs and Isaiah Johnson were all spotted on campus for a visit during the opening night for the football team.

Today 3 of those 4 have committed to playing for the Zips.

If I were KD I would find out a minute by minute itinerary of what happened during those visits and make sure it is followed in painstaking detail every time a recruit comes to campus.

Great pickup for the Zips. With Zeke, Forsythe and now big Ike in the fold the Zips are set at C for the next 5 years.

Unless KD decides to over-recruit (which has been his MO the last few years) this should wrap up the 2013 class for Akron. Here is a look at our scholarships for 2013-14.

PG - Abreu

PG - Betancourt

SG - Ibitayo

SG - Justice

SG - McAdams

SF - Kretzer

SF - Gladden

SF - Jackson

PF - Harney

PF - Treadwell

PF - Egner

C - Forsythe

C - Johnson

[Dave in Green]

This is great news. From all I've been able to determine, Johnson was my first choice among the bigs who the Zips have been reported to offer. With "medium interest" from Boston College, Iowa, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Xavier, Johnson has been trending upward in recent months.

..... Unless KD decides to over-recruit (which has been his MO the last few years) .....

I guess I need a remedial lesson on this one. Could you please provide a little more detail about the specifics of KD's "over-recruiting."

[akronzips71]

This is great news. From all I've been able to determine, Johnson was my first choice among the bigs who the Zips have been reported to offer. With "medium interest" from Boston College, Iowa, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Xavier, Johnson has been trending upward in recent months.

I guess I need a remedial lesson on this one. Could you please provide a little more detail about the specifics of KD's "over-recruiting."

I think he means that people have left the program because there were no minutes available for them.

[Zipmeister]

This is great news. From all I've been able to determine, Johnson was my first choice among the bigs who the Zips have been reported to offer. With "medium interest" from Boston College, Iowa, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Xavier, Johnson has been trending upward in recent months.

I guess I need a remedial lesson on this one. Could you please provide a little more detail about the specifics of KD's "over-recruiting."

I think it has to do with previous speculation that KD would be looking over seas for bigs. If he was over there doing that wouldn't he be over recruiting?

[akronzips71]

6'9" 275

He is big.

Looking at the videos, he never dunks. At that size, he might not be able to get up that high!

No matter. That is one giant plug in the middle. And I bet he grows and inch or two as time goes on.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Certainly the best recruiting class I've seen from UA. Congrats to the staff on a phenomenal job.

[Blue & Gold]

Certainly the best recruiting class I've seen from UA. Congrats to the staff on a phenomenal job.

Agreed. For the Zips, this is an A+ recruiting effort.

When Jackson committed, I read a text from B.J. Gladden to Aaron Jackson congratulating him on joining him @ Akron and then he went on to say something to the effect, "now we've gotta get Jack & Big Ike to come."

Though our 3 available schollies are gone, I've got to wonder if KD & Co. are still recruiting Jack Gibbs?

[Dave in Green]

I think there's a pretty specific definition of over-signing in college sports. But I don't think there's one for over-recruiting. It could mean different things, and so requires a little explanation to understand the point being made. Quickzips is an astute observer of Zips basketball, so I'm interested in hearing more specifics from him when he checks back in here.

[Dave in Green]

I thought it was a little over the top that Kentucky might have interest in Isaiah Johnson for its one-and-done basketball team. Turns out that Johnson is also an offensive tackle on his HS football team, and 6-9, 275-pound offensive tackles do tend to catch the attention of the bigger college football teams.

Rivals.com Football

Rivals.com Basketball

[Big Zip]

I watched the videos of this guy too and he doesn't dunk at all. He does impose his will with his size on the court, but no dunking. I hope this doesn't put him in the soft category. I want a kid that size that comes in here and is fierce!

[Captain Kangaroo]

I watched the videos of this guy too and he doesn't dunk at all. He does impose his will with his size on the court, but no dunking. I hope this doesn't put him in the soft category. I want a kid that size that comes in here and is fierce!

Did you see his

? Dude looks plenty nasty to me.

[akronzips71]

Did you see his

? Dude looks plenty nasty to me.

He "looks" like he could have the size and skills to be an eventual pro prospect in FB. Interesting that he went for BB.

Remember in that film he is a junior. 16 years old.

[mivid12]

He "looks" like he could have the size and skills to be an eventual pro prospect in FB. Interesting that he went for BB.

Remember in that film he is a junior. 16 years old.

any recent info on a possible new arena btw?

[Quickzips]

I think there's a pretty specific definition of over-signing in college sports. But I don't think there's one for over-recruiting. It could mean different things, and so requires a little explanation to understand the point being made. Quickzips is an astute observer of Zips basketball, so I'm interested in hearing more specifics from him when he checks back in here.

Sorry to leave you hanging.

If you look back at the last few signing days starting with the 2010 class Dambrot has been recruiting at least 1 more player than he had expected scholarships to give (I base expected scholarships on number of players whose eligibility will run out at the end of the previous season).

In 2010 we signed Josh Egner, Dakotah Euton and Michael Green despite having only Jimmy Conyers and Chris McKinght completing their eligibility. This ended up being a very odd year because by the end of it Humpty Hitchens had left the program (opening up the third scholarship) as had Ronnie Steward and Alex Sullivan (which allowed us to bring in Quincy Diggs and Alex Abreu). As a side note, where would that class have been without Q and Rico? I shudder to think.

In 2011 we signed Blake Justice and Deji Ibitayo and also had Nick Harney and Demetrius Treadwell coming on scholarship. 2011 we didn't really over-sign as we had Steve McNees, Daryl Roberts, Brett McKnight and Mike Bardo completing their eligibility.

2012 signing day we signed Reggie McAdams, Jake Kretzer and Carmelo Betancourt despite having only two players on scholarship (Nik Cvetinovic and Brett McClanahan) who would be completing their eligibility. Now Michael Green left the program mid-season last year, which opened up the third scholarship we needed, but we were still over-committed as of signing day.

So 2 out of the last 3 years we have "over-recruited" (I apologize if I am not using the correct terminology here). At first I really wasn't in favor of it, but it is starting to make sense. With how deep this roster has been over the last few years, it is highly likely that we are going to continue to have players transferring out of the program because they are getting lost in the numbers game. In this case you have 3 options. 1 - Over-recruit on the assumption that someone is going to leave. 2 - Wait until someone leaves and try to pick up a diamond in the rough during the late signing period (pretty difficult to do). 3 - Bank the scholarship and use it the following season (leaves you open to being short handed if injuries hit).

[UAZipster0305]

Sorry to leave you hanging.

If you look back at the last few signing days starting with the 2010 class Dambrot has been recruiting at least 1 more player than he had expected scholarships to give (I base expected scholarships on number of players whose eligibility will run out at the end of the previous season).

In 2010 we signed Josh Egner, Dakotah Euton and Michael Green despite having only Jimmy Conyers and Chris McKinght completing their eligibility. This ended up being a very odd year because by the end of it Humpty Hitchens had left the program (opening up the third scholarship) as had Ronnie Steward and Alex Sullivan (which allowed us to bring in Quincy Diggs and Alex Abreu). As a side note, where would that class have been without Q and Rico? I shudder to think.

In 2011 we signed Blake Justice and Deji Ibitayo and also had Nick Harney and Demetrius Treadwell coming on scholarship. 2011 we didn't really over-sign as we had Steve McNees, Daryl Roberts, Brett McKnight and Mike Bardo completing their eligibility.

2012 signing day we signed Reggie McAdams, Jake Kretzer and Carmelo Betancourt despite having only two players on scholarship (Nik Cvetinovic and Brett McClanahan) who would be completing their eligibility. Now Michael Green left the program mid-season last year, which opened up the third scholarship we needed, but we were still over-committed as of signing day.

So 2 out of the last 3 years we have "over-recruited" (I apologize if I am not using the correct terminology here). At first I really wasn't in favor of it, but it is starting to make sense. With how deep this roster has been over the last few years, it is highly likely that we are going to continue to have players transferring out of the program because they are getting lost in the numbers game. In this case you have 3 options. 1 - Over-recruit on the assumption that someone is going to leave. 2 - Wait until someone leaves and try to pick up a diamond in the rough during the late signing period (pretty difficult to do). 3 - Bank the scholarship and use it the following season (leaves you open to being short handed if injuries hit).

I am in favor of this only if it's done without the intention of making roughly N players compete for (N-1) scholarships. That would be wrong. What I am wondering is, did those players leave because the writing was on the wall in that they wouldn't be on scholarship and wouldn't receive playing time or because they had other interests and priorities and KD was anticipating that this would happen? If the latter, kudos to KD. However, I'm not sure which is the cause and which is the effect.

Please feel free to share some insider light on this topic.

[Dave in Green]

QZ, I see what you mean now. Good observation. My first thought on this is that KD is intimately involved with all of the details of his program, while we have to look from the outside and analyze as best we can without having access to all the fine details. KD is not only a straight shooter, but beyond that he and his team are held to high standards by the UA administration. So whatever the reasons why the Zips temporarily end up with more players signed than scholarships available, they're likely to be legitimate.

For example, it may already be agreed upon and understood by everyone that a scholarship player is looking to transfer out of UA, and that an incoming player is penciled in for that scholarship as soon as the transfer occurs. It's also possible that a player who really wants to play for the Zips has parents who are well enough off that they're willing to foot the bill until a scholarship opens up. Also, a player with high grades might have access to other scholarships that would take up the slack of not immediately getting an athletic scholarship.

Whatever produced these two situations over the past three seasons, I don't see where any problems were created, and it appears as if everyone involved was OK with the results. I agree with you that as the Zips continue to attract more talented recruits each season, it makes sense that the team has to be better prepared to replace players who elect to leave the program.

[Z.I.P.]

So, are we going to "over-recruit" Jack Gibbs?

[Districtballer]

FWIW, Shaka has been doing similar with VCU over the last couple of seasons as well. We end up with 1 more guy than we have scholarships. We ended up having a kid take a medical hardship waiver after knee surgery with one guy, another JUCO who was academically ineligible after his first season, and another player transferred out for more PT.

There ended up being legitimate reasons for over signing and with Shaka coming from the Keith Dambrot school of coaching, I bet that KD's process is similar to Shaka's in that regard.

As the talent level is upped there in Akron, you're going to start recruiting players who all expect to play. There are X amount of minutes and Y number of players expecting Z number of minutes. Inevitably players will move on. The staff has to prepare for that. It'll keep the competition level in practices high and morale (which is just as important) at a high level. A locker room cancer can destroy a season for a basketball team.

[Dave in Green]

Getting back to Isaiah Johnson, he's a good enough HS offensive lineman to get football scholarship offers from Louisville (Big East) and Kentucky (SEC). Yet he chooses to play basketball for UA (MAC). I've searched the internet to try to find something that hints at his reasoning, but so far don't have anything.

What I have found is that Triple Double Prospects, which ranks Johnson the best HS basketball center in the Cincinnati area, describes him as a "throwback center who lives in the paint" and a "pure back to the basket scorer (who) has excellent strength and great touch around the rim", and that "for now looks like a mid-major recruit who could go higher if he continues to trim down and get quicker."

TripleDoubleProspects.com

I'm guessing that he looked at a future of either bulking up to 300+ pounds to be a big-time college offensive lineman or trimming down to become a quicker, more effective basketball center, and sees his future as a slimmer, more capable basketball center. When he's done with football and puts all of his focus on basketball later this year, we'll start to get more of an idea of what he can be.

His HS junior basketball stats aren't too shabby for an overweight center, though, especially that 62.1% FG average and double-digit scoring in all but one game plus double-digit rebounding in all but four games:

Isaiah Johnson Basketball Stats from Last Season

UPDATE: Now I'm wondering if Johnson has decided to give up his senior season of HS football to focus exclusively on basketball. He's no longer listed on the Walnut Hills HS football roster:

MaxPreps.com

And yet another clue: Cincinnati.com does not mention Johnson among its players to watch for Walnut Hills' 2012 season:

Cincinnati.com

And I guess this settles it. Cincinnati.com reports today that Johnson's HS basketball coach says "Johnson dropped 15 pounds within the last 30 days and is in the best shape he’s been in," and "Johnson is happy with his verbal commitment to Akron and said the Zips coaching staff outworked other schools during the summer in their recruiting efforts." He obviously would not be dropping 15 pounds over the last 30 days in the middle of the HS football season if he was playing football.

Cincinnati.com

This could turn into a major coup for the Zips.

[Quickzips]

I had no idea one little comment was going to cause such a stir around here.

Back to the topic at hand, I'm glad to see that Ike is dropping weight to get in basketball shape. 275 is pretty heavy, even for a guy who is 6'9". 250-260 would be a good playing weight for him in my mind.

I could honestly care less if he dunks the ball a lot or not. My bigger concern is whether or not he will be able to get up and down the floor. The Zips have been clearly recruiting for a faster more up-tempo team the last few years. Putting a guy in place who labors to get up and down the floor would be like putting a square peg in a round hole. Think Matt Stainbrook on last years squad instead of Zeke. Better yet, think Shaq with the Cavs.

In the end, I'm looking forward to seeing Ike in the blue and gold.

Now to distract us again. If, IF KD plans on over-recruiting this year, Jack Gibbs would certainly be a good addition. Although I'm also curious about this young man whom the Zips are reported as checking out at an open gym (along with a number of other schools) recently http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/re...lannigan-113736 . Either one would be a nice cherry on the top of what is already looking like one of the best recruiting classes in not only Zips history, but MAC history as well.

[akzipper]

I had no idea one little comment was going to cause such a stir around here.

Back to the topic at hand, I'm glad to see that Ike is dropping weight to get in basketball shape. 275 is pretty heavy, even for a guy who is 6'9". 250-260 would be a good playing weight for him in my mind.

I could honestly care less if he dunks the ball a lot or not. My bigger concern is whether or not he will be able to get up and down the floor. The Zips have been clearly recruiting for a faster more up-tempo team the last few years. Putting a guy in place who labors to get up and down the floor would be like putting a square peg in a round hole. Think Matt Stainbrook on last years squad instead of Zeke. Better yet, think Shaq with the Cavs.

In the end, I'm looking forward to seeing Ike in the blue and gold.

Now to distract us again. If, IF KD plans on over-recruiting this year, Jack Gibbs would certainly be a good addition. Although I'm also curious about this young man whom the Zips are reported as checking out at an open gym (along with a number of other schools) recently http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/re...lannigan-113736 . Either one would be a nice cherry on the top of what is already looking like one of the best recruiting classes in not only Zips history, but MAC history as well.

I would prefer Flannigan. Just looking at his offers, he would be a huge pickup.

[Class of 82]

I could honestly care less if he dunks the ball a lot or not. My bigger concern is whether or not he will be able to get up and down the floor. The Zips have been clearly recruiting for a faster more up-tempo team the last few years. Putting a guy in place who labors to get up and down the floor would be like putting a square peg in a round hole.

Amen.

[Dave in Green]

Flannigan has been on Wisconsin's radar for at least two years, and already has an offer from the Badgers. Guess who recruited him?

Coach (Lamont) Paris was very excited about using his Ohio connections to go after the higher-level players who would never have considered Akron.

Badger Basketball Board