Blue & Gold Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 We'd expressed interest in LePear and may have offered a scholarship, even though I know we didn't have any scholarships left to give out this year. He's going to prep school. Maybe a player to keep an eye on for next year's 2017 class? http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/20160511/mckinleys-lepear-toles-to-go-prep-school-route/?Start=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted December 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Though I'm still bitterly disappointed we didn't sign Jayvon Graves, if we're looking to add another guard, this is the guy I'd hope we're going after HARD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 We have a much bigger need for another big center. If we add another guy it probably won't be a guard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 59 minutes ago, Hilltopper said: We have a much bigger need for another big center. If we add another guy it probably won't be a guard. Even if we get a big center, we'll be incredibly small next year. If no big is available, hopefully we can find a Jeremiah Wood-type power forward that can rebound like a center. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said: If no big is available, hopefully we can find a Jeremiah Wood-type power forward that can rebound like a center. Maybe Hughes develops into this type of a power forward? Edit - that would leave us without a center, JZ84 you dummy! Edited December 16, 2016 by johnnyzip84 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted December 21, 2016 Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 On 12/16/2016 at 5:32 AM, Hilltopper said: We have a much bigger need for another big center. If we add another guy it probably won't be a guard. See my post on Dylan Swingle. But he's class of 2018. Worth waiting for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted December 27, 2016 Report Share Posted December 27, 2016 I can't think of a time during the Dambrot era where we lost 2 starting post players at the same time. This will be an interesting challenge to develop Hughes very quickly (who will now certainly need to be a 3 year starter), get Aaron ready to take on starter minutes, And turn Poke into a much bigger contributor during the course of this season and the 6 months between seasons. One suggestion: I think we should have Poke hang out with our football OL's for a few months and go on one of those 10,000 calorie diets. At the same time, maybe our OL's can learn something from him and increase their agility. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted December 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2016 (edited) As noted above, we seem to think our primary need is for another big next year, but, here is perhaps a different perspective to consider... Poke is almost a zero offensive threat. he's a hustle guy, plain & simple; athletic but w/ not a single offensive move down low. Big Mike is gonna be a good one but doesn't seem nearly as offensive-minded as Big Dog. 2017 PF Jayden Sayles looks to be a recruit with a lot of potential, but at this point doesn't look like he's going to be immediate help on the offensive end of the floor next year, as he's averaging a good-not-great 13 PPG. Bottom line: in losing Big Dog we're not going to be able to play inside-out next season. We're not going to be able to count on one of our bigs demanding a double-team to kick it out to one of our unathletic 3-point specialist guards. So maybe we should be looking for another guard who can create his own shot? Put LePear Toles out there with 'Tino & Ivey & we'd have a pretty athletic back court to compensate for what's going to be a less offensive-minded front court. Here's an article about LePear in prep school. The article states he currently has one scholarship offer... from Rice. I still think he'd look good wearing the blue & gold. (Btw, he stands 6-6, so it's not like he's a typical Akron undersized guard.) Edited December 27, 2016 by Blue & Gold Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted December 27, 2016 Report Share Posted December 27, 2016 1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said: Poke is almost a zero offensive threat. he's a hustle guy, plain & simple; athletic but w/ not a single offensive move down low. Lets just all at least get on the same page about this situation. This was a guy with a ton of athletic ability who's played very little basketball. Does he have a lot to learn? Absolutely. And we have to accept that. But can he still help us immensely even without becoming a highly skilled basketball player? Absolutely. I said this previously, but we've literally been begging for years to bring some guys in here like him. Maybe with more work, he'll become that super-athletic presence in the pant that we've always wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Any updates on LePear? I'd love to see LePear don the blue & gold. He's at Fork Union Military Academy so barely ever tweets. I.e., not putting much information out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odhgibo Posted April 3, 2017 Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 I think LaPear's sights are set well above the MAC: http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/20170320/year-of-growth-for-mckinley-grad-lepear-toles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted April 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2017 1 hour ago, odhgibo said: I think LaPear's sights are set well above the MAC: http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/20170320/year-of-growth-for-mckinley-grad-lepear-toles Yeah, I saw that article around Christmas time. Except for us and K.e.nt he's not getting recruited by MAC-level schools. But none-the-less I'd still like to see him in blue & gold; I'm partial to the local products. Plus I honestly do think he could contribute at this level & think he could even play some backup point. With the upheaval of our roster it'd be nice to have a versatile G like that. Btw, he's getting recruited by Anthony Stewart @ UT-Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akzipper Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 Robert Morris? Ahh the second best college basketball school in Pittsburgh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K92 Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 So much for setting those sights high above the MAC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 Oh yeah. The guy who wasn't pleased with the level of his D-1 offers coming out of high school? Looks like he got knocked down a few rungs to a little bit of reality over the last couple of years. We'll see how that same situation shakes out with a couple of supposed former "stars" who landed on our roster. Do they eat the humble pie and work even harder to prove themselves? Or, do they become the spoiled children who will always believe they are too good to be here? I'm more interested in seeing someone emerge because they worked their butt off to become something that nobody ever expected. Who might the next one be? Those are the stories that impress me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 (edited) 37 minutes ago, skip-zip said: I'm more interested in seeing someone emerge because they worked their butt off to become something that nobody ever expected. Who might the next one be? Those are the stories that impress me. The stories that impress me are stories about winning. Don't really care who is involved in doing it. You act like the "stars" didn't work their butt off to be rated as high as they were. Speculating that they think they are too good to be here is baseless. I highly doubt any of them would be here if they didn't want to be. If you want to root for the little guy, I know of a midget PG who plays at Duquesne. Come to think of it, we were his only offer. Yeah, he was sure happy to be here. Akron is an upgrade over 2, maybe even 3 of the programs we got players from. Lastly, calling players "busts" or whatever after their freshman season's is a very lazy assertion. Edited May 16, 2017 by LZIp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted May 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 3 hours ago, K92 said: So much for setting those sights high above the MAC. He and Jerome Lane need to hang out more often. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted May 17, 2017 Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 3 hours ago, LZIp said: Speculating that they think they are too good to be here is baseless. So is speculating that they don't. You might want to read that again. I cited possible outcomes on both ends of the spectrum. 3 hours ago, LZIp said: If you want to root for the little guy, I know of a midget PG who plays at Duquesne. Not little in stature. Little in talent. 3 hours ago, LZIp said: Lastly, calling players "busts" or whatever after their freshman season's is a very lazy assertion. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odhgibo Posted September 3, 2017 Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/20170829/mckinleys-lepear-toles-headed-to-state-fair-community-college I really don't understand the thinking behind one year at a prep school followed by another at a low-level JC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted September 3, 2017 Report Share Posted September 3, 2017 (edited) Guess I was wrong Edited October 2, 2017 by Hilltopper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted September 29, 2017 Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 (edited) Let's hope you guys are wrong, he is coming to Akron https://twitter.com/ThatGuy_Pear5/status/913898202176397312 Edited September 29, 2017 by zippy5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2017 Sweet. I've been following him for 3 years now hoping he'd don the blue & gold. He really seems like a quality guy. #GoZips #ImComingHome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted October 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue & Gold Posted October 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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