Newest Gator basketball signees

[MidwestChomp]

Coach White signed 2 teammates from Oldsmar Christian in Tampa. Eric Hester is a 4 star guard at 6'3 and Dontay Bassett is a 6'8 forward.

Gators Ink Two to National Letters of Intent

 

[t-gator]

The hester kid is a stud

 

[GatorBart]

 

[ATXGator]

Hester looks like he could be really good and it never hurts to get size. A 6'8 kid who is athletic can build skills and add value.

 

[GatorTAG]

Guards can be over 5'8"?

Who knew?

 

[MidwestChomp]

Watched some Hester videos last night. He looks good, and can play SG and PG. Anyone know how many he can sign for 2016? DFS and Murphy are the only seniors, so these signees take the spot of those guys.

 

[GatorBart]

We only have two senior scholarship players this year (DFS and Murph2) - does this mean we only take 2 in this class, or do we expect a transfer (or some other reason we might lose a player - I don't see anyone leaving early for the pros) to open up another scholarship slot? Also, Rimmer (an Orlando native and walk-on transfer from Stanford) is playing well and may deserve a look at a scholarship. Or does that even happen in BB (giving walk-on's scholarships, similar to FB)? I don't think I ever remember it. Maybe Rimmer is just happy to be getting PT, scoring some and close to home.

 

[t-gator]

Watched some Hester videos last night. He looks good, and can play SG and PG. Anyone know how many he can sign for 2016? DFS and Murphy are the only seniors, so these signees take the spot of those guys.

I believe we can sign one more. Rimmer is a walk on.

 

[MidwestChomp]

I may be mistaken, but I thought Rimmer was on scholarship now? Teams are allowed 13 scholarship players. If Rimmer is on scholarship that leaves us with 13, so 11 after this year. Then White has his class filled at 2. If Rimmer is still a walk-on, White can go one more.

 

[t-gator]

I haven't heard that any

I may be mistaken, but I thought Rimmer was on scholarship now? Teams are allowed 13 scholarship players. If Rimmer is on scholarship that leaves us with 13, so 11 after this year. Then White has his class filled at 2. If Rimmer is still a walk-on, White can go one more.

I haven't heard that anywhere. He may have gotten it but i don't think so.

 

[NVGator]

I may be mistaken, but I thought Rimmer was on scholarship now? Teams are allowed 13 scholarship players. If Rimmer is on scholarship that leaves us with 13, so 11 after this year. Then White has his class filled at 2. If Rimmer is still a walk-on, White can go one more.

I think you are correct with Rimmer on scholly or he'll take one next year. Found this article projecting 2015-16 schollies but that was before C. Walker and E. Carter left. Plus, no MFIII.

With Michael Frazier II's departure, Florida's scholarship situation gets a little clearer

 

[GatorBart]

Y'all are right - we can take one more in this class (or give Rimmer a scholarship) assuming we don't lose anyone after the season (then we'd have more room). I'm not sure what position the focus would be on to recruit, but I would think losing DFS and Murph2, we might need another power forward; however, we seem to be flush with forwards at the moment (both big and small), so maybe focus on a solid big man.
This highly rated big man is still available and just down the road in Jax: Udoka Azubuike - Basketball Recruiting - Player Profiles - ESPN
Go get him, Coach White!

 

[PhD Gator]

The guy you mentioned unfortunately appears to likely be FSU bound. On a side note, how in the world is FSU raking in these basketball recruits? They had a Top 10 class for 2015, and already have a Top 10 class for 2016, even before Azubuike.

Wonder if the loss of Donovan is going to allow FSU to take over as the top b-ball program in the state. I sure hope not, don't know that I can stand them finding success in basketball.

 

[MidwestChomp]

I'm sure kids are shying away from UF after Billy D left. Once they see the product on the court that will change. I'm optimistic. And, FSU will not take over as the top b-ball program. If they do, it will only be a year or two.

 

[GatorBart]

The guy you mentioned unfortunately appears to likely be FSU bound. On a side note, how in the world is FSU raking in these basketball recruits? They had a Top 10 class for 2015, and already have a Top 10 class for 2016, even before Azubuike.

Wonder if the loss of Donovan is going to allow FSU to take over as the top b-ball program in the state. I sure hope not, don't know that I can stand them finding success in basketball.

I don't see FSU taking over at this point, though they've been a solid team for some years now under Hamilton as coach. Nah, I just don't see it. Maybe Azubuike doesn't fit Coach White's style of play (he is a 280 lb HS kid) who can't get up and down the floor quickly. FSU has 3 centers, but two are seniors, so that might explain Azubuike's interest in them over us, as well as style of play.
Hopefully we'll have a successful year and make some noise in the big dance so that Coach White can showcase his style of play in front of a larger audience and grab the attention of some top tier players (who fit his style) for the 2017 cycle.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Hamilton is not a good coach...don't worry.

 

[NoGaGator]

White is an unknown name among the top recruits. Fortunately, UF doesn't need to sign that many this year. If White can show some nice progress this year - doable given some pretty good talent on current roster - he'll get props from recruits in the following class to become a Gator.

 

[t-gator]

Hester is as solid as any guard fsu will sign. That being said, we shouldn't expect many high profile recruits this cycle. We won't have much playing time to offer in 2016 with all the guys we have coming back. One of the assistant coaches was on the radio a few weeks ago and said their recruiting efforts have more towards 2017 kids .

 

[aka]

The opportunity to play the ACC schools is a draw plus they can qualify there more easily.

 

[t-gator]

The opportunity to play the ACC schools is a draw plus they can qualify there more easily.

We've been out recruiting them for years and still managed a top 20 class with alot of returning players. I think we're in ok shape.