The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Dave,
any idea who the new player is? saw him last night at game. had KSU warmup on.

Also, is Grimsley still on the team? The box score I saw didn't show him getting in the game.

(01-28-2009 12:19 PM)Kent 76 Wrote:  Also, is Grimsley still on the team? The box score I saw didn't show him getting in the game.

He didnt play last night, must still be in the dog house from the BUF game suspension.

The new player is a transfer named Manny Cass

I thought that when Cass was a sophomore he planned to go to Swarthmore?

I notice he left UTEP. I wonder if anyone has any info on him.

I couldn't see who it was ... or even that there was someone new sitting with the team.
It's difficult to see much from our new press seats.

My guess though is that it was Manuel Cass, as KSBBALL41 reported.
I had a story on Cass a few weeks ago. Not sure if it is still available on the Record-Courier website.
He's a nice player. He'll have three years remaining, too.

Here it is:
New recruits

Quote:The Flashes could find some more immediate help next season with the addition of transfer Manuel Cass, another 6-7 forward and a former top-50 prep prospect, who averaged 4.4 points and 12.3 minutes in 13 games as a freshman at UTEP last season.
According to KSU, Cass has registered for the winter semester and is scheduled to attend his first class today. Under NCAA transfer rules, that would make Cass eligible to play his first game in a Flashes uniform next season as soon as the 2009 fall semester is completed in mid-December. He will have almost three full years of eligibility remaining.
Cass, a native of Carbondale, Ill., had looks from Big East schools like Georgetown, Providence and Seton Hall before choosing UTEP. He was listed as the 29th best small forward in the country and a national top-150 prospect by Rivals.com and as the No. 21 power forward in the nation by Scout.com.
Prior to his prep season at South Kent High School in Connecticut, Cass was part of Carbondale's run of three consecutive Illinois high-school state championships, including an All State junior season that saw him average 17.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists. Cass is an all-around, inside-outside player who could step right into a starting job at power forward when he becomes eligible.

I suppose he could also ride the pines for a good part of the season while he learns how to play the way we need him to. We've had very, very few players who have been able to step right into a starting slot with the defensive details they need to be able to handle.

(02-02-2009 10:41 AM)axeme Wrote:  Here it is:
New recruits

Quote:The Flashes could find some more immediate help next season with the addition of transfer Manuel Cass, another 6-7 forward and a former top-50 prep prospect, who averaged 4.4 points and 12.3 minutes in 13 games as a freshman at UTEP last season.
According to KSU, Cass has registered for the winter semester and is scheduled to attend his first class today. Under NCAA transfer rules, that would make Cass eligible to play his first game in a Flashes uniform next season as soon as the 2009 fall semester is completed in mid-December. He will have almost three full years of eligibility remaining.
Cass, a native of Carbondale, Ill., had looks from Big East schools like Georgetown, Providence and Seton Hall before choosing UTEP. He was listed as the 29th best small forward in the country and a national top-150 prospect by Rivals.com and as the No. 21 power forward in the nation by Scout.com.
Prior to his prep season at South Kent High School in Connecticut, Cass was part of Carbondale's run of three consecutive Illinois high-school state championships, including an All State junior season that saw him average 17.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists. Cass is an all-around, inside-outside player who could step right into a starting job at power forward when he becomes eligible.

I suppose he could also ride the pines for a good part of the season while he learns how to play the way we need him to. We've had very, very few players who have been able to step right into a starting slot with the defensive details they need to be able to handle.

You may be right ... it'll help being around the rest of this season, though. He's a nice talent. Long and athletic, which is what they need at the four. With him next to Simpson and-or Avila (and possibly at least one more big) next season, KSU should be much more athletic and much more capable of defending they way they like in the post.

Dave,
With Evans getting a ride next year, how are we going to support these prospects. Can you give me a breakdown of available scholarships for next year. I am excited about Holt and Robertson.

(02-02-2009 12:22 PM)GFlash68 Wrote:  Dave,
With Evans getting a ride next year, how are we going to support these prospects. Can you give me a breakdown of available scholarships for next year. I am excited about Holt and Robertson.

Cass will walk-on, which is another big help for KSU.
They can't scholarship an ineligible player, and he's ineligible based on hours. He left UTEP for family reasons and now he has to catch up. He hasa established residency in the area, where he is raising a young family, and is now taking the hours he needs to be ready to go by the start of second semester next year.
So, there's no worry about a scholarship for him next year.

Just curious, but how do most of these players who walk on manage to pay for their schooling? Evans, for example, seems to come from a less than comfortable financial background. I'm not implying anything, just curious. I mean, I had to work my way throgh school in the early-to-mid 1970's when schooling was cheaper, even allowing for inflation, and made dad had an income that was at least the national medium, and probably a little higher.

(02-02-2009 01:28 PM)Kent 76 Wrote:  Just curious, but how do most of these players who walk on manage to pay for their schooling? Evans, for example, seems to come from a less than comfortable financial background. I'm not implying anything, just curious. I mean, I had to work my way throgh school in the early-to-mid 1970's when schooling was cheaper, even allowing for inflation, and made dad had an income that was at least the national medium, and probably a little higher.

They take out loans and/or they apply for grants.
In Evans case, it's just for a year. He'll be on scholarship next year.
Remember, they don't actually paying their way through all of college. Just a year taking out loans that they are willing to take out to get eligible and be eventually be able to play for a team.
Remember, the NCAA rules don't allow teams to scholarship players who aren't eligible. Evans didn't have enough hours. Same with Cass. So taking out loans and walking on and working to get the hours they needed were their only options.

Thanks, David.

no problem at all

Will Kent ever go back to building a program the old fashioned way, with freshmen? Their hodgepodge approach of patching the team with much-traveled transfers is clearly paying diminishing returns and seems more suited to a losing team hoping for a quick fix. The freshmen we do recruit either leave or prove to be mediocrities. Mike Scott types are few and far between. Does anyone really believe that Grimsley and Greene, for example, will play four years here? It's puzzling why Kent, with all the success over the last decade, has so much trouble recruiting and keeping talented freshmen who mature into quality players.

(02-02-2009 05:54 PM)Kentville Wrote:  Will Kent ever go back to building a program the old fashioned way, with freshmen? Their hodgepodge approach of patching the team with much-traveled transfers is clearly paying diminishing returns and seems more suited to a losing team hoping for a quick fix. The freshmen we do recruit either leave or prove to be mediocrities. Mike Scott types are few and far between. Does anyone really believe that Grimsley and Greene, for example, will play four years here? It's puzzling why Kent, with all the success over the last decade, has so much trouble recruiting and keeping talented freshmen who mature into quality players.

I like Greene and think he will be a strong contributor in the future and likely to stay 4 years. What little I've seen on Grimsley isn't encouraging, but I've seen very little of Grimsley (as have we all).

As far as recruiting goes, the mix has worked for a long time. This year it seems to have bitten the team, but I think next year could be a very good year (and this year isn't over yet).

I'm with Kentville. I have nothing philosophically against tranfers or JUCO players, but it does seems that Kent's usage of them and dependence upon them is growing like Topsy. I'd like to see some more quality freshman come in and grow over 4 or 5 years.

(02-02-2009 05:54 PM)Kentville Wrote:  Will Kent ever go back to building a program the old fashioned way, with freshmen? Their hodgepodge approach of patching the team with much-traveled transfers is clearly paying diminishing returns and seems more suited to a losing team hoping for a quick fix. The freshmen we do recruit either leave or prove to be mediocrities. Mike Scott types are few and far between. Does anyone really believe that Grimsley and Greene, for example, will play four years here? It's puzzling why Kent, with all the success over the last decade, has so much trouble recruiting and keeping talented freshmen who mature into quality players.

They probably won't until KSU extends Ford's contract.
The four-year deal really hasn't been good. Harder to get better freshmen to commit when they don't know if he'll be there for even the junior or senior years.

It also makes it harder to roll the dice if you are the coach. The freshmen are more hit and miss than players who have already played at some college level.

Think about it. If you are hired to a four-year deal because that's the philosophy of the university (not the athletic department) and you know that your athletic director may retire in the very near future, there's a lot of pressure with that situation. You recruit all high-school kids and miss, which you will do 50-percent of the time, and you are looking at a run of .500 seasons where the fans are used to challenging for titles every year. You are likely to be out after year three if there is a new athletic director.

If I were Ford in such an imperfect situation, I'd get the guys they are getting... high-end junior college (Avila and possibly one more) and Division I transfers (Cass, Dwain Williams) along with the best high-school kids you can get (Holt and Johnson, who is rumored to be the best senior wing in the state).

Go the high-school route, and there's too much of a chance you are recruiting for the next guy who will have your job. Go the junior-college-mix route, and you have a better chance to win sooner, whether its perfect or not, and then maybe you can get the extension you need to build the program with some more high-school kids down the road.

I understand what you want, but try to understand why they are recruiting the way they are and you may warm to it. I'm sure the coaches know this isn't ideal, it's ust what they feel they need to do to avoid a longer rebuilding period.

Greene, I think he will absolutely stay four years, and I think he's going to end up being a very nice player with more work in the weight room.

Also, one more thing.

It's harder to get better high school players to commit to a program like Kent State now than it was five-to-10 years ago. More elite players are leaving early for pro ball, so some of bigger name schools are tapping into the pool of players that usually would end up in the MAC.
I think you are going to see more of the better high school players continue to play professionally in Europe instead of going to college in the next 10 years. That could cut the pool even more.