The spring signing period opened on Tuesday, and that means the next month will feature a number of players finalizing their choice for where to play college basketball.
Robert Morris enters the spring signing period with four holes left to fill on the 13-man scholarship roster. There remains a remote possibility that Britton Lee and Jeremiah Worthem will return, but it's looking more and more that they will move due to their suspensions. Worthem's being more proactive in exploring his options - with Robert Morris' permission - and visited St. Peter's. For now, it looks like Robert Morris is planning on moving ahead without the two freshmen.
That means there are nine players signed up for next year. Six players are back from the 8-man rotation that finished the season. Two freshmen - guard Jafar Kinsey and center Andre Frederick - signed on in November. Junior college forward Lionel Gomis also recently signed on.
PG - Kavon Stewart (So.), Jafar Kinsey (Fr.)
SG - Charles Oliver (Sr.)
3G - Lucky Jones (Sr.), David Appolon (Sr.)
PF - Aaron Tate (Jr.), Lionel Gomis (Jr.)
C - Stephan Hawkins (Jr.), Andre Frederick (Fr.)
So who is still on Robert Morris' radar? Who is no longer in the picture? A rundown of who might land in Moon Township in the next month.
NO LONGER OPTIONS
G Chris Golden (Otero Junior College) - The Milwaukee native was down to a final three of RMU, Weber State and Southeastern Louisiana and he recently signed his letter of intent with Weber State.
G Jaylen Adams (Mount St. Joseph, MD) - Once committed to Jacksonville, Adams opened his recruitment following a coaching change there. He hosted RMU coaches soon after decommitting, but he recently decided to go to St. Bonaventure.
G Taylor Stafford (Eastern Arizona Junior College) - A pretty potent scorer and 3-point threat, Stafford signed with Evansville.
G Devaugntah Williams (Missouri State-West Plains) - A junior college teammate of the much-discussed Justin Jamison, RMU was on Williams for a long time. He ended up going with Jamison to Texas Tech.
G Marques Townes (St. Joseph's, NJ) - A talented athlete who played football for just his senior year and immediately became a Division I athlete, Townes stayed close to home and chose FDU.
F Earvin Morris (Tallahassee Community College) - The former Kent State small forward was on Robert Morris' radar for some time, but he ended up choosing UTEP.
STILL IN IT
F Elijah Minnie (Lincoln Park Charter, Pa.) - The uber-athletic local product has been discussed fairly frequently lately because of the strong push by Robert Morris in the last few months. Minnie took one of his five official visits to RMU a few weeks ago, so RMU figures to still be a serious candidate for him. There are some academic questions surrounding him and the potential for prep school, but that remains to be seen. On the court, Minnie would provide immediate athleticism inside with the future capability to be an offensive threat all over the floor.
G/F Ryan Skovranko (Lincoln Park Charter, Pa.) - A new name popped up thanks to our friends at the Beaver County Times. Skovranko, an oft-overshadowed teammate of Minnie, is a 6-foot-7 wing who is more in the mold of a Russell Johnson. He's more of a guard than Minnie is, and according to Mike Bires at the Times, Robert Morris has upped its pursuit of Skovranko. He averaged 13.2 points per game and has pretty good range. Skovranko also has offers from Liberty, Elon and DePaul, as well as interest from Kent State.
G Marcquise Reed (Capitol Christian, MD) - A significant scoring threat, the 6-foot-3 guard recently visiting LIU Brooklyn and will visit Robert Morris on Friday. He averaged over 30 points per game for Capitol Christian, including one game where he erupted for 52 points, with 27 of those points coming on 3-pointers. With Karvel Anderson departing, players with that kind of scoring punch are obviously a significant attraction to RMU.
G RaAnthony Sanders (Pensacola State Junior College) - Less of a scorer and more of a defensive athlete, Sanders is also expected to visit Robert Morris this week. The one-time Tulane guard does have a scoring touch, though, and while he wasn't excellent from 3-point range in his one-year in junior college, he does have the capability to stretch the floor.
G Tyler Ptacek (Evansville transfer) - A potential transfer, Ptacek wouldn't be able to help in 2014-15 but would be a long-term fit for Robert Morris considering RMU loses Charles Oliver and David Appolon after this year. An excellent sharpshooter, Ptacek is also hearing from Akron and Ohio since deciding to transfer. He'd have three years of eligibility.
G Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman (Allentown Central Catholic, Pa.) - A talented scoring guard, Abdur-Rahkman was under Robert Morris' watchful eye at the end of the high school basketball season. He may be taking off past RMU, though. The 6-foot-3 guard is headed to Michigan this weekend for an official visit. That said, until he signs somewhere, he's still a possibility.
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That's the list for now. There are obviously additional names out there, but these have been the most active in connection to Robert Morris.
ColonialsCorner expects Robert Morris to add a freshman forward, a junior college guard with scoring ability, a freshman scoring threat, and a wild card (either a transfer or a versatile player in the mold of David Appolon). We'll see how it all shakes out.
Robert Morris enters the spring signing period with four holes left to fill on the 13-man scholarship roster. There remains a remote possibility that Britton Lee and Jeremiah Worthem will return, but it's looking more and more that they will move due to their suspensions. Worthem's being more proactive in exploring his options - with Robert Morris' permission - and visited St. Peter's. For now, it looks like Robert Morris is planning on moving ahead without the two freshmen.
That means there are nine players signed up for next year. Six players are back from the 8-man rotation that finished the season. Two freshmen - guard Jafar Kinsey and center Andre Frederick - signed on in November. Junior college forward Lionel Gomis also recently signed on.
PG - Kavon Stewart (So.), Jafar Kinsey (Fr.)
SG - Charles Oliver (Sr.)
3G - Lucky Jones (Sr.), David Appolon (Sr.)
PF - Aaron Tate (Jr.), Lionel Gomis (Jr.)
C - Stephan Hawkins (Jr.), Andre Frederick (Fr.)
So who is still on Robert Morris' radar? Who is no longer in the picture? A rundown of who might land in Moon Township in the next month.
NO LONGER OPTIONS
G Chris Golden (Otero Junior College) - The Milwaukee native was down to a final three of RMU, Weber State and Southeastern Louisiana and he recently signed his letter of intent with Weber State.
G Jaylen Adams (Mount St. Joseph, MD) - Once committed to Jacksonville, Adams opened his recruitment following a coaching change there. He hosted RMU coaches soon after decommitting, but he recently decided to go to St. Bonaventure.
G Taylor Stafford (Eastern Arizona Junior College) - A pretty potent scorer and 3-point threat, Stafford signed with Evansville.
G Devaugntah Williams (Missouri State-West Plains) - A junior college teammate of the much-discussed Justin Jamison, RMU was on Williams for a long time. He ended up going with Jamison to Texas Tech.
G Marques Townes (St. Joseph's, NJ) - A talented athlete who played football for just his senior year and immediately became a Division I athlete, Townes stayed close to home and chose FDU.
F Earvin Morris (Tallahassee Community College) - The former Kent State small forward was on Robert Morris' radar for some time, but he ended up choosing UTEP.
STILL IN IT
F Elijah Minnie (Lincoln Park Charter, Pa.) - The uber-athletic local product has been discussed fairly frequently lately because of the strong push by Robert Morris in the last few months. Minnie took one of his five official visits to RMU a few weeks ago, so RMU figures to still be a serious candidate for him. There are some academic questions surrounding him and the potential for prep school, but that remains to be seen. On the court, Minnie would provide immediate athleticism inside with the future capability to be an offensive threat all over the floor.
G/F Ryan Skovranko (Lincoln Park Charter, Pa.) - A new name popped up thanks to our friends at the Beaver County Times. Skovranko, an oft-overshadowed teammate of Minnie, is a 6-foot-7 wing who is more in the mold of a Russell Johnson. He's more of a guard than Minnie is, and according to Mike Bires at the Times, Robert Morris has upped its pursuit of Skovranko. He averaged 13.2 points per game and has pretty good range. Skovranko also has offers from Liberty, Elon and DePaul, as well as interest from Kent State.
G Marcquise Reed (Capitol Christian, MD) - A significant scoring threat, the 6-foot-3 guard recently visiting LIU Brooklyn and will visit Robert Morris on Friday. He averaged over 30 points per game for Capitol Christian, including one game where he erupted for 52 points, with 27 of those points coming on 3-pointers. With Karvel Anderson departing, players with that kind of scoring punch are obviously a significant attraction to RMU.
G RaAnthony Sanders (Pensacola State Junior College) - Less of a scorer and more of a defensive athlete, Sanders is also expected to visit Robert Morris this week. The one-time Tulane guard does have a scoring touch, though, and while he wasn't excellent from 3-point range in his one-year in junior college, he does have the capability to stretch the floor.
G Tyler Ptacek (Evansville transfer) - A potential transfer, Ptacek wouldn't be able to help in 2014-15 but would be a long-term fit for Robert Morris considering RMU loses Charles Oliver and David Appolon after this year. An excellent sharpshooter, Ptacek is also hearing from Akron and Ohio since deciding to transfer. He'd have three years of eligibility.
G Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman (Allentown Central Catholic, Pa.) - A talented scoring guard, Abdur-Rahkman was under Robert Morris' watchful eye at the end of the high school basketball season. He may be taking off past RMU, though. The 6-foot-3 guard is headed to Michigan this weekend for an official visit. That said, until he signs somewhere, he's still a possibility.
-------------
That's the list for now. There are obviously additional names out there, but these have been the most active in connection to Robert Morris.
ColonialsCorner expects Robert Morris to add a freshman forward, a junior college guard with scoring ability, a freshman scoring threat, and a wild card (either a transfer or a versatile player in the mold of David Appolon). We'll see how it all shakes out.
