Well kid is consistent. 2 High Schools and 3 colleges in 7 years. He is used to be the new kid on the block!
Rapolas Ivanauskas to Cincinatti
- Thread starter catsattackfor3
- Start date
Interesting move. The American conference has some really good teams (Memphis, UCONN, Wichita State, Houston). We will finally see how he does against tough competition.
Really? Wow! Hadn't heard that. That makes sense to me. I love Big East hoops and I mourn that UCONN and 'Cuse are no longer rivals. I'm glad one of them got to go back.
Accordingly to local & some national media, Maryland was a serious suitor for Rap. Had he transferred there, it would have been fascinating to see how much he played & how he fared. Most of the Maryland roster is more athletic but they have done a pretty good job of creating looks for 3 point shooters although a lot of that was set up by the very talented Anthony Cowan who just graduated & will have his NBA chance once pro ball restarts.
Looks like a different player, now. I don't think he will ride the pine. He's not as good, but reminds me a little bit of Coble.
I do not know this players situation but in general resumes like his is another example of the terrible trend that exists in basketball currently. I mean 3 colleges and 2 high schools (without moving) just point to a lack of grit, perseverance, and patience. How does one grow as a player to become a leader and overcome adversity when they are always moving place to place?
Rap overcame 2 shoulder surgeries and became a very good starter. I'd say that's some grit and determination......
Like I said in my post I was saying in general. Also his surgeries have nothing to do with sticking it out in one program.
This is unfair.
He moved to another high school his senior year for strictly basketball reasons....to practice every day against better competition. I have to believe NU coaches encouraged that move, it happened after he committed.
He's been in college five years, IIRC. Three at NU where he injuries kept him from playing for two years. The book on him was that if he stayed, he would not be a central part of the rotation.
He played at Colgate two years and graduated. And could not have played as a graduate by Ivy League rules.
So the accusation he hid from adversity is b.s. And, reports from Colgate are that he was a leader.
But, much more important, Rap was and is a good student. Went to two fine schools and finished. And, will be well on the way to a masters degree.
I love NU basketball more than anyone should, but Collins' running off of another player triggered a federal lawsuit and it's not hard to see he was recruiting over Rap at his position. "Sticking it out in one program" wasn't a viable option. Kudos to him for rebuilding his career however he could.
Good post. One clarification, Colgate is not part of the Ivy League. Colgate officially has graduate programs but had a total of 11 grad students, so not really. Can't blame him for going elsewhere for grad school. I hope he does well at Cincy.
Geez, relax I also made a point to say this is a trend in college basketball with kids moving around like crazy, look at the transfer portal. And who said he hid from adversity. I said the kids do not stick it out and become leaders in the given programs. My point on leaders is this is how we do it in this program! How can you be that person when you havent even been in the program. They are like mercenaries or pro players now. Have four seasons of eligibility and play 3 of the 4 seasons in 3 different programs.
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By "triggered a federal lawsuit" do you refer to that which Vasser joined?
IIRC the Vasser complaint was an add on to others in an overall effort to get class status. (I lean towards agreeing with the general basis of the complaint which was not about his treatment)
I think it's a stretch to say Rap was recruited over given how far into the program he was. I'm not sure you can "recruit over" an upperclassmen.
I agree it’s a bad trend. I think you picked a bad example of it, though. I’m really happy for Ivanauskas, and I hope he’s able to make a pro go of it in, like, Australia or something.
Am I misunderstanding you? Are we bad-mouthing Collins for creating some competition and trying to get 10 quality players?
Did CC "recruit over" Nance when he brought in Beran? How about Berry over Buie who would have been recruited over Greer?
Falzon over Skelly? ... There's a long list.
And by the way, some of these guys will be pushed aside if Baldwin or Christie show up.
Frankly, I applaud Collins for trying to be two-deep program, and attempting to prepare for the transfer culture and the uncertainty of NU recruiting (Bamisile).
I'm not bad-mouthing Collins for recruiting the best players he can in a given year, especially since Rap didn't do much during his time here. I'm bad-mouthing the bad-mouthing of Rap for seeking fortune elsewhere.
My thoughts exactly.
If Collins doesn't try to recruit over his current squad, he's not doing his job. And he would be the only college coach who doesn't try to do it.
Every coach is trying to get better players then the one's have returning. Its called recruiting
He was good enough to post 21 points and 9 rebounds in Colgate’s win at Cincinnati this past season, so I’m guessing he should be good enough to play for the team he beat.
Eh...yes, he had that good game, but his 3 other games against top-100 competition resulted in averages of 10.3 points on 35% shooting including 1-12 3-pt shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers in 32 minutes per game. His next hardest game was against Kenpom #145. Cincinnati played 22 games against teams better than #145 this year. Cincinnati loses 5 seniors from this year including 3 starters, so there will probably be some minutes available, but I can't imagine they should expect him to be any sort of savior.
Cincinnati also apparently just picked up former Michigan guard David DeJulius. Guess they are looking for a quick re-load.
I see him getting his mba and being a very successful hedge fund manager. Also, becoming a great husband, father and person.
Of course he's probably not going to be some superstar or anything, he might not even start for them. I was just responding to the implication that he's not even good enough to get off the bench. He's a past POY in the Patriot League, and he's certainly made a bigger impact in a lower-tier league than the guys who more recently left our program (Falzon, Brown, Ash, Benson), so I don't think it's unreasonable to think he could be a solid contributor on a decent team.