Class of 2020 C Frank Anselem (GA) COMMITTED/SIGNED TO SYRACUSE

[007]

Greetings from a Hilltopper fan. I've enjoyed reading through your message board and certainly respect the history and tradition of Syracuse basketball. WKU actually shares the top 10 in all-time winning % with Syracuse, top 15 in all-time total wins, and top 12 in number of 20 win seasons.

WKU is in Bowling Green which happens to be the third largest city in Kentucky and the fastest growing community in the state. Situated 60 minutes from Nashville and 90 minutes from Louisville, Bowling Green has plenty of amenities and certainly isn't is rural and isolated as some on here have suggested. If you are trying to identify a small university in rural Kentucky Murray St and Morehead St are a much closer fit.

As for Rick Stansbury. Take a look at our operating budget and his salary and it really is hard to imagine that we are outbidding (if that is how folks are alleging we are landing highly regarded recruits) Syracuse, Seton Hall, Arkansas, if for example we were able to land Frank.

If Frank were to commit to WKU I don't see a path to him starting with Carson Williams and Charles Bassey at the 4 and 5 spots. That said it is easy to imagine him getting 25 minutes a game backing up those two.

Anyways, I just wanted to drop by and add some perspective from a WKU fan. All the best to Syracuse basketball.

As is the case with EVERY fan message board, we have our fair share of...let's just say, "uniformed" posters. Thank you for taking the time to share your insights and observations.

 

[t0gill01]

Do you live in Ky? I’m in western Kentucky. About 40min from Murray State. Most people in my area are UK fans.

I live in Bowling Green. In BG most folks cheer for WKU but that number drops of quickly once you start to travel out into the rural areas where UK dominates. Interestingly enough Murray has refused to play WKU for several years now, not sure why. Neither will UK. To Louisville’s credit they have been playing WKU on a regular basis now for about 12 years including several trips to Bowling Green and Nashville.

The point is well taken about lack of tv exposure in conference usa. It’s beyond frustrating. Last season we had a “home” game against Louisville in Nashville who was ranked #1 at the time and it was played on CBS Sports Facebook. Talk about infuriating.

 

[Cusesky8214]

I live in Bowling Green. In BG most folks cheer for WKU but that number drops of quickly once you start to travel out into the rural areas where UK dominates. Interestingly enough Murray has refused to play WKU for several years now, not sure why. Neither will UK. To Louisville’s credit they have been playing WKU on a regular basis now for about 12 years including several trips to Bowling Green and Nashville.

The point is well taken about lack of tv exposure in conference usa. It’s beyond frustrating. Last season we had a “home” game against Louisville in Nashville who was ranked #1 at the time and it was played on CBS Sports Facebook. Talk about infuriating.

Not trying to start a arguement or downgrade your program...honest question for you about your program. What would you say (knowing how the NCAA has been lately with pay for play etc) and the "reputation" that your head coach has from almost all the national media guys that cover college basketball? You must know what they all say about him right? Also, what would you say about the reputation of your assistant coach Hennssy Auriantal who was hired onto the staff AFTER the commitment of big man Bassey (while Hennssy was also his handler/legal guardian) and runs a AAU program that brings kids over to the states to help them get to D1 schools etc. (Reputation of a "handler") as your assistant coach. Again, not knocking your program/facilities or success...just curious what a fan of there program thinks of the reputation that's out there and some of what's gone on recently with recruiting some very high end talent to your program. No disrespect...honestly would like to know. (I also am fully aware that theres been plenty said about our program over the years as well)

 

[SUFaninNJ]

I'll be honest, I know very little about WKU. I once drove through Kentucky on my way from Atlanta to Cincinnati. The only thing that stood out to me was a place called Big Bone Lick State Park. I teach middle schoolers, so obviously that caught me as amusing. Is there a monument of some sort of the Bowling Green Massacre by you?!

Seriously though, thanks for coming onboard. I always getting a different perspective from fans of other schools.

 

[Cusesky8214]

shouldnt even share this but some people like to follow along so I will. Take it FWIW and that's probably not much...no clue how much this person knows (I'm guessing no more then any of us on here) but hey I'll take it.

 

[Orangefan1]

Atalien?

 

[t0gill01]

Not trying to start a arguement or downgrade your program...honest question for you about your program. What would you say (knowing how the NCAA has been lately with pay for play etc) and the "reputation" that your head coach has from almost all the national media guys that cover college basketball? You must know what they all say about him right? Also, what would you say about the reputation of your assistant coach Hennssy Auriantal who was hired onto the staff AFTER the commitment of big man Bassey (while Hennssy was also his handler/legal guardian) and runs a AAU program that brings kids over to the states to help them get to D1 schools etc. (Reputation of a "handler") as your assistant coach. Again, not knocking your program/facilities or success...just curious what a fan of there program thinks of the reputation that's out there and some of what's gone on recently with recruiting some very high end talent to your program. No disrespect...honestly would like to know. (I also am fully aware that theres been plenty said about our program over the years as well)

As for Stansbury’s reputation. Casual WKU fans no nothing about his reputation except that he was at Mississippi State. As for myself and others that follow college basketball closely, sure we know what is said by Jeff Goodman and what gets circulated on message boards. But as far as I know he’s never been in any trouble with the NCAA and our program operates on such a lean budget... if we had money to throw at players it would be a shocker. I just don’t have any idea where it would come from. It’s possible but just seems like a huge stretch. For example... last summer Stansbury issued a public plea to raise $300,000 so the team could charter more flights. The other note that I would make is if little old WKU is paying for players than it is so widespread that it our level of cheating must pale in comparison to UL and UK.

As for Bassey. I would mention that Stansbury had been recruiting him for years going back to when he was an assistant at Texas A&M. If hiring his legal guardian as an assistant means getting a five star recruit at WKU... how do you pass that up? It’s legal and done frequently as far as I know. Again when you are in the same state as UL and UK... if you want to compete for relavency how do you pass that up?

By the way hiring family members hasn’t been the only key to success when it comes to recruiting for Stansbury. Other 4 or 5 star players to commit under Stansbury include Jordan Rawls, Mitchell Robinson, Zion Harmon, and Josh Anderson. Might be missing one or two that didn’t work out.

To sum it up. I don’t know if we cheat or not. If we do I suspect it pales in comparison to the big boys. Regardless, Stansbury is an excellent recruiter and has been able to bring energy and excitement to our storied program and for that I am grateful.

**one important tidbit about Charles and Hennssy. They have been total class acts at WKU. Maybe not what you would expect from a 5 star and his “handler”. When Charles went down with his injury last season some expected both of them to skip out of town. Couldn’t have been more different. Charles was at every home game totally engaged and even made some road trips once he was healthy enough.**

Thanks for taking the time to ask an honest question in a respectful manner.

 

[Cusesky8214]

As for Stansbury’s reputation. Casual WKU fans no nothing about his reputation except that he was at Mississippi State. As for myself and others that follow college basketball closely, sure we know what is said by Jeff Goodman and what gets circulated on message boards. But as far as I know he’s never been in any trouble with the NCAA and our program operates on such a lean budget... if we had money to throw at players it would be a shocker. I just don’t have any idea where it would come from. It’s possible but just seems like a huge stretch. For example... last summer Stansbury issued a public plea to raise $300,000 so the team could charter more flights. The other note that I would make is if little old WKU is paying for players than it is so widespread that it our level of cheating must pale in comparison to UL and UK.

As for Bassey. I would mention that Stansbury had been recruiting him for years going back to when he was an assistant at Texas A&M. If hiring his legal guardian as an assistant means getting a five star recruit at WKU... how do you pass that up? It’s legal and done frequently as far as I know. Again when you are in the same state as UL and UK... if you want to compete for relavency how do you pass that up?

By the way hiring family members hasn’t been the only key to success when it comes to recruiting for Stansbury. Other 4 or 5 star players to commit under Stansbury include Jordan Rawls, Mitchell Robinson, Zion Harmon, and Josh Anderson. Might be missing one or two that didn’t work out.

To sum it up. I don’t know if we cheat or not. If we do I suspect it pales in comparison to the big boys. Regardless, Stansbury is an excellent recruiter and has been able to bring energy and excitement to our storied program and for that I am grateful.

**one important tidbit about Charles and Hennssy. They have been total class acts at WKU. Maybe not what you would expect from a 5 star and his “handler”. When Charles went down with his injury last season some expected both of them to skip out of town. Couldn’t have been more different. Charles was at every home game totally engaged and even made some road trips once he was healthy enough.**

Thanks for taking the time to ask an honest question in a respectful manner.

I appreciate the response and it sheds some light on your program I wouldnt know otherwise. It's pretty cool Bassey stuck around another year for you guys. Kids a hell of a player. You are right too about the other talent rick pulled in before Hennssy got there...didnt really think about that until u mentioned it. You are also spot on that IF yall are doing any kind of pay for play it would absolutely pale in comparison to your neighbors lol. So many schools are doing it that it's hard to know who isnt and who is anymore and the NCAA has let it get so out of hand that it really doesnt matter anymore. It's pretty obvious what certain programs are doing. (I'm really looking at you LSU/Arizona/Kansas/Duke/Louisville/and many more)

Thank you for the response!

 

[kcsu]

Could be true, but Syracuse.com, said we offered the local kid who committed to FSU. I also know we offered Isaiah and Tape. The others were perhaps interest only, but we are expressing a lot of interest.

Its a fact we have offered and not been selected by numerous centers. Two things are clear.
1: The staff wants to land another center.
2: We have not landed one.

 

[orangeinnyc]

shouldnt even share this but some people like to follow along so I will. Take it FWIW and that's probably not much...no clue how much this person knows (I'm guessing no more then any of us on here) but hey I'll take it.

View attachment 181114

Don’t take the few negative people on here to heart. They mostly contribute absolutely nothing to this board except negativity, whining and moaning. I think I speak for most posters on here when I say we appreciate all of the work you put in to try and find info.

 

[suclass2014]

shouldnt even share this but some people like to follow along so I will. Take it FWIW and that's probably not much...no clue how much this person knows (I'm guessing no more then any of us on here) but hey I'll take it.

Keep doing what you're doing, man. People are always going to have something to gripe about. I think some people don't know how to be civil or grateful. Thank you for trying to keep us up to speed, and for doing your best.

 

[supp]

As for Stansbury’s reputation. Casual WKU fans no nothing about his reputation except that he was at Mississippi State. As for myself and others that follow college basketball closely, sure we know what is said by Jeff Goodman and what gets circulated on message boards. But as far as I know he’s never been in any trouble with the NCAA and our program operates on such a lean budget... if we had money to throw at players it would be a shocker. I just don’t have any idea where it would come from. It’s possible but just seems like a huge stretch. For example... last summer Stansbury issued a public plea to raise $300,000 so the team could charter more flights. The other note that I would make is if little old WKU is paying for players than it is so widespread that it our level of cheating must pale in comparison to UL and UK.

As for Bassey. I would mention that Stansbury had been recruiting him for years going back to when he was an assistant at Texas A&M. If hiring his legal guardian as an assistant means getting a five star recruit at WKU... how do you pass that up? It’s legal and done frequently as far as I know. Again when you are in the same state as UL and UK... if you want to compete for relavency how do you pass that up?

By the way hiring family members hasn’t been the only key to success when it comes to recruiting for Stansbury. Other 4 or 5 star players to commit under Stansbury include Jordan Rawls, Mitchell Robinson, Zion Harmon, and Josh Anderson. Might be missing one or two that didn’t work out.

To sum it up. I don’t know if we cheat or not. If we do I suspect it pales in comparison to the big boys. Regardless, Stansbury is an excellent recruiter and has been able to bring energy and excitement to our storied program and for that I am grateful.

**one important tidbit about Charles and Hennssy. They have been total class acts at WKU. Maybe not what you would expect from a 5 star and his “handler”. When Charles went down with his injury last season some expected both of them to skip out of town. Couldn’t have been more different. Charles was at every home game totally engaged and even made some road trips once he was healthy enough.**

Thanks for taking the time to ask an honest question in a respectful manner.

Everyone competing for high major talent is cheating in one way or another. It's systemic. WKU is doing it too because they're swimming in that end of the pool now and not drowning. They also wouldn't be the first mid-major to throw what money they have or their boosters have at one sport with the idea that success there will lift all boats.

 

[moqui]

As for Stansbury’s reputation. Casual WKU fans no nothing about his reputation except that he was at Mississippi State. As for myself and others that follow college basketball closely, sure we know what is said by Jeff Goodman and what gets circulated on message boards. But as far as I know he’s never been in any trouble with the NCAA and our program operates on such a lean budget... if we had money to throw at players it would be a shocker. I just don’t have any idea where it would come from. It’s possible but just seems like a huge stretch. For example... last summer Stansbury issued a public plea to raise $300,000 so the team could charter more flights. The other note that I would make is if little old WKU is paying for players than it is so widespread that it our level of cheating must pale in comparison to UL and UK.

As for Bassey. I would mention that Stansbury had been recruiting him for years going back to when he was an assistant at Texas A&M. If hiring his legal guardian as an assistant means getting a five star recruit at WKU... how do you pass that up? It’s legal and done frequently as far as I know. Again when you are in the same state as UL and UK... if you want to compete for relavency how do you pass that up?

By the way hiring family members hasn’t been the only key to success when it comes to recruiting for Stansbury. Other 4 or 5 star players to commit under Stansbury include Jordan Rawls, Mitchell Robinson, Zion Harmon, and Josh Anderson. Might be missing one or two that didn’t work out.

To sum it up. I don’t know if we cheat or not. If we do I suspect it pales in comparison to the big boys. Regardless, Stansbury is an excellent recruiter and has been able to bring energy and excitement to our storied program and for that I am grateful.

**one important tidbit about Charles and Hennssy. They have been total class acts at WKU. Maybe not what you would expect from a 5 star and his “handler”. When Charles went down with his injury last season some expected both of them to skip out of town. Couldn’t have been more different. Charles was at every home game totally engaged and even made some road trips once he was healthy enough.**

Thanks for taking the time to ask an honest question in a respectful manner.

it's all dark money; the program budget is completely immaterial in these matters

 

[Cusesky8214]

Oh my goodness, you know where all your ex girlfriends live, don’t you?

Didnt have gfs...kept everything fun and casual until I settled on the wife

 

[OttoinGrotto]

it's all dark money; the program budget is completely immaterial in these matters

Somebody needed to say it.

 

[Cusesky8214]

how many scholarships does WKU have at the moment?

 

[Cusesky8214]

found this in a Arkansas write up. No I didnt harass anyone or Break any absurd restraining orders to find this info. Probably too cringey for some to read so they should probably scroll past.

"When will Anselem make his decision?

Anselem said The Front Office that he’s looking to make his decision some time this week, before the May 16 weekend."

4-Star Frank Anselem On Why Arkansas Is In His Final Five

In a rare interview, blue chip recruit Frank Anselem talks about Arkansas and how it compares to top contenders Syracuse and SDSU.

www.bestofarkansassports.com

The rest is just a bunch of old info and things we already know. But hopefully hes sticking to that commitment timeframe.

 

[Grbac]

As for Stansbury’s reputation. Casual WKU fans no nothing about his reputation except that he was at Mississippi State. As for myself and others that follow college basketball closely, sure we know what is said by Jeff Goodman and what gets circulated on message boards. But as far as I know he’s never been in any trouble with the NCAA and our program operates on such a lean budget... if we had money to throw at players it would be a shocker. I just don’t have any idea where it would come from. It’s possible but just seems like a huge stretch. For example... last summer Stansbury issued a public plea to raise $300,000 so the team could charter more flights. The other note that I would make is if little old WKU is paying for players than it is so widespread that it our level of cheating must pale in comparison to UL and UK.

As for Bassey. I would mention that Stansbury had been recruiting him for years going back to when he was an assistant at Texas A&M. If hiring his legal guardian as an assistant means getting a five star recruit at WKU... how do you pass that up? It’s legal and done frequently as far as I know. Again when you are in the same state as UL and UK... if you want to compete for relavency how do you pass that up?

By the way hiring family members hasn’t been the only key to success when it comes to recruiting for Stansbury. Other 4 or 5 star players to commit under Stansbury include Jordan Rawls, Mitchell Robinson, Zion Harmon, and Josh Anderson. Might be missing one or two that didn’t work out.

To sum it up. I don’t know if we cheat or not. If we do I suspect it pales in comparison to the big boys. Regardless, Stansbury is an excellent recruiter and has been able to bring energy and excitement to our storied program and for that I am grateful.

**one important tidbit about Charles and Hennssy. They have been total class acts at WKU. Maybe not what you would expect from a 5 star and his “handler”. When Charles went down with his injury last season some expected both of them to skip out of town. Couldn’t have been more different. Charles was at every home game totally engaged and even made some road trips once he was healthy enough.**

Thanks for taking the time to ask an honest question in a respectful manner.

Didn’t realize you guys got a commit from Zion Harmon. For some reason he decided to play HS ball at Marshall County which is like 20min from me. Everyone was pretty excited about that around here.
He had a ton of great offers, Kansas, Louisville, Seton Hall, Auburn, Maryland, etc.

 

[50YRsofCuse]

Let’s see. Final assessment before Anselem makes a decision hopefully this week. Candidate schools:

Arkansas - Already allocated all of their scholarships. Unlikely destination.
Kentucky - Supposedly rejected by recruit. unlikely destination but never count Kentucky out.
San Diego State - May be the best place for early playing time. Possible destination.
Seton Hall - Have 3 Cs and 3 PFs and one scholarship availabke with a need for SF. Unlikely destination.
Syracuse - Already have 3 Centers, playing time not guaranteed. Still a possible destination.
Western Kentucky - 1 PF, 1 C. Good opportunity for playing time as a key reserve. Possible Destination.

San Diego State, Syracuse and Western Kentucky are really the three more likely destinations. I would like him go to Syracuse of course.

I mentioned in an earlier post that there are many factors that come into play in a recruit’s decision process. I have not heard of any academic interests for Anselem. So, I am looking only at basketball opportunities.

Based on opportunity for playing time, I would say that San Diego State or Western Kentucky offers Anselem the higher possibility to play significant time. Barring injuries, Syracuse offers little to very little playing time this year (my opinion).

If I had to pick a team to play for based solely on playing time, it would be Western Kentucky.

 

[Briancuse]

Everyone competing for high major talent is cheating in one way or another. It's systemic. WKU is doing it too because they're swimming in that end of the pool now and not drowning. They also wouldn't be the first mid-major to throw what money they have or their boosters have at one sport with the idea that success there will lift all boats.

A lot of good it doing they haven't made the tourney since 2013.

 

[Footey04]

It will be Syracuse. Gut feeling. Lets go Orange!!!

 

[orangejunkie]

Hard to predict which school gives him the best opportunity for playing time. Obviously Sidibe gets the start. Behind him it will come down to the 2 young centers and Anselem battling for minutes off the bench. If one of them can play some minutes at PF that would open up some additional playing time. Long term, Anselem appears to be more athletic and have the most upside.

 

[Briancuse]

Let’s see. Final assessment before Anselem makes a decision hopefully this week. Candidate schools:

Arkansas - Already allocated all of their scholarships. Unlikely destination.
Kentucky - Supposedly rejected by recruit. unlikely destination but never count Kentucky out.
San Diego State - May be the best place for early playing time. Possible destination.
Seton Hall - Have 3 Cs and 3 PFs and one scholarship availabke with a need for SF. Unlikely destination.
Syracuse - Already have 3 Centers, playing time not guaranteed. Still a possible destination.
Western Kentucky - 1 PF, 1 C. Good opportunity for playing time as a key reserve. Possible Destination.

San Diego State, Syracuse and Western Kentucky are really the three more likely destinations. I would like him go to Syracuse of course.

I mentioned in an earlier post that there are many factors that come into play in a recruit’s decision process. I have not heard of any academic interests for Anselem. So, I am looking only at basketball opportunities.

Based on opportunity for playing time, I would say that San Diego State or Western Kentucky offers Anselem the higher possibility to play significant time. Barring injuries, Syracuse offers little to very little playing time this year (my opinion).

If I had to pick a team to play for based solely on playing time, it would be Western Kentucky.

Only one of those centers would clearly be ahead of him. He might be looking at it like I could be sidibes backup for a year. He is foul prone anyway and then start as a sophomore.

 

[Footey04]

If Sidibe plays and fouls like he did for 90% of the year I believe Anselem would play a lot. My belief is if Anselem comes Edwards will redshirt, which I think he needs to do.

 

[007]

Only one of those centers would clearly be ahead of him. He might be looking at it like I could be sidibes backup for a year. He is foul prone anyway and then start as a sophomore.

He might be thinking of that way, but I highly doubt it. The majority of recruits at this level believe, and are told, that they will be given the opportunity to compete for playing time, including starting. Whether it plays out that way is a different story. This kids are betting on themselves when they look at potential play time when an established starter is in place.