MVCfans.com

The Redbirds add PWO Jayden Johnson out of Batavia, IL. 6'6 196 2-guard/wing. He has deep ties to Normal with his grandfather as a former Redbird assistant (Terry Smith) and his dad played at U-High and Eastern Illinois- Berry Johnson.

Under previous coaching staffs, he once held offers from Southern Illinois and UIC. Since then, a few D2 offers.

The kid has range but needs to work on quickness. His shot takes too long to get off. I always love bringing in PWOs because they have shown that they can play at the D2ish level and come into D1 and give everything they can to show they belong. No risk, high potential reward. He'll probably redshirt. Everything I've read says he's a good kid. Look forward to him joining the program.
http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/jayden-johnson

Birds still have one scholarship left. Muller said he wants to use it on a sit-out transfer.

Redbirds fill their final scholarship with the addition of Sy Chatman, a 6'8 220 Forward who will sit one, play two most likely starting with the 2021-22 season. I saw most likely because he announced his transfer from UMASS in Dec 2019, so in theory, could be eligible in Spring 2021. Early comments from the staff indicate they do not expect him to play until 21-22.

Originally from Minneapolis, Chatman held a couple of MVC offers out of high school (Bradley and UNI). As a freshmen, he played in 29 games, starting four, and averaged 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he went through the entire off-season at UMASS including going on their foreign tour to the Virgin Islands, and playing in their exhibition game. After that, he sat out for the first five games of the season while the coaches cited, "personal reasons," and not elaborating any further due to respect of privacy. Tons of speculation out there about what was going on during those five games.

Once he came back, he played in 6 games, starting in two of them. He averaged 5.7 ppg (44.8% from the floor), and 3.5 rebounds. This includes a 16-point outing against Rutgers. I've read where other believe he was brought back into too big of a role too quick, which is why his numbers suffered. Its said he was forcing (similar to Keith Fisher this past season until February).

I'm told his athleticism is what sets him aside from other players but he needs to let the game come to him.

I'm not sure what to think of this signing yet, but knowing that Fisher is technically the only senior on the Redbirds in 20-21 opens the door for an immediate need in 21-22, this helps the post depth for that year. (Andrews would be a soph, Abdou a Jr., Kotov a Jr., Chatman a Jr. and Dusan a Sr). I always like when players redshirt. It allows them to get used to the practice schedule, culture, and classes without having to worry about games.

Adunk33 wrote:Redbirds fill their final scholarship with the addition of Sy Chatman, a 6'8 220 Forward who will sit one, play two most likely starting with the 2021-22 season. I saw most likely because he announced his transfer from UMASS in Dec 2019, so in theory, could be eligible in Spring 2021. Early comments from the staff indicate they do not expect him to play until 21-22.

Originally from Minneapolis, Chatman held a couple of MVC offers out of high school (Bradley and UNI). As a freshmen, he played in 29 games, starting four, and averaged 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he went through the entire off-season at UMASS including going on their foreign tour to the Virgin Islands, and playing in their exhibition game. After that, he sat out for the first five games of the season while the coaches cited, "personal reasons," and not elaborating any further due to respect of privacy. Tons of speculation out there about what was going on during those five games.

Once he came back, he played in 6 games, starting in two of them. He averaged 5.7 ppg (44.8% from the floor), and 3.5 rebounds. This includes a 16-point outing against Rutgers. I've read where other believe he was brought back into too big of a role too quick, which is why his numbers suffered. Its said he was forcing (similar to Keith Fisher this past season until February).

I'm told his athleticism is what sets him aside from other players but he needs to let the game come to him.

I'm not sure what to think of this signing yet, but knowing that Fisher is technically the only senior on the Redbirds in 20-21 opens the door for an immediate need in 21-22, this helps the post depth for that year. (Andrews would be a soph, Abdou a Jr., Kotov a Jr., Chatman a Jr. and Dusan a Sr). I always like when players redshirt. It allows them to get used to the practice schedule, culture, and classes without having to worry about games.

He's a good athlete. If he keeps his head on straight he should carve out a nice role for ISU.

Was a major target for UNI out of HS.

I think it's telling that Jake didn't reach out to him one single time after he announced his departure from UMASS.

He could be great for ISU, but he seems to fit the stereotype of an ISU player. Super athletic, not super disciplined on or off the court.

patnb wrote:Was a major target for UNI out of HS.

I think it's telling that Jake didn't reach out to him one single time after he announced his departure from UMASS.

He could be great for ISU, but he seems to fit the stereotype of an ISU player. Super athletic, not super disciplined on or off the court.

So you're privy to every communication Coach Jake has ?? What do you do, tap his phone and monitor his emails ?

BEARZ77 wrote:

patnb wrote:Was a major target for UNI out of HS.

I think it's telling that Jake didn't reach out to him one single time after he announced his departure from UMASS.

He could be great for ISU, but he seems to fit the stereotype of an ISU player. Super athletic, not super disciplined on or off the court.

So you're privy to every communication Coach Jake has ?? What do you do, tap his phone and monitor his emails ?

In defense of patnb - the schools who recruited Chatman the first time around weren't interested the second time around. And his people reached out. It doesn't mean he won't be a good player at ISU.

tribecalledquest wrote:

BEARZ77 wrote:

patnb wrote:Was a major target for UNI out of HS.

I think it's telling that Jake didn't reach out to him one single time after he announced his departure from UMASS.

He could be great for ISU, but he seems to fit the stereotype of an ISU player. Super athletic, not super disciplined on or off the court.

So you're privy to every communication Coach Jake has ?? What do you do, tap his phone and monitor his emails ?

In defense of patnb - the schools who recruited Chatman the first time around weren't interested the second time around. And his people reached out. It doesn't mean he won't be a good player at ISU.

From what I've read, Chatman has a me over mentality. Hopefully that will adjust as he sits out a year. The Birds have two players from Minnesota on the roster for the first time since Zach Lofton and Reggie Lynch. Both players had serious off the court issues that left some fans to believe ISU should stay out of recruiting Minnesota. In fairness, I've seen nothing but positive review on Josiah Strong.

I'll give Chatman his fair shake before passing any final judgments. Hopefully, he's a good player for the Birds.

The last two posts are exactly correct.

It's not that Chatman didn't reach out to Jake, in fact he did. Jake had no interest in him. Hiding anything in recruiting in 2020 is almost impossible. There were more than a couple stories about his mentality and attitude at UMASS. Jake doesn't take a lot of transfer, and the ones he takes don't have that kind of mentality. That's not the program he runs. Muller does, that's his prerogative.

Maybe he changes and ISU is exactly what he needs. It's entirely possible. You're defensive of your team, I get that.

It's not just UNI that wasn't interested in him, FWIW. Athletically super gifted. Some programs don't know if that outweighs what they view as red flags.

You can never have enough bodies. The Redbirds add a 6'0 walk-on PG, Nik Stadelman out of Rockford Guilford. He was originally committed to D2 Lewis.

Also, Alex Kotov (the Russian who signed on earlier in the spring) is on his way to campus now after being stuck in Russia since March. He'll quarantine for two weeks once he gets to campus.

Adunk33 wrote:You can never have enough bodies. The Redbirds add a 6'0 walk-on PG, Nik Stadelman out of Rockford Guilford. He was originally committed to D2 Lewis.

Also, Alex Kotov (the Russian who signed on earlier in the spring) is on his way to campus now after being stuck in Russia since March. He'll quarantine for two weeks once he gets to campus.

Yeah the Bears added a pair of local HS players as walk-on, plus they have one returning. If we get to play probably a smart year to have a couple extra bodies available in case you get hit with a positive or two during the year. You can't probably satisfy 13 scholarship guys, but you can get close with 11 plus 2-3 walk-on . Bears currently have 12 scholys /3 walk-on, but one of the scholys will redshirt. About the right mix hopefully.