MVCfans.com

Bradley got a verbal from a 7-0 kid from Davenport, Iowa. Obviously a bigtime project who has already said he will redshirt his first season. Nate Wells. Led Iowa in blocked shots last year but didn't do much else. Supposedly a late bloomer type kid.

http://www.bradleyhoops.com/news/x11721 ... m-7-footer

If the Braves can put some beef on the kid, he might be a real find for them down the road. Davenport West is probably one of the worst teams in Iowa's class 4A, so that probably helped keep the kid under the radar.

sounds and looks like another brandon heemskerk

bu had to beat out WIU, Idaho State and Northern Ariz for this kid's services. UNI and Drake weren't even a bit interested. They won 4 games last season and this kid doesn't even put up "lights out" type numbers. I know anything can happen, but I'm guessing there is a reason no one was on him.

gobirds85 wrote:bu had to beat out WIU, Idaho State and Northern Ariz for this kid's services. UNI and Drake weren't even a bit interested. They won 4 games last season and this kid doesn't even put up "lights out" type numbers. I know anything can happen, but I'm guessing there is a reason no one was on him.

I wonder how many all-MVC players could have had the same thing said about them coming out of high school? I'm not saying this kid will be one of them, but all of our teams have recruited guys that were a bit of a head-scratcher at the time. It's about the fit. And Davenport is just as close to Peoria as it is Cedar Falls or Des Moines.

unipanther99 wrote:

gobirds85 wrote:bu had to beat out WIU, Idaho State and Northern Ariz for this kid's services. UNI and Drake weren't even a bit interested. They won 4 games last season and this kid doesn't even put up "lights out" type numbers. I know anything can happen, but I'm guessing there is a reason no one was on him.

I wonder how many all-MVC players could have had the same thing said about them coming out of high school? I'm not saying this kid will be one of them, but all of our teams have recruited guys that were a bit of a head-scratcher at the time. It's about the fit. And Davenport is just as close to Peoria as it is Cedar Falls or Des Moines.

You could say the same thing about Odiakosa...

A lot of these kids we seem to be talking about also put up some decent HS numbers for decent HS teams. This "diamond in the rough" has accomplished neither. All that being said...he could mature and turn into a fine ball player, however, I have to believe the cards are stacked against him. There were some mighty fine DII schools in the mix.

gobirds85 wrote:A lot of these kids we seem to be talking about also put up some decent HS numbers for decent HS teams. This "diamond in the rough" has accomplished neither. All that being said...he could mature and turn into a fine ball player, however, I have to believe the cards are stacked against him. There were some mighty fine DII schools in the mix.

Maybe the Braves beat out Quincy for his services. That would even up the series this year.

I really want to see this kid play. It's amazing that he can have all those blocks but struggle so much to score and rebound.

Welcome aboard Nate, Get ready for the best 5 years of your life.