Solomon Hainna - 2016 JUCO Offer

[mojo-spider]

somewhat tongue in cheek...but hasn't the University been focused on diversity among the student body like a laser for the last several years?

seems like a military vet who happens to play basketball might fit into an under represented group on campus...veterans...for that matter are scholarship basketball players considered a part of a diverse campus?

hoping KG is fighting for the program...if Admissions really did prevent acceptance

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[gospidersgo]

not a huge miss.

I don't think anyone here had projected Solomon as an all A-10 player or even necessarily a starter -- that's not what the disappointment is really about. We're upset that a chance to land someone who would help the team and by all accounts be a great addition to the university was apparently denied that chance.

 

[spiderman]

doesn't sound like he was denied. they just wouldn't expedite. would take a few weeks but may have been admitted. the guy wouldn't wait, and that's understandable. our administration needs to be able to move quicker when necessary.

 

[gospidersgo]

Same result

 

[3genspider]

The school brags about its efforts at diversifying the student body on a number of fronts but won't consider a potential student of this character and experience, very disappointing. He probably would have been the only veteran of war in the student body, faculty and administration (excluding the ROTC and Policy departments). What an opportunity for everyone that was missed.

 

[R&B fan]

From what i have been told, he was denied. By the way , this problem is nothing new. We graduated football and basketball players this spring who had good careers in and out of the class room that admissions wanted to deny admission as late as May of their senior year in high school. The one good thing here is that the admissions director who fought this is now gone. Hope for the best with the new faces. I need to remind myself of this when I am critical of CM or DR.

 

[fan2011]

I have always thought our pool of potential recruits was smaller than most other schools due to our admissions office, but I thought we are limiting ourselves to ~90% of NCAA eligible D1 basketball players. I wonder what the actual number is? Is our pool of potential recruits 50% smaller than schools who only require the minimum NCAA eligibility? Is our pool of potential players 90% smaller? It would be interesting to know what Mooney is dealing with.

 

[97spiderfan]

I have always thought our pool of potential recruits was smaller than most other schools due to our admissions office, but I thought we are limiting ourselves to ~90% of NCAA eligible D1 basketball players. I wonder what the actual number is? Is our pool of potential recruits 50% smaller than schools who only require the minimum NCAA eligibility? Is our pool of potential players 90% smaller? It would be interesting to know what Mooney is dealing with.

Well, this is the first player we have heard being rejected by admissions (for hoops) that I can recall since Wainwright was here. I would imagine coaches know the parameters they can operate under, so actual rejections are low. Which raises the question, Mooney thought he could get him through admissions or he wouldn't have offered, yet he was still rejected. I think the fact that he was a JUCO probably brought extra scrutiny.

 

[DukeDenver]

I have always thought our pool of potential recruits was smaller than most other schools due to our admissions office, but I thought we are limiting ourselves to ~90% of NCAA eligible D1 basketball players. I wonder what the actual number is? Is our pool of potential recruits 50% smaller than schools who only require the minimum NCAA eligibility? Is our pool of potential players 90% smaller? It would be interesting to know what Mooney is dealing with.

You'd have to look at the top 1000 recruits per cycle to get a real handle on the situation, and that's a hard list to define. I bet only 300 of the top 1000 could qualify at Richmond, and of those 300 potential qualifiers, probably 20-30 would be considered 4 or 5 star talents. If I'm close on that, it's a rough gig trying to recruit those guys. You're basically getting the leftovers from Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame, etc. Luckily, some 3 star guys mature into 4 star talent. That's what I'm hoping to see from the big 2 coming in to Richmond this year.

 

[fan2011]

Well, this is the first player we have heard being rejected by admissions (for hoops) that I can recall since Wainwright was here. I would imagine coaches know the parameters they can operate under, so actual rejections are low. Which raises the question, Mooney thought he could get him through admissions or he wouldn't have offered, yet he was still rejected. I think the fact that he was a JUCO probably brought extra scrutiny.

JJ Avila was under Mooney as well, he was a 16+ points, 7+ rebounds per game transfer denied by our admissions office. We would probably be looking at Mooney's tenure a lot differently if he was here to play on our '13, '14 and '15 teams. One thing a poster above brought up that complicates things more is the fact that there are players who are left in limbo by our admissions office and don't know if they will get in until May. If you are a recruit and want to play for Richmond but won't know for sure if admissions will let you in until May you are taking a huge gamble by waiting it out. All your other offers could go away by then and you might be denied at Richmond as well. I can't imagine someone with any other decent offers would wait on Richmond admissions until May while all their other options evaporate and their status is still up in the air.

 

[32counter]

Recollection is that in the last 5 years the only JUCO transfer athlete for any UR sport was Gary Wortham in football.A northern Va high school player(his father is a coach) he went off to Ventura JUCO in California.He played for UR as a
sophomore in 2014 but was not rostered in 2015.Presume that he did not re enroll in UR as a student,non-athlete.

 

[I-M-UR]

They are not comperable in academic quality, basketball facilities or conference quality though.

Academic quality can be a two way street, if he wants to coast UR may not be his best option. Secondly I believe he is originally from Calf. so we are a long way away from home. I still think a potential rebounder and strong inside defense is worth the gamble.

 

[97spiderfan]

And as a c

JJ Avila was under Mooney as well, he was a 16+ points, 7+ rebounds per game transfer denied by our admissions office. We would probably be looking at Mooney's tenure a lot differently if he was here to play on our '13, '14 and '15 teams. .

Good point. I'm still holding Mooney accountable for the past 5 years performance but if there is a name/names in our admissions process who share culpability, I'd be happy to ream them a new one with regularlity as well.

 

[urmite]

JJ Avila was under Mooney as well, he was a 16+ points, 7+ rebounds per game transfer denied by our admissions office. We would probably be looking at Mooney's tenure a lot differently if he was here to play on our '13, '14 and '15 teams. One thing a poster above brought up that complicates things more is the fact that there are players who are left in limbo by our admissions office and don't know if they will get in until May. If you are a recruit and want to play for Richmond but won't know for sure if admissions will let you in until May you are taking a huge gamble by waiting it out. All your other offers could go away by then and you might be denied at Richmond as well. I can't imagine someone with any other decent offers would wait on Richmond admissions until May while all their other options evaporate and their status is still up in the air.

Did I remember Hainna and Avila tweeting each other?

Anyway, at first I thought Avila went JUCO because of an eligibility issue with how it ended at Navy. But if that were the case, he could have red shirted here. He was going to be a redshirt wherever he went in D1, but decided on a non basketball JUCO instead.

 

[SFspidur]

Did I remember Hainna and Avila tweeting each other?

Anyway, at first I thought Avila went JUCO because of an eligibility issue with how it ended at Navy. But if that were the case, he could have red shirted here. He was going to be a redshirt wherever he went in D1, but decided on a non basketball JUCO instead.

Yes, Hainna and Avila know each other.

Avila couldn't get all of his credits to transfer properly, so he wasn't admitted and went the JUCO route to make up the missing credits. Redshirt wasn't possible because admissions didn't let him in.

 

[gospidersgo]

That's a sad picture for Spider fans.

 

[ur2K]

If this is truly the environment our program is working in, the school should stop pumping the millions and millions they are into the program. Why have the appearance of playing big boy basketball but then not giving the the tools to do so?

 

[MrTbone]

Since this all seems to be grade-related, I give this an F-minus.

 

[DukeDenver]

"What are grades?"
-every VCU basketball player

 

[32counter]

Moral of Story:

Graduate transfer > JUCO transfer

In other words,JUCO transfer- "forget about it".

 

[spiderman]

http://www.courierpress.com/sports/...0c-d326-76e8-e053-0100007f2560-382051421.html
- What was so valuable to us outside of his work ethic and leadership is he's relentless on the glass. He chases every offensive rebound and blocks out very well.
- Hainna has at least two years of eligibility remaining but said UE is working with the NCAA on getting him a third.
- Dreiling said even at 6-foot-7, Hainna routinely finished first in wind sprints at practice. No one outworked him.
- "If he's not in the gym, he's in the film room or the classroom," Dreiling said. "He just gets it and I think he gets it because he has had a lot of experiences that other people haven't had. He knows how valuable his life is, how valuable his time is, so he makes the most of it."

 

[01Arachnid]

"Growing up in Inglewood, California, Solomon Hainna was more interested in playing the cello than perfecting his jump shot."

Are you kidding me? Was Dr. Crutcher worried he'd no longer be the best cellist on campus? Who couldn't get behind this guy? Wish him the best and hope he gets that 3rd year of eligibility at Evansville but he would have been a great Spider regardless of what he did on the court.

 

[Eight Legger]

I won't pretend to know the "whole" story, but from here this whole thing is a terrible reflection on us as a university and as a basketball program. It's embarrassing that we would not accept this young man.

 

[MountainSpider]

Where would his minutes have come from next year if he joined the team?

4/5 -- He is 6'6 or 6'7 200lbs -- which means he is both shorter and lighter than TJC, PF, MW, KA, and GG
3 -- Malcom Bernard scored more than twice as many points while playing division I ball instead of JUCO. Some minutes from either JJ, JP, NS, and/or DB are going to have to come at the 3 as well.

His main contributions would come in later years, but it won't be hard to find players at least as talented as him next year.

 

[spiderman]

yeah, I agree Mountain. the board is up in arms with limited information. we don't like anything hindering the program.
but he had limited statistical success at the juco level. I don't think he was going to be a game changer or anything.

 

[urfan1]

staff must have thought he would be a piece of the puzzle worth offering.

 

[spiderman]

sure. he's got size, he's athletic, he was available in June, and he balances the classes a little.
I'd have been happy to get him.

 

[DukeDenver]

sure. he's got size, he's athletic, he was available in June, and he balances the classes a little.
I'd have been happy to get him.

Given no other better options seem to be falling into place, there was no risk in signing a guy like this. He wasn't a great player, but great work ethic is infectious. Maybe Golden and the other frosh would have been inspired by the guy?

 

[spiderman]

I'm hoping and believing that the frosh are bringing plenty of their own inspiration.