LMU's first loss of the season

LMU's recruit for the 2013 class Kahlil Dukes has committed to USC, ESPN reports. Dukes said he chose USC based on location and strength of the Pac-12 conference. In addition to LMU, Dukes also had offers from Drexel and UTEP.

Read more here.

Lions offer 5'11" guard

According to ESPN, LMU has offered Class of 2013 guard Kahlil Dukes of Hartford, CT. Dukes is a scoring guard, who put up 51 points in a game last season for his school, Capital Prep. If he decides to join the Lions, let's hope he works out as well as the last undersized guard from Connecticut we picked up...

Official Ben Dickinson announcement

I'm a little late on this, but here is the school's official press release on the signing of transfer Ben Dickinson, who, as reported below, will be joining the Lions.

http://www.lmulions.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/050712aaa.html

Lions lose recruit

According to Alex Kline, who runs the website http://www.therecruitscoop.com/, Tobe Okafor has
decommitted from LMU and is now being recruited by Drexel, Hofstra, Iona, Auburn, Cincinnati, Ohio State, Syracuse and Tennessee. The Lions received a commitment from the 6'11" center back in October.

Stover earns MVP honors

The 2012 recruit who will potentially have the most immediate impact next season will be Windward High School forward Nick Stover. Most recently, he won the MVP award at the Collision XIV all-star game.

ESPNLA writes, "Los Angeles Windward forward Nick Stover, a Loyola Marymount signee, earned most valuable player honors at the Collision XIV all-star game at El Camino College on Saturday night, leading the CIF Southern Section boys' team to a 113-106 victory against the City Section." He had 19 points in his team's victory.

Team picks up Utah guard

Salt Lake Metro is reporting that the Lions have received a commitment from Eastern Utah guard Chase Flint, who will be transferring to LMU for the upcoming season. Flint averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for his JC team last season.

Chase will likely take the roster spot of Jarred DuBois, who was granted his release from the Lions a couple of days ago.

LMU adds 6'11" center

According to multiple sources, LMU received a verbal commitment from 6'11" Patson Siame of Zambia. Siame just received a spot on the Nike Hoop Summit's World Select Team, a premier annual basketball game featuring some of the world's leading basketball players aged 19 and younger. Sounds like another nice pickup from Associate Head Coach Myke Scholl, and I will post more info on Siame in the coming days.

LMU recruiting two point guards

Courtesy of Ironlion

With the release of Edgar Garibay from the men's basketball team's roster, the Lions now have one more recruiting spot open for next season. LMU has secured Taj Adams, Tobe Okafor, and future star Nick Stover but are definitely in need of a point guard to eventually take over for Anthony Ireland. It seems the team feels the same way, as the Lions have been recruiting two different Class of 2012 PGs.

As mentioned on the website The Recruiting Scoop, the Lions have thrown their hat in the ring for 6'6" point guard Amedeo Della Valle from Findaly Prep in Nevada. The talented guard has received offers from a number of high-profile programs, so it is not likely for LMU to land him, but the website does say that the Lions have made an offer. However, so has Gonzaga, UConn, Saint Mary's, Arizona, UCLA and more.

Scout.com is reporting that LMU has also given an offer to Keywhon Powns, a 6'3" guard from Westchester. He is also being looked at by San Diego State, Marquette and Florida State, but has only received offers from LMU and Cal State Northridge.

LMU a player for recruit Aquille Carr

LMU is recruiting 5'6" Aquille Carr, who ESPN ranks as the 59th best recruit in the 2013 class, according to Zagsblog.com. According to a report in the blog, Carr's Head Coach Harry Martin states that Seton Hall, Baylor, Xavier and LMU are the schools "working the hardest" and "expressing the most interest" in Carr.

The guard has also heard from Texas, Oklahoma State and DePaul. Carr is expected to be at LMU's game tomorrow at Morgan State.

Known as one of the quickest and most explosive players in the country, Carr is currently playing for Patterson High School in Baltimore, MD. He is a point guard.

Read more about Carr in his ESPN profile here.

Thanks to Ironlion for initially finding this report.

Stover completes 2012 recruiting class

Nick Stover out of Windward High School in Los Angeles must have liked what he saw at LMU this weekend because he has officially made his commitment tonight. The 6'5" Stover rounds out a 2012 recruiting class that also includes 6'11" Tobe Okafor and Taj Adams.

According to Josh Gershon of Scout.com, "Nick Stover is one of the most improved players out west over past year. Very good scorer. Taj Adams is one of the west's biggest sleepers ... Two good ones for LMU."

Stover has a Scouts Grade of 86 on ESPN.com.

Nick Stover to take official visit to LMU this weekend

LMU Recruit Nick Stover will take an official visit to the bluff this weekend, according to his Twitter account. With recent commitments from Tobe Okafor and Taj Adams, the Lions have now filled two of the likely three 2012 recruiting spots.

According to Scout.com, Stover has offers from LMU, Boise State and San Francisco.

6'11" center, 6'6" forward commit to Lions

LMU has landed a commitment from 6-foot-11 Mount Zion Academy center Tobe Okaform originally from Nigeria. The New England Basketball Recruiting Report refers to Okafor as a "high level athlete, with a ton of physical tools."

Okafor will be visiting LMU this weekend, and will likely be in attendance for Friday night's Madness at Midnight and Saturday's Crimson/Navy scrimmage.

In addition, Taj Adams, who I wrote about last week, also committed to the Lions tonight.

LMU makes offer to local small forward

LMU made an offer to Fairfax High School small forward Taj Adams yesterday, according to Josh Gershon of Scout.com. Adams has a Scouts Grade of 87 on ESPN.com, and is a 6'6", 170 lb class of 2012 small forward out of Los Angeles.

From what I have read, he sounds like a solid offensive player who is able to create his own shot, definitely something that could fill a gaping hole for the Lions once Drew Viney graduates.

Adams is apparently also looking into San Diego State, Nevada and USC, but is only reported to have received an official offer from LMU. 

C2CRecruiting checks in with Stover, who has narrowed his search to 3 schools

According to c2crecruiting, Nick Stover has narrowed his search down to LMU, Hawaii and UC Irvine, as of last night. 

“I most recently had a in home with Hawaii that went well," Stover said in this article. Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine have stopped by to see me in the open gym.”

As far as any visits setup, ” I only have one visit setup right now, and it's to Loyola Marymount on October 21st for an official visit," the 6-foot-4 senior out of Windward High School in Los Angeles said.

Nick Stover likely to sign with LMU

I wrote back in June that the Lions were heavily recruiting Nick Stover, a 6'5" forward from Winward high school in Los Angeles. A Los Angeles Times blog today reported that Stover could end up signing with the Lions within the next month.

Dakarai Tucker on LMU recruiting radar

Both ESPN and FoxSports list LMU as an active recruiter of Dakarai Tucker, 6'4", 175 lb small forward from Gardena, CA. The class of 2012 forward is also garnering interest from Santa Clara, UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield.

ESPN writes, "Tucker is a long and wiry wing-type with blossoming skills. He affects the game at both ends due to his defensive presence and relentless pursuit of the ball. He is quite potent on the fast break where he uses his length and athletic prowess to get to the rim."

Lions make offer to local power forward

According to Scout.com and Hot100Hoops, LMU has made an offer to 2012 power forward Chris Reyes of Damien High School in La Verne, Ca. The 6'6", 200 lb forward is scheduled to visit Gonzaga early next month.

In addition, Reyes will also visit St. Mary's, Boston College and UC Santa Barbara.  

Marqueze Coleman takes unofficial visit to LMU

Marqueze Coleman took an unofficial visit to LMU today, according to his twitter account. Coleman is a small forward from the class of 2012, and attends Bishop Alemany High School. The 6'3", 180 lb. forward is from Mission Hills, CA.

He has received a Scouts Grade of 87 on ESPN.com. After the visit, Coleman tweeted, "Unofficial at LMU was real cool, I liked it."

Read more about Coleman on ESPN.

I have also heard that Coleman has received offers from Pepperdine and Portland.

Update: Coleman will take an unofficial visit to Pepperdine on Saturday, according to his Twitter account.

Lions pursue class of 2013 point guard

It seems the Lions are recruiting Jaylen Brantley, a point guard from the class of 2013. Brantley is from Springfield, MA, and attends Wilbraham & Monson Academy High School. The 5'10", 150lb guard is the 53rd ranked point guard in his class, according to ESPN.com. 

The website lists Brantley's strengths as being his decision making and "lights out three-point shooting" 
and his weaknesses as being his size and lack of explosiveness.

Update: According to therecruitscoop.com, Missouri, Louisville, Richmond, Virginia, Loyola Marymount, Iowa State & Rhode Island have all made offers to Brantley.

Lions extend offer to 2012 recruit Kethan Savage

Courtesy of Rivals.com

The Lions have made an offer to 2012 recruit Kethan Savage, according to a report today from NBE Basketball. The 6’3 shooting guard out of Episcopal (VA) has been given a Scouts Grade of 90 by ESPN, and is listed as the 28th best shooting guard in his class.

The 6'3 guard is 190lbs and is known to have a good basketball IQ. According to the report, Savage also holds offers from Towson, Duquesne, Farifield, and has heard from Penn State, Virginia and Iowa. He has already made visits to Virginia, Towson, Duquesne and Loyola Marymount.

“I might be going to Penn State in the near future and that’s probably about it,” Savage said of upcoming trips, adding that he may visit Virginia again as well.