BU recruit- class of 2013- Nathan Taphorn

[tornado]

Taphorn had a good visit to Northwestern and liked it..
This premium column has a Bradley mention...

http://northwestern.scout.com/2/1188389.html

but....even though Northwestern is a fine school - I hope NT weighs his options carefully.....I would caution Nate to notice how many times Northwestern has gone to the NCAA (they never have - EVER), what their post-season and Big Ten Tourney records are (really bad) and how many Northwestern players have ever gone on to any significant post-college careers in the pros (there are none currently in NBA, and only two players since the 1970's from Northwestern have even spent a single day in the NBA (Carlisle, Eschmeyer) and those two guys combined for a total of a handful of games over quite obscure careers.)

[SFP]

Taphorn had a good visit to Northwestern and liked it..
This premium column has a Bradley mention...

http://northwestern.scout.com/2/1188389.html

but....even though Northwestern is a fine school - I hope NT weighs his options carefully.....I would caution Nate to notice how many times Northwestern has gone to the NCAA (they never have - EVER), what their post-season and Big Ten Tourney records are (really bad) and how many Northwestern players have ever gone on to any significant post-college careers in the pros (there are none currently in NBA, and only two players since the 1970's from Northwestern have even spent a single day in the NBA (Carlisle, Eschmeyer) and those two guys combined for a total of a handful of games over quite obscure careers.)

I'd love to see the guy in a BU uniform but not many people play in the NBA and at least NW can give him a really nice education. He could chose a lot worse.

[tornado]

... but not many people play in the NBA ...

but you don't think it is the dream and hope of every kid in high school or college??
The simple facts of which players have been drafted and gotten a shot or who have made an NBA roster or played in the league since the Joe Stowell era...
..proves the likelihood of accomplishing their dream is roughly FIVE to TEN times better for Bradley players than it is for Northwestern players

And I don't deny one can get a good education at Northwestern and their graduates often are highly honored, but the same can happen at Bradley.
If you look at Northwestern's own web site as to their listing of notable alumni - it is not all that much more impressive than Bradley's - given the vast difference in size, costs, and number of grads!!
They list a couple senators, prize winners, and a Supreme Court judge, plus Rahm Emanuel, Steven Colbert, David Schwimmer, Warren Beatty & &Ann-Margret (neither of whom ever graduated), and Rod Blagojevic...Beyond that - not a whole lot of the names are widely known...
I will grant you that Zooey Deschanel is one of my favorite actresses ...

BUT - since we are talking athletics - their list of notable grad-athletes is astoundingly short and outside of Joe Girardi, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Otto Graham...
tell me which, if any, are anything more impressive than "Seymour Greenberg, tennis player" or "Jerry Doggett, former Dodgers broadcaster"?

[AZ BU Fan]

IF: DOB>1982, Chicago>Peoria

[runninfiend]

Taphorn had a good visit to Northwestern and liked it..
This premium column has a Bradley mention...

http://northwestern.scout.com/2/1188389.html

but....even though Northwestern is a fine school - I hope NT weighs his options carefully.....I would caution Nate to notice how many times Northwestern has gone to the NCAA (they never have - EVER), what their post-season and Big Ten Tourney records are (really bad) and how many Northwestern players have ever gone on to any significant post-college careers in the pros (there are none currently in NBA, and only two players since the 1970's from Northwestern have even spent a single day in the NBA (Carlisle, Eschmeyer) and those two guys combined for a total of a handful of games over quite obscure careers.)

Ok, I'd like to see him in a BU uniform, but you don't make the strongest of cases against NU.

-never gone to NCAA but getting closer--it would be awesome to be a member of the first squad to make it. You'd be immortalized on campus.

-you get to play in the Big Ten on the road at IU, OSU, UI A.Hall, WI, etc.

-no offense to NT, but I can't see where the NBA is in his future unless there's some massive development. Can't see their lack of NBA players factoring in.

Just sayin'...

[tornado]

I have seen numerous times - various lists of what kids use or how they rank factors when choosing a school or a scholarship offer...

Generally the top 10-12 factors are (not in this particular order...)

"style of play - opportunities to play uptempo and get the chance to score"
"play in the big time" - or bigger conference" *** this may be the only factor Northwestern can beat BU***
"chance of getting to the NBA or other pro opportunities"
"play on a team that'll be at the top of their conference"
"new, updated, or modern facilities"
"chance of playing in the post-season"
"play in front of a large or vocal crowd - big attendance (BU outdraws NW by a mile)"
"get on TV"
"go to a winning program"
"go where the coach has some long-term stability"
"a program with solid basketball tradition, and maybe also get a good education"
"play where you won't be overshadowed by the football program"

and in my opinion Bradley - even in down year - has Northwestern BEATEN in 11 of these 12 factors!!!!

[SFP]

I've heard kids talk about location as a big factor as well. As a lot of have said I would knock the kid if he went to any school with a great academic reputation regardless. The kids that list NBA as a potential are either being over sold or are part of a very small minority. The bottom line is that 99% of the college players should concentrate harder on the scholastic side when it come to providing yourself a better future.

[tornado]

Taphorn continues to pick up offers...
Rice, Boston College this week.........
I hear he'd still love to play in the Valley!!

[tornado]

Nate Taphorn setting visit to Colorado ..here's a few quotes

"..Taphorn expressed a lot of interest in the Buffaloes' offer.
"But I am blessed to be in this position," he said. "I have around 12 or 13
offers right now. Colorado, Boston College, Northwestern and Rice are the
latest ones. ....Bradley, Colorado State, Creighton, Drake, Green Bay,
Miami-Ohio, North Dakota, Southern Illinois and Illinois Chicago are other
colleges that offered him earlier in the process.

"The fact that they won the Pac-12 this year is really impressive," Taphorn
said of Colorado. ... I have heard it is a beautiful place out in Boulder. I have
never been out to Colorado

"I play basically every role on my high school team," Taphorn said.
"Sometimes I bring the ball up the floor, sometimes I am a guy running off a
screen, sometimes I am a guy setting the screen and popping, sometimes I
am posting up or set up in the short corner. I am also a leader."

http://colorado.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1377032&PT=4&PR=2

[Da Coach]

Nathan is visiting Northwestern today.

[Braves4Life]

Nathan is visiting Northwestern today.

Some are saying they have the inside track on Taphorn.

[Da Coach]

Wisconsin has also been hotly recruiting Nathan Taphorn. However, tonight, Bo Ryan got a commitment from a similar player out of northern Illinois-
6'7 2014 wing forward Ethan Happ from Taylor-Rockridge High School, a small school near the Quad Cities. Happ committed to the Badgers while on an unofficial visit to the Madison campus. He chose Wisconsin over offers from Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin-Milwaukee and interest from Iowa and UNI.

http://ilprepbullseye.com/Happ_Wisconsin.html

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Ethan-Happ-139760

[Da Coach]

The latest on Nathan Taphorn- a premium article from the Northwestern Rivals site-

http://northwestern.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1380165

Here are a couple clips, and it does not sound encouraging for Bradley fans. He does not even mention Bradley among the schools recruiting him-

Taphorn said that he made a return trip to NU to sit down and talk for the first time to coach Bill Carmody, who was out of town the first time he went to Evanston, in mid-May.

What was it like to meet Carmody? "He seemed like a good guy," he says.

What did the two of you talk about? "He asked me a couple questions. He let me know that he thinks I'm a good fit for their [Princeton] system and they really want me."

What else did you do on your visit? "Nothing else. We just sat down -- my parents, my family, Coach Hardy [assistant Tavaras Hardy], and I."

Did it strengthen Northwestern's hand in your mind? "Nothing really changed with Northwestern."

He has been holding at 12 offers for quite some time. He says that Northwestern, Boston College and Colorado are recruiting him the hardest at this point, and that he has started talking to Virginia Tech.

He hasn't taken any other visits and doesn't have any planned, but he's still hoping to make a decision sometime in August.

The fact that Taphorn has taken two visits to Northwestern and none anywhere else would seem to favor the Wildcats, but with Taphorn, any advantage is assumed, not spoken.

[tornado]

...What was it like to meet Carmody? "He seemed like a good guy," he says...

This doesn't sound like he was exactly overwhelmed...
reminds me of when you ask a guy how his date went and he answers..."she seemed like she'd be a good cook"..

[tornado]

Video about Taphorn's decision to go to Northwestern

http://www.cinewsnow.com/sports/Taphorn-commits-to-Northwestern-162678216.html