Photo: Courtesy of The Dallas News. Jase Townsend (#3) drives to the hoop.
September 9th through November 5th, 2017 is a designated recruiting period for NCAA basketball. Many high school seniors are making their college decisions during this period, ahead of their final season of high school basketball. And the University of Denver just got a big commitment.
In a recent series titled ‘Big Shots’, we identified four recruiting targets – JaVonnie Bickham (6’7″ Minneapolis), Jase Townsend (6’0″ Dallas), Jordan Guest (6’9 Santa Margarita) and Joseph Hedstrom (6’10” Minneapolis). These four players could be transformational players for the University of Denver.
This past weekend, Jase Townsend signed a letter of intent (VC) to attend the University of Denver. We wrote extensively about Jase HERE. With a reputation as one of the best pure shooters in Dallas and solid ball handling skills, he will be a double threat from the perimeter for the Pios. This continues the trend from Billups and company to add speed and athleticism to their go-fast system.
All GODS work🙏🏽Officialy Commited‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/PcX6N4zxww
— Jase Townsend. (@assassin_jt) September 16, 2017
And, it looks like the Billups brothers put on the full court press to secure Jase.
Where does the program go from here?
Clearly, the focus shifts to size. We identified several big men who we see as ideal fits for the Pioneers system – size, athleticism, and proven players at the high school/AAU level. With Daniel Amigo and Christian Mackey entering their senior seasons, size has to be the number one priority for Denver at this point. And the carrot? Incoming ‘bigs’ are guaranteed to earn significant minutes on the floor starting their freshman year.
We’ll keep you advised if DU secures additional commitments during this recruiting period.
I am really disappointed that DU is going back to adding 2nd rate teams to the schedule and now as a long time season ticket holder I get a letter stating those games will be played on Hamilton gym. Joe Scott said he would never play a game in that gym, I think it reflects poorly on the direction of the program.
Fair point Pa78. I think a number of people feel that way. My guess is that IUPUI leaving the Summit League with 3-days notice pushed the schedule and DU had to scramble. If DU can start putting great seasons together there will be no need for Hamilton Gym. That being said, the Hamilton ‘makeover’ looks pretty good.
I am really disappointed that DU is going back to adding 2nd rate teams to the schedule and now as a long time season ticket holder I get a letter stating those games will be played on Hamilton gym. Joe Scott said he would never play a game in that gym, I think it reflects poorly on the direction of the program.
Fair point Pa78. I think a number of people feel that way. My guess is that IUPUI leaving the Summit League with 3-days notice pushed the schedule and DU had to scramble. If DU can start putting great seasons together there will be no need for Hamilton Gym. That being said, the Hamilton ‘makeover’ looks pretty good.
Wow I didn’t realize we moved a couple games to Hamilton. Makes DU look bush league tbh. Need to pack the house for those.
Why were the games moved? Just because we are playing D2 teams?
I am not a fan of Hamilton Gym or D-II opponents, either. Hamilton is looks like a high school gym even with the new seating, and playing D-II schools is a losing proposition for a D-I team, even when you win. I still cringe when I think about DU getting clocked by D-II Colorado Christian at Hamilton some years ago. Worst DU fan experience ever.
I understand that DU got screwed when IUPUI left the league with little notice, so let’s hope this is just a one year aberration and not a future trend.
Wow I didn’t realize we moved a couple games to Hamilton. Makes DU look bush league tbh. Need to pack the house for those.
Why were the games moved? Just because we are playing D2 teams?
I am not a fan of Hamilton Gym or D-II opponents, either. Hamilton is looks like a high school gym even with the new seating, and playing D-II schools is a losing proposition for a D-I team, even when you win. I still cringe when I think about DU getting clocked by D-II Colorado Christian at Hamilton some years ago. Worst DU fan experience ever.
I understand that DU got screwed when IUPUI left the league with little notice, so let’s hope this is just a one year aberration and not a future trend.
Watching the highlight videos, Jase looks very talented, I look forward to seeing him knock down some big threes in his time at Denver.
As for Hamilton, I think it makes sense if you’re going to have DII games to have them there because you just aren’t going to get a crowd for them. So the real issue is of course the scheduling those teams in the first place, which I can’t really add anything that hasn’t been said, just have to hope it doesn’t become a regular thing because it isn’t good for the fan experience and rubs season ticket holders the wrong way.
Watching the highlight videos, Jase looks very talented, I look forward to seeing him knock down some big threes in his time at Denver.
As for Hamilton, I think it makes sense if you’re going to have DII games to have them there because you just aren’t going to get a crowd for them. So the real issue is of course the scheduling those teams in the first place, which I can’t really add anything that hasn’t been said, just have to hope it doesn’t become a regular thing because it isn’t good for the fan experience and rubs season ticket holders the wrong way.