Today is the final day for drafted baseball players to sign. Pitching coach Brent Kemnitz said he thinks the attrition is over for Wichita State. Of course, one never knows, as this summer proved. WSU lost two players unexpectedly. Texas lost center fielder Jordan Danks on Thursday to the White Sox.
“We’re OK as far as I know,” Kemnitz said Friday morning.
The five remaining drafted recruits are pitchers Jordan Cooper (Red Sox), Brian Flynn (Red Sox), Charlie Lowell (Rangers), shortstop Tyler Grimes (Tigers) and infielder Josh Rosecrans (Rangers).
WSU basketball coaches are doing their best to save Ehimen Orupke. Three Rivers Community College coach Gene Bess said he will likely redshirt Orupke, at the request of WSU coaches. Beyond that, Bess said it is not unusual for him to redshirt big men, especially foreign players, to give them a year to acclimate and develop.
That’s a great situation for WSU. Orupke is kept out of the recruiting spotlight, gets a year of coaching in a good program and doesn’t burn a year of eligibility. Orupke’s situation has been frustrating and time-consuming for WSU coaches and administrators, but they are doing what they can to ensure his return.
Many years ago, an assistant at another MVC school mentioned how much time Shocker coaches under Scott Thompson wasted hanging around Ben Davis, a big-time forward at Hutchinson Community College, who played at Arizona and briefly in the NBA. WSU had no shot at a player of his talent. While WSU recruited him, other players slipped away. Former WSU assistant Tad Boyle once told me the most important decision they made regarding recruiting was who to hit hard and who not to waste time and resources on. This WSU staff has invested an enormous amount in Orupke, and they payoff remains iffy. After watching him play this summer, I think they are doing the right thing. When WSU gets a good chance with a talent like this, it needs to jump. It may turn out to be a waste. I can’t knock them for trying.
Tickets for the Old Spice Classic go on sale today. 12 games for $90 seems like a bargain.