Awesome!  New Flag Alert!!!!

The dunk starting at the 1 min mark will look VERY VERY nice in the Smith Center: https://247sports.com/Video/Tafara-Gapare-Scots-College-Highlights-vs-Strive-for-Greatness-9776032/

EDIT: Dunk was too good not to GIF

Last edited by GW0509 (5/22/2020 8:23 pm)

https://247sports.com/Article/Tafara-Gapare-George-Washington-Basketball-Commit-147432374/ 

"Gapare is arguably the most talented prospect to commit to George Washington in the Jamion Christian Era. At 6-foot-8, Gapare is oozing with upside and potential. He has an impressive physical make up, good mobility, length, athleticism, versatility, defensive potential and an improving skill set. "

"Gapare will be rated as a four-star prospect on 247Sports, and is George Washington's first commitment in the 2021 recruiting class."
 

According to that Instagram video, he has a 37.4 inch vertical jump which would've been tied for 16th best in the 2019 NBA combine.

I'm no talent evaluator, but this kid reminds me a little of Yuta. Tall, lanky, explosive athlete, and the ability to hit some 3s. May not be as good of a defender, but 1) that is a high bar and 2) that remains to be seen.

Last edited by MG14 (5/22/2020 9:03 pm)

Very little buzz about him on the web, forums or social media outside of NZ press.  Wondering where the four star reference comes from.  Would make sense if there were P5 schools after him too, but I can’t find any sign of that yet.  Video looks great though.  Game seems to come to him effortlessly for a kid that tall and lanky.  Seems like fellow Kiwi Steven Adams of the OKC Thunder has taken Tafara under his wings for many years now. 

2.05 meters is 6’9” BTW.

Extended highlights from that game vs Strive for Greatness last year with Lebron in attendance.  SFG is a loaded AAU team with Bronny James, Dior Johnson (#1 2022 PG, Syracuse) and a few other Div I recruits on the roster.

https://youtu.be/Wt5qTe7mCGY

Last edited by BM (5/23/2020 8:13 am)

Florida, I’m just conditioned to expect scouts to rank kids by their offers, not abilities.  I’ll take your word on Evan Daniels.

Great article about Kenny McFadden, the NZ youth development coach who has been working with Tafara.  Looks like he’ll be receiving some fantastic coaching before he comes here in a year.

https://oklahoman.com/article/5602976/meet-kenny-mcfadden-the-man-who-shaped-steven-adams-and-new-zealand-basketball

I’m excited about this signing.  That windmill jam against Bronnie James’ aau team!   Wow!

Cutis, as far as I know, there’s only been one verbal to GW who backed out (Nigel Johnson).  Not sure how common that really is, but I’m confident this kid is coming here.

This is exactly the kind of recruit that this program needs to be taking chances on.  You can't stock an entire roster on hit-or-miss prospects but you can pick and choose your spots wisely.  This prospect looks like a very wise choice to take a chance on.  Looks like Coach Nima was very involved so congratulations to him (and the entire coaching staff) for securing a verbal commitment.

I gave some thought to others who reneged on a verbal in the past and as FQ suggests, Nigel Johnson was the only name that came to mind.  That said, there could be others who we are forgetting.  Or, there could be others that were never publicized, more like an informal agreement that was not made known to the public.  I will say that while it is always possible for a verbal to renege, I'm tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop when it comes to this program.  Rather than worry about major conference schools approaching Tafara, let's just be really happy about this.  Welcome Tafara; we can not wait to see you play in DC.

jf wrote:

With the embassy here in Washington, New Zealanders can easily watch Tafara play.

Let's just hope the embassy doesn't assign Murray Hewitt to market Tafara while he's in the states.


 

B_Loud wrote:

247 has Gapare as the #99 ranked player (4 star) in the country for 2021.  No composite ranking yet.

Good catch!  Evan Daniels said that he's a four star in the note, now he's put that on paper in the rankings.  Highest ranked A-10 recruit for 2021 as of now.