Von Wafer

Offered per Rivals

10/4/02: "Until about a month ago, Florida State was one of the schools just starting to get mentioned with Vakeaton Wafer. Well, they are in there strong now. According to Wafer's high school coach Jerome Tang, the recruiting process is over. "He committed to them last night," Tang said." - InsidersHoops

9/25 (?): "It was reported here a few days ago that Vakeaton "Von" Wafer, a much sought after basketball recruit, had transferred not once but twice for his senior year of high school basketball. Make that three times. Last week Wafer bailed out of a North Carolina prep school, allegedly in the middle of the night, and has landed at Heritage Christian Academy in Houston.

Wafer played for the Arkansas Wings this past summer after Wings Coach Tim Loren discovered him in Pineville, La. Wafer had never played summer ball before Loren discovered him so this was his first experience with national attention, and it looks like the ride became just one more of those nightmares a lot of college coaches have been complaining about. Make no mistake, Loren did everything he could to protect Wafer from the bottom feeders of summer ball, but there was only so much he could do and only so long he could look after him.

Wafer has tremendous talent, and if he ever makes up his mind to apply himself and get in college he could be a great player. OK, he could be a great player after he learns there are two sides to the court. Right now, he can’t guard a coffee pot.

It was easy to see the change in the young man as he went from unknown to superstar. In three months, Wafer went from unknown to being rated in the top 10 by most recruiting services. He also went from a guy who could impress you as much with his passing ability as his shooting to someone who decided there wasn’t a shot on the court he didn’t need to take.

In the AAU Nationals in Orlando, Fla., he complained that teammate Desma McCoy, a junior at West Memphis, was shooting too much. McCoy was doing 90 percent of his scoring on putbacks. One story that went around in June was that adidas and Nike wanted Wafer at their camps so bad that they were willing to pay his dad $5,000. Don’t know if that is true or not, but it wouldn’t be surprising considering how competitive those two shoe companies are with each other.

At one point, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Texas and Kansas were among the schools courting Wafer. As his attitude changed, some began to lose interest. As one coach put it, "If they can’t take care of their business at this level, they sure can’t take care of it on our level."

Whomever has gotten to Wafer and convinced him to change cities four times (Pineville to Fort Worth to Charlotte to Houston) should be ashamed. Now he’s probably a red flag to the NCAA, which will most likely investigate any college Wafer signs with now. It might not be true, but all the moving around looks like he’s shopping himself, although the story is his high school grading system was so tough he would never have gotten eligible and that’s why he wanted to go to a prep school. Obviously, there are schools that aren’t afraid to wheel and deal for a player, but the highly visible ones can’t afford to take that type of chance. Besides, most successful coaches know if you pay a player, you have to play the player.

The No. 1 way for a nice, quiet kid to start believing his feet don’t stink is for him to get mixed up with street agents, which is what looks like has happened to Wafer.

Those guys who are trying to broker deals with shoe companies and colleges are a cancer to summer basketball. Street agents are after one thing, the almighty buck. Loren did everything he could to protect Wafer. He even let him live in his home most of the summer. But when summer basketball ended Wafer went home, and since then he’s been in more zip codes than UPS." - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

9/22/02: Ranked the 7th best player in his class in a consensus list. - RSCI

9/21/02: "Earlier this week, national recruiting analyst Mike Kruse released a story on insidershoops.com that let the world-wide-web know that Von Wafer would more than likely end up in Houston (this weekend), and enroll in Heritage Christian first thing next week.
Well, it seems that the article pulled up everyone's antennas, rubbed a few folks the wrong way, and as a result, folks from all across the country are scrambling to intercept Wafer or even block the rumored transfer to Heritage Christian. The result, Wafer is (and will not be) in Houston this weekend.

The "grapevine" has been whispering that one of the East Coast Universities was instrumental towards getting Wafer enrolled at the Carolina Prep School in the first place. Now those same folks know that if Wafer transfers back to within sneezing distance of the Gulf Coast, the chances will be slim to none that he'll even think about going back to the East Coast (next year for college).

But for now, Wafer is somewhere is North Carolina laying low. Lauringburg Institute (NC) is the prep school which Wafer is currently enrolled. Back in April, Wafer attended Hal Pastner's Kingwood Classic with the Arkansas Wings (a Nike sponsored Grassroots team). He made an immediate impact on the summer scene. The myth of Von Wafer was born right here in Houston. That was April. But in May, June, July, & August he has passed virtually every test presented before him on the hardwood, propelling himself into a consensus Top 10 Player in the country. Thus, making him a near lock for the McDonald's All American game (which will be held in Cleveland, Ohio next year). Throughout the summer, I had the chance to kick it with Wafer's summer coach and his dad (on more than two occasions). They're all "good people", and we established a pretty good relationship. This is just one of those situations (that's no different from most...) where a dad wants the best situation for his kid, and in doing so - you have to trust somebody. In this "game", it doesn't take long to find out somebody have breached that degree of "trust", or reneged on their word. No matter what the future holds for Wafer, the city of Houston will hold a meaningful place in his heart. Most people usually follow their hearts, and I have the feeling that there's another chapter or two left in this story." - Houston AAU site

9/20: "The kid is supposedly showing up in the Lone Star State on Saturday to tour Cleveland (TX) Heritage Christian -- and word has it he's going to stay there and play. This time for good. At least so says Heritage coach Jerome Tang." - InsidersHoops

9/17: "Right now, I'm focusing on Charlotte, UConn, Florida State, Texas and Louisiana Tech." - Wafer, InsidersHoops

9/17: "Cincy can hardly be counted out for Wafer. . . ." - Bullseye, All Star Report

9/13: "(His HS Coach) Chaney said: "Charlotte is in the lead, then Texas, Florida State, and Indiana. He could make an early decision but I haven't spoken to him about it to be honest about it." Charlotte leading now represent a big shift from what Wafer told us in August. He indicated back in August that Indiana led but it appears that Charlotte has sped ahead in this race and are the favorites to land Wafer." - RivalsHoops

9/12: Listed as the 15th best player in his class. - Bossi, PrepStars

9/12: "I think it clearly helps Charlotte that he's at Laurinburg. Think about this: the head coach at Laurinburg is the former high school coach of Rodney White, a former first rounder with the Pistons who went to Charlotte." - Telep, InsidersHoops

9/6: "This year's winner of Biggest Surprise on the spring and summer AAU circuit, Wafer is now a top priority for several schools. The 6-5 WG/WF, who transferred from Lisbon (La.) Pineview to Fort Worth (Texas) Paschal for his senior year, has a list that includes Indiana, Florida, Charlotte, Kansas State, Mississippi, Arkansas and others. The Hoosiers appear to be in strong position for Wafer, if not the outright leader, and IU would boast a lethal wing combination in Wafer and current freshman Bracey Wright. Florida has been relatively quiet with All-American types this year but remains one of the most potent recruiting forces in the nation. Charlotte may lead the other schools on Wafer's list. Bobby Lutz's underappreciated 49ers finally would begin to draw some national acclaim — as well as more respect from ACC-oriented Tobacco Road — if a top-10 prospect were to call Charlotte home." - Harrington, PrepStars/USA Today

9/6/02: "Vakeaton Wafer may not be staying at Ft. Worth (Paschal) TX, despite the fact he's currently enrolled and attending classes. Apparently there are some eligibility questions that have to be answered, if Wafer, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, remains at Paschal." - HoopScoop

9/6: Wafer is visiting Arkansas this weekend.

8/28: "Paschal's boys basketball team landed one of the nation's notable move-ins when small forward Vakeaton "Von" Wafer enrolled at the Class 5A school on Aug. 19. Paschal coach Mike Hatch confirmed Tuesday that Wafer, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior from Lisbon, La., will be going to school at Paschal. Hatch said he's receiving calls daily to confirm the player's transfer. Wafer, whose name appears on national recruiting lists all over the Internet, moved to Fort Worth recently with his parents and younger brother. Last season at Pineview High in Lisbon, Wafer averaged 32 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks per game.

Wafer's connection to Fort Worth is his aunt, who works at a local hospital. One of Wafer's summer-league coaches contacted Hatch - who also coaches summer-league basketball - after their teams played this summer. "He's a big-time player," Hatch said. "I don't know where he is as far as across the country, but moving into Texas, he'll be one of the top five here." Various Web sites have Wafer ranked anywhere from the sixth-best player in the nation to the 29th. Little was known about him until April 26, when Wafer scored 30 points in a game at a Houston-area tournament with his club team, the Arkansas Wings. Two days later, Wafer scored 32 points in the tournament's quarterfinals and was the talk of the eventTreasured transfer

Paschal small forward Vakeaton Wafer, a move-in from Louisiana, is listed among the nation's top senior basketball players by various analysts. A sampling: (First number is Nat'l rank, second number is Texas rank)

PrepStars.com 6th 3rd
Hoopscooponline.com 8th 2nd
CNNSI.com 12th 3rd
ESPN.com 27th 4th
Rivals100.com 29th 4th
TheInsidersHoops.com 6th 1st (Insiders rated players by position among college coaches)

"It's a great transfer," said Irving-based recruiting analyst Mike Kunstadt. "Coaches can only dream of someone like that moving in." PrepStars.com editor Rob Harrington said Wafer wasn't even on his site's "best of the rest" list before his showing in Houston. "That list was hundreds of names, and he wasn't on it," Harrington said. "All of a sudden, he's a top national priority. Everything fell right for him that weekend. The college coaches were there, and his team happened to be playing at the main gym, which is important at spread-out events."

Colleges interested in Wafer are reported to include Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Charlotte, Arkansas, CINCINNATI, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Texas and Louisiana Tech. Hatch's son, 6-6 senior post Tyler Hatch, also transferred to Paschal from Lewisville. Paschal returns point guard Carter Dunbar from a 22-11 playoff team. "With Von, we hope we make the playoffs and do some damage when we get there," Mike Hatch said. "We'll see how everything plays out." - Ft Worth Star Telegram

8/28/02: "Ending a couple of weeks' worth of speculation regarding where he would spend his senior year, Von Wafer finally has made a decision -- and it's a surprise. Wafer, the elite 6-5 WG/WF who played at Lisbon (LA) Pineview last season, reportedly has shunned both of the schools favored to land him -- Cleveland (TX) Heritage Christian and the Laurinburg (NC) Institute -- in favor of Fort Worth (TX) Paschal. He actually enrolled at Paschal on August 19.

Paschal is an interesting choice. Wafer's link to Fort Worth is his aunt, who works as a nearby hospital. But unlike both Heritage Christian and Laurinburg, two schools noted for their basketball prowess, Paschal does not enjoy a national reputation. However, the team did finish 22-11 last season and make the state playoffs. In addition to Wafer's transfer, coach Mike Hatch's son Tyler, a 6-6 senior swing, also will join the team this year. Wafer is PrepStars.com's No. 6 player nationally from the Class of 2003." - PrepStars



8/23: "Wafer, who averaged 32 points and 10 rebounds as a junior, lists his favorites as Indiana, Charlotte, Florida and Maryland. The Terps, though, recently added 6-4 Mike Jones -- a former Charlotte target -- and could be out of the Wafer race. Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports ranks Wafer No. 17. "I like everything about him," Gibbons said. "He's a very accurate outside shooter, and he can play anywhere from point guard to small forward." The 49ers plan to use one of their two available scholarships for the 6-11, 230-pound Iti in November, and hope to spend the other on Wafer." - Charlotte Observer

8/21: Listed as the 11th best player in his class. - Insiders Hoops

8/15: "We also continue to hear that 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer from Pineville (H.S.) LA, who is ranked #8 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is on the verge of transferring to Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX. However, sources in Houston tell us that it hasn't happened yet." - HoopScoop

8/13: Listed as the 9th best player in his class. "This kid has jump out at you talent and can dominate a game. Hits deep jumpers, attacks the basket with dunks, and plays "D." - PrepSpotlight

8/12/02: Listed as the 8th best player in his class. - HoopScoop

8/5: "once Wafer's first SAT/ACT score comes in then the situation will be a bit clearer as to how far he has to go. Plus in today's roundup story we have a note on correspondence courses he is taking to try to help boost his GPA. Whether (Indiana) will wait or not -- I suppose they probably will, given that they still have four unused grants and Wafer is quite a talent. But it is not a no-brainer - if they get some good fortune recruiting wise this fall they might not be able to afford to wait. The old bird in a hand logic may come up -- but that is a good problem to have. I imagine most fans will want that kind of a problem, giving that IU has no commits at this point." - Peegs.com

8/4: "Cincy is making major strides on 6'5 Vakeaton Wafer, but his leader still remains Arkansas, with LSU possibly second." - Bullseye

8/4/02: Listed as the #19 player in the class of 2003 - Bob Gibbons All Star Report

7/31/02: "One of the best high school players with skills that I saw this summer was Von Wafer (6-5, 210 pounds), the prolific swingman from Pineview High School in Lisbon, La. Wafer said at the National AAU tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., that Indiana is still his leading choice but that he is not going to make a final decision until April. He continues to name Maryland, Indiana, Charlotte and Florida as his top schools. "Any of those schools I can go to," Wafer said. "I just have to set up the visits and make my decision in the spring."

Wafer said he is also considering Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Cincinnati, Louisville, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana State, but it's clear the four above are the top schools.

Kentucky coach Tubby Smith watched Wafer, who scored 28 points in a win over BABC. "I haven't run into any team that can stop me except for the Florida team," Wafer said. "And they were holding my jersey all game long." Wafer has a great first step to the basket and a smooth jumper. He said all of the schools on his list had offered scholarships, except for Louisville and Kentucky.

They are likely to offer after watching him play this past weekend at the Nationals. But everyone is going to have to catch Indiana to win this race. The fortunate part for the other schools is that Wafer plans on waiting until April before deciding." - Sporting News

7/30: "Von Wafer, the prolific scoring 6-5, 210 pound swingman from Pineview H.S. in Lisbon, La., told us at the National AAU tournament in Lake Buena Vista, Florida that he still has a leader. "It's Indiana still," Wafer said. "But I am not going to make a decision until next April." Wafer continues to name Maryland, Indiana, Charlotte and Florida as his top schools. "Any of those schools I can go to," Wafer said. "I just have to set up the visits and make my decision in the spring." On Indiana: "I am in love with their coach, Mike Davis. And I love their style of play, he runs an NBA style offense." - Peegs.com

7/9: Listed as the 29th best player in his class. (Tack Minor, 13; Karron Clarke, 28) - RivalsHoops

7/1/02: "Vakeaton Wafer did it again. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from tiny Lisbon, La., showed up with the Arkansas Hawks in late April at the Houston Kingwood Classic. He arrived as an absolute unknown. He left as the best spring story on the grassroots circuit. And the small-town superstar certainly didn't disappoint in Bloomington, Ind., at the Nike Memorial Day Classic -- or here this weekend at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival. "After his big performance, a lot of people questioned whether he could back it up -- and he has," PrepStars.com recruiting analyst Eric Bossi said Saturday afternoon. "He did it in Bloomington, and he's done it here." Sure did. The kid affectionately known as Von averaged an understatedly impressive 14.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game in helping coach Drew Taylor's South Team to the Festival championship. He drove to the hole hard. He knocked down critical threes at critical times. He fought for rebounds from his perimeter spot.

What he did, in the end, was prove -- yet again -- that he's one of America's best two-guard prospects in this Class of 2003.
"Wafer's one of the best players in the country," said Taylor, who coaches at perennial power Kathleen High School in Lakeland, Fla. "He can shoot the ball extremely well, he's cat-quick, and he can finish on drives." Two months ago, of course, almost nobody knew any of that. Yes, he averaged over 30 points a game, eight rebounds and five assists a game in his last three seasons at Pineview High School, but it took a national AAU tournament -- his first -- to turn him into a coveted high-major Division I prospect.

The Kingwood? It changed everything. "It's been crazy," Wafer said Saturday afternoon at the Olympic Training Center. "I get lots of letters. I go around town, and people are like, 'That's Von. That's Von.' And the coaches just started calling, too." They did that on June 21 -- the first day NCAA rules allowed for it -- but Mike Davis and Rick Barnes were among the handful of interested folks that visited Pineview to see Wafer in the 48 hours following his outburst in suburban Houston." - Basketball America

6/10: Listed as the 27th best player in his class (Tack Minor, 8; Brandon Bass, 45). - PrepStars

June 2002: Was part of USA Basketball's Fifth Annual Men's Youth Development Festival.

5/22: "told us today that he is likely to wait until the Fall before he starts taking trips. "I am just concentrating on my studies," said Wafer, who will bypass a tournament in Indiana to study for his finals. "But there are a lot of schools I like. I am pretty much open and won't do anything about my recruiting for a while." Wafer told us: "I love Maryland, Florida, Indiana, Texas, Cincinnati, and Kansas State," Wafer said. "But I also like the instate schools too. I like LSU a lot and Louisiana Tech. LSU is a great program too." - RivalsHoops

5/10/02: "The name of Von Wafer, a 6-5, 225 pound small forward from Pineview High School in Lisbon, LA, has been hot on the lips of most head coaches in the nation lately. After literally blowing up out of nowhere at the Kingswood Classic in Houston at the beginning of the month, Wafer's recruiting has grown from Louisiana Tech and Kansas State to numerous household names in the college basketball fraternity. "Recruiting is going very, very fast," said Coach Lindsey of Pineview High. "Schools like Texas, Cincinnati, Florida, and Indiana have been by or called about Von. Those are some pretty big schools. Actually, I just got off the phone with the head coach at the University of Texas about five seconds ago.

All of this attention came on the heels of an oustanding showing for the Arkansas Wings AAU program in Houston. The coaches were expressed with Wafer's tremendous ability to explode to the basket and score with ease. Although he still could use some improvement on his ball handling skills, his impressive shooting range and constant hard play and aggressiveness have made Wafer a hot commodity. Despite all of the national attention, Wafer stated that his recruiting process is still wide open at the moment. "Yes sir, everything is wide open right now," said Wafer. "I have gotten a lot of attention, but I don't have a favorite." This despite previously telling Rivalshoops.com's Russ Blake that Texas and Indiana stand out after preliminary visits with the coaching staffs. Wafer recently unofficially visited the campus of Louisiana Tech. "The coaches there are real nice," said Wafer. "I even got to meet some of the players, and they are real cool too. I really enjoyed my trip." - Ruston Daily Leader