Cyr Malonga - 2023

[southsidehoosier]

6’11 center who is scheduling a visit to IU according to Peegs.

 

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2023/cyr-malonga-269878

 

https://247sports.com/college/indiana/Article/Cyr-Malonga-Evangel-Christian-Louisville-Indiana-basketball-recruiting-165842822/

[dgambill]

This kid has never played organized ball until 3 years ago. Talk about raw. He also has a scheduled visit to Kentucky...so man he will likely be jumping up the charts soon.

[jv1972iu]

10 hours ago, dgambill said:

This kid has never played organized ball until 3 years ago. Talk about raw. He also has a scheduled visit to Kentucky...so man he will likely be jumping up the charts soon.

No thanks.  BTB has a post with a story about Malonga, Brandon Bender's involvement as his AAU coach, the "school" he is attending.  Red flags.

[dgambill]

50 minutes ago, jv1972iu said:

No thanks.  BTB has a post with a story about Malonga, Brandon Bender's involvement as his AAU coach, the "school" he is attending.  Red flags.

Yeah, this kid is a mystery kid...just shows up out of nowhere. I saw some tape on him and he looked like he was playing with junior high kids...not even post worthy. Obviously with little history who knows with him. I'll have to read the backstory but wouldn't surprise me there are red flags.

[NotIThatLives]

7 hours ago, jv1972iu said:

No thanks.  BTB has a post with a story about Malonga, Brandon Bender's involvement as his AAU coach, the "school" he is attending.  Red flags.

Evangel Christian Academy has probably been around longer than you and I.  At least my whole life.  I think they went through some financial trouble in 08 with the rest of the country but they must have made it through.  

[jv1972iu]

7 minutes ago, NotIThatLives said:

Evangel Christian Academy has probably been around longer than you and I.  At least my whole life.  I think they went through some financial trouble in 08 with the rest of the country but they must have made it through.  

I'm 71.  So, when was this school established?  I found the same school name in Louisiana and it was established in 1980.  Bringing in kids from Africa to play basketball?  

 

[NotIThatLives]

49 minutes ago, jv1972iu said:

I'm 71.  So, when was this school established?  I found the same school name in Louisiana and it was established in 1980.  Bringing in kids from Africa to play basketball?  

 

Louisville.  Not Louisiana.  I turn 40 june 11.  My whole life is a hair younger than yours.  Ill have to ask my dad.  He grew up there and has known the pastor for probably 30 years or more.  He actually helped wire the building that fedex bought, hence the new stuff.  Ill paste what i just shared on btb.  

  17 hours ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

The Daily Hoosier  -  Can confirm this report. 2023 big man Cyr Malonga will visit #iubb in early June his AD told me earlier this afternoon.

https://www.si.com/college/recruiting/basketball/cyr-malonga-congo-2023-forward-college-basketball-recruiting

Rivals says he's 6' 11" and weighs 205 lbs.  Attends Evangel Christian HS in  Louisville.  Lot of red flags (maybe) in this:  https://bluegrasspreps.com/forums/topic/223115-strange-things-afoot-at-louisvilles-evangel-school/

1. Branden Bender is a straight idiot.  Only a grace giving community would give him such a chance.  Looks like he has embarrassed them a few times already. 

2.  Evangel Christian academy has been around a very long time.  The school was in disrepair in 2008, economy went south, i thought the school was closing.  Well, fast forward, their original property is across the interstate from one of the countries largest fedex hubs.  I was driving up I-65 last month when I said, "what the heck? Where's evangel?"  Uh fedex bought the property.  Hence brand new gymnasiums, football fields etc.

Edit to add.  That property was probably 200-300 hundred acres of prime real estate right off the interstate, near the airport, 6 minutes from city center.  They literally may have gotten 100 million for it.  

Edit to add 2.  The church was established in 1956.  Dont know when the school was started but it was junk in 2008.  Saw it with my own eyes.  

More info.  211 acres.  They tried selling in 98 for 25 million.  Fast forward to now, probably at least double that.  

[dgambill]

Thanks for the info around the school. I think the issue is more around the athletic director and the age of this recruit etc. Seems to be shady...which isn’t surprising as foreign athletes from poor countries like Cuba or African countries have a habit of doctoring fake birth certificates etc. (I use to run a bank in an area with a large Somalian community and almost all of them had the same birth date) I’ll let the staff decide what they are going to do here. Might not feel good but doesn’t mean the kid is not eligible or worthy of college ball. He has visits lined up with several prominent schools so we aren’t the only ones kicking the tires.

[BobSaccamanno]

1 hour ago, dgambill said:

Thanks for the info around the school. I think the issue is more around the athletic director and the age of this recruit etc. Seems to be shady...which isn’t surprising as foreign athletes from poor countries like Cuba or African countries have a habit of doctoring fake birth certificates etc. (I use to run a bank in an area with a large Somalian community and almost all of them had the same birth date) I’ll let the staff decide what they are going to do here. Might not feel good but doesn’t mean the kid is not eligible or worthy of college ball. He has visits lined up with several prominent schools so we aren’t the only ones kicking the tires.

I know nothing about this particular recruit so I will reserve judgment.  But I wanted to chime in on the age thing.  I don’t know what original nationality he is, but there was a big scandal surrounding Thon Maker.  He was supposedly a good 4-6 years older than he pretended to be.  As I recall, there were people who knew him the first time he went to high school.  I think the idea was he switched countries and started high school over but people knew him from his prior stint in high school.  

[NotIThatLives]

2 hours ago, dgambill said:

Thanks for the info around the school. I think the issue is more around the athletic director and the age of this recruit etc. Seems to be shady...which isn’t surprising as foreign athletes from poor countries like Cuba or African countries have a habit of doctoring fake birth certificates etc. (I use to run a bank in an area with a large Somalian community and almost all of them had the same birth date) I’ll let the staff decide what they are going to do here. Might not feel good but doesn’t mean the kid is not eligible or worthy of college ball. He has visits lined up with several prominent schools so we aren’t the only ones kicking the tires.

So I'm with my mom and dad at rhe moment and brought this up.  

Mom said Pastor Bob Rogers has a large inner city ministry and has been apart of world missions for a very long time.  

Bender is the suspect for sure.  

[Steubenhoosier]

I would hope that we are at the point as a program that we aren’t recruiting these kinds of projects. Reeks of some of the recruits Crean brought in 

[bluegrassIU]

3 hours ago, Steubenhoosier said:

I would hope that we are at the point as a program that we aren’t recruiting these kinds of projects. Reeks of some of the recruits Crean brought in 

You don't say?   😁

[cybergates]

7 hours ago, bluegrassIU said:

You don't say?   😁

 

Rivals showing "blank" five stars for all recruits and filling them in with gold for their actual star rating threw me for a loop there. I was wondering how could a kid be an unranked 5*.

[jv1972iu]

8 hours ago, bluegrassIU said:

You don't say?   😁

 

Let Georgia have him.

[dwtaylor1055]

on campus