Colin Gruber Transfers From Northern Arizona

There have been rumors of some guys from Northern Arizona that may transfer, and a couple days ago NorCal Preps confirmed that sophomore to-be Colin Gruber is one guy that will be moving on.

Gruber started 10 games for the Lumberjacks, averaging 3.9 PPG and 1.0 RPG. He struggled a bit offensively, and was not necessarily very efficient, but he came into NAU with a nice pedigree. Now he will be moving on to Cabrillo College.

His plan? It's to play the 2012-2013 season for Coach Tony Marcopulos at Cabrillo College, ready to re-demonstrate the skills that produced 26.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.8 steals a game as a high school senior. For a player who brings to the court a wingspan of someone 6-foot-7 plus a high basketball IQ (the son of a coach), Gruber felt the need to play for a coach he could trust and to re-establish his talent bonafides.

I am guessing that his hope is to spend a year there, and then look to get back to the DI level. If he is able to showcase some of that talent that he showed during his time in high school, he should definitely get a look from some Division I team after this season.

I am also hearing word that James Douglas may be transferring, but I have not confirmed that yet or where he will go. But for sure we know that Jack Murphy will be losing Colin Gruber.

Much thanks to Kevin McCarthy of NorCal Basketball for the tip on this.

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Rumor: Gabe Rogers, James Douglas, and Colin Gruber May Transfer From Northern Arizona

I am not reporting this as a fact at all, but as a rumor that I heard as being possible.

There is a chance, depending on who the new head coach will be, that Gabe Rogers, James Douglas, and Colin Gruber could transfer away from Northern Arizona.

It would obviously be a huge loss if it happens... Rogers was one of the best shooters in the conference two years ago, Douglas was one of the best freshmen in the conference last season, and Gruber showed promise in fairly limited time as a freshman. Whoever the new head coach will be, this could be his first recruiting job - convincing the current players to stick around.

This would further make it so that NAU should act quickly to hire a head coach. They have known that they will need one since last December, when Mike Adras resigned/was forced out, so they arguably shouldn't have waited this long. They will need to make a decision soon to stop some of the bleeding that is going on with the basketball program right now. This isn't like an alternative business loan that takes care of itself, someone should be acting to fix this.

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Guest Post: Northern Arizona's Hellish Weekend in San Francisco

We have a guest blogger on today, going by the initials MP. We will probably see a post a week from him, as he brings another viewpoint and a little more coverage to the blog, which is always a nice thing.


The college basketball season (for most teams) is merely only 4 days old. So how low can things get in that time span? Well, if you ask the young Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, pretty low.

Granted, the college basketball season is a marathon, not a race. And in small-conference basketball, non-conference games don’t have as much of an impact as it does for the big boys. That being said, NAU kicked their season off in a somewhat disturbing fashion in the Hilltop Challenge in San Francisco.

Heck, before the season even started, the Lumberjacks received bad news when their leading returning scorer, Gabe Rogers suffered an injury that will keep him out for at least two months.

The Challenge featured a round-robin three game set between Northern Arizona, University of San Francisco, Louisiana-Lafayette and North Dakota State.

It was a tournament filled with teams who are expected to perform marginal, at best, in their respective conferences. That meant Mike Adras’ squad had a chance to make an early splash on the 2011-2012 season.

In game one, the Lumberjacks tipped-off against Louisiana-Lafayette (or University of Louisiana, if you’re new-school), it was a sloppy affair. And NAU found themselves down 40-27 at the break. The Ragin’ Cajuns 6’9 JUCO transfer Kadeem Coleby (by way of the Bahamas) was a force in the paint all evening long, scoring 16 points--but more astonishingly--blocking 8 shots. A young Lumberjack was led offensively by freshman James Douglas who scored 21 points, but the most frustrating stat for Adras’ squad in the 83-66 loss was the 24 turnovers they gave up.

On Saturday evening, in the second game, the ‘Jacks faced the host school of the Hilltop Challenge, the San Francisco Dons. Twenty turnovers and a 35% shooting performance later, NAU was trounced 69-50.

In the third and final affair, the turnovers were restricted (12), but the North Dakota State Bison were able to shoot an unconscious 60% from the floor, which paced them to a 21-point lead at the break, and after a second half which saw Northern Arizona pick up the pace, the Bison left the Lumberjacks 0-for-San Francisco with a 70-58 victory.

An 0-3 start isn’t necessarily reason to hit the panic button for the faithful in Flagstaff, Arizona. But it raises a question of how will this young team be able to turn the corner in time to be a competitive factor in conference play?

Those close to the Lumberjack program hope Rogers (the junior who averaged 13.1 points) is going to be available by mid-January, shortly after Big Sky play begins. But, what’s to say he will be able to play a major role on this team immediately after his return? Or what if his timetable gets pushed back to early-February, and the Lumberjacks aren’t contending at the top of the standings? Wouldn’t the wiser move be just to redshirt him at that point?  [Editor's Note: From my understanding, Rogers redshirted his first year, so this option is unfortunately unavailable for the Lumberjacks]

The Lumberjacks (excluding Rogers) return only three contributors from last season, two of which played a big role (assist-extraordinaire Stallon Saldivar and Durrell Norman). That means there is a pressing need for this team to figure out their individual roles during non-conference play. The major problem though, is do they have anyone that can create their own shot?

Cam Jones was a special talent, who could create for himself as well as score from all places on the floor. The hole he left in his graduation is gaping for this program. Not only did Jones graduate, but so did Eric Platt and Shane Johannsen, two of the top-four scorers from last year’s Big Sky Tournament semifinal team.

With such inexperience, some young guns are going to have to grow up quick. And without any real size inside to speak of, that young help will come in the form of guard-play. Namely, point guard James Douglas, long-range shooter Danny Cheek and Colin Gruber. All three guys were just at their high school senior prom just months ago.

It might be a scary thought for Lumberjacks fans, but the keys of the program are being handed over to three 19-year old kids until reinforcements arrives. And those three kids will dictate whether Northern Arizona is a team that is strictly preparing for future seasons, or if they are ready to make an impact this season.

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A Look At Northern Arizona's Recruiting Class

Coach Mike Adras lost arguably his two best players last year in Cameron Jones and Shane Johannsen, who both graduated. Thus, it brings importance to this year's recruiting class.

The best seems to be Danny Cheek, a 6'4'' SG out of California. Cheek is a great athlete that has the ability to attack the rim off the dribble. He averaged 15.3 PPG last year. He also has solid defensive potential. He could be the best freshman recruit entering the Big Sky this season.

Another guard that was signed is James Douglas, a 6'0'' PG. He averaged 17.3 PPG and 4.8 APG as a senior last year, and could have a nice future as a scoring guard. He is not super quick, but will find a role in the Big Sky. He probably won't get a ton of time this year, but he will be a nice player for Mike Adras.

The third guard signed is Colin Gruber, a 6'3'' guard that is a proficient scorer. Last season he averaged an impressive 26.6 PPG and 11.6 RPG, and set records at his school for points and steals. He is the son of a coach, and has at least Nor-Cal Basektball thinking he will have a nice career:

Gruber will need to add strength -- as do most freshman entering college basketball -- but Coach Mike Adras run a guard-oriented style and a number of other D-1 coaches are going to rue the day they passed on Gruber.

Northern Arizona also added a JUCO guard in Jywrell Wison (pronounced Ja-rell), who is a 6'3'' combo guard. Last season he averaged 24 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 4.5 APG. He will be a nice fit in Mike Adras' guard-oriented offense with his versatility.

Two JUCO big men were signed. The first was Max Jacobsen. At 6'8'' he averaged 22 PPG and 8 RPG. He is a threat to score in the low post, but can also come out and hit the 15 footer. He will definitely get a look in a frontcourt that is full of question marks. Also important to note that though Jacobsen is a JUCO guy, he will still have three years of eligibility remaining. He originally committed to Portland State out of high school.

More depth will be provided by Ephraim Ekanem. He averaged about 8/6 last season, and will give Adras some minutes, though his ceiling is a bit lower than Jacoben.

Mike Adras lost a lot of talent after last season, so this was an important recruiting class for him. NAU signed 6 players - 4 guards, 2 forwards - 3 high school players, 3 JUCO. There is a lot of talent there to be sure, so it will be interesting to see who plays this year, and how everyone comes together. Adras has proven himself to be a solid program builder, so it is not hard to envision these guys bringing success to Northern Arizona.