Wichita State notes: Canadian basketball player turns into rising recruit

Earlier this month, Canadian basketball player Nikola Djogo visited Northeastern, a Colonial Athletic Association school located in Boston that went to the NCAA Tournament last season and the NIT in 2013.

“Two weeks ago, it looked like a great option,” said Brandon Lesovsky, Djogo’s coach at Athlete Institute in Mono, Ontario.

It might still be. However, Djogo’s options are growing significantly as more schools get a look at his talents.

Notre Dame and UNLV recently offered him a scholarship. Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall is scheduled to watch him practice on Monday, Lesovsky said. Lesovksy can offer Djogo (Joe-go) a home-state view of the Shockers. He is a former assistant at Neosho County and Cowley community colleges and Kansas Wesleyan.

“His head is spinning right now,” Lesovsky said. “His recruitment has really started to take off in the last week or so. I know he’s got interest in (WSU). He likes their program and we’ve talked a lot about their facilities.”

Djogo, a 6-foot-7 wing, didn’t play in July because of an ankle injury. Notre Dame coaches watched him when they visited to watch center Thon Maker, a five-star prospect.

“Now everybody is seeing him, some for the first time,” Lesovsky said. “He’s a bit of a point forward. He gets the ball and goes. He can shoot it from deep. He’s got that European game, always under control.”

According to Scout.com, Butler, Wisconsin and Tennessee are also looking at Djogo.

“I’m confident in my ability and the schools that will call on me,” Djogo told Jake Brown of Scout.com. “I like talking to other coaches and seeing what schools might be the best fit. If schools really pick up their recruitment and you don’t pay enough attention to them they tend to die down. I like to see what schools stay involved and really want you.”

Code breakers — It hasn’t always been easy for Wichita State to sell tickets to its annual basketball game at Intrust Bank Arena.

This season, WSU boasts a matchup that doesn’t require discounts – but another problem arose.

Although it’s not clear how widespread the practice is, at least some season ticket-holders shared their code to buy tickets for the Dec. 12 game against Utah.

With the code, a fan could jump ahead of other buyers, irritating season ticket-holders who may miss out on good seats. While it doesn’t appear large numbers of tickets are showing up on the secondary market, sharing codes would also allow people to buy tickets and sell them for a profit. On Saturday morning, vividseats.com offered 41 upper-level seats for sale, all above face value. There is no limit on the number of seats a season ticket-holder can purchase.

“We’ve always been able to purchase upper-bowl tickets in the middle close to the front of the upper bowl,” season ticket-holder Jeff Beckwith wrote in an email explaining his concerns. “We aren’t even concerned with the lower bowl. Yet now we’re getting shut out of that area. The only tickets we were able to purchase were on the ends of the lower bowl, and up high.”

Codes were distributed to season ticket-holders ranked by Shocker Priority Points. Deputy athletic director Darron Boatright said WSU is aware of the issues. The athletic department urged season-ticket holders not to share their codes in a letter explaining the sale.

“We asked season ticket-holders to protect the integrity of the codes,” he said. “Most choose to do that. We’re always evaluating and I’m sure there are some changes we can make.”

One potential change is issuing a code that expires after one use. While Intrust Bank Arena and selectaseat.com administer the tickets, WSU can choose codes and dates for the sale.

Last season’s game against Saint Louis registered the first sellout (15,004) of WSU’s five games at the downtown arena. The game against Utah is expected to sell out and will be one of WSU’s most anticipated non-conference games in recent seasons.

Play for pay — Three former Shockers are gearing up for NBA training camps, all starting Tuesday.

▪  Cleanthony Early, according to his Instagram account, is changing his New York Knicks number from No. 17 to No. 11, which he wore at WSU. That change is not yet reflected on the team’s roster.

Early, who averaged 5.4 points in 39 games as a rookie, is part of a crowded picture at forward. Beyond Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks added draft pick Kristaps Porzingis and free agents Kyle O’Quinn and Derrick Williams.

“Based off of last year, the guys that we have this year, there’s nothing but opportunity,” Early told Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “There’s a chance that I can play a decent amount of minutes, if not a good amount of minutes. Phil (Jackson, team president) said it. (Coach Derek) Fisher said it. It’s just a matter of getting there.”

▪  Toure Murry goes to training camp with the Washington Wizards with a non-guaranteed contract. The roster numbers are stacked against him, according to the Washington Post.

The Wizards have the NBA limit of 15 players on guaranteed contracts. Murry played four games with the Wizards before an ankle injury ended his season.

▪  Minnesota signed Nick Wiggins to a non-guaranteed contract, reuniting him with younger brother Andrew for training camp.

Nick Wiggins played in three games with Minnnesota’s Las Vegas Summer League team. NBA teams are allowed to carry 20 players during camp before cutting to 15.

Diamond lists — Wichita State’s baseball freshmen are ranked No. 20 nationally by scouting service Perfect Game, although its list is out of date.

WSU’s freshman class includes first baseman Greyson Jenista, ranked No. 1 in Kansas’ class of 2015, pitcher Connor Lungwitz, No. 6, and catcher Noah Croft, No. 9. Outfielder Dayton Dugas was No. 111 nationally and No. 4 in Louisiana.

It no longer, however, includes Louisiana infielder Lenni Kunnert, who decided to attend Northwestern (La.) State, and Oklahoma third baseman Clay Richards. He left WSU to return home and recover from knee surgery.

Junior college recruits and transfers are not included in the Perfect Game rankings, which put Vanderbilt No. 1 and Dallas Baptist No. 42.

▪  The eight-person staff of D1baseball.com, which includes Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers, ranks the Shockers No. 73 in its list of the nation’s top 100 programs.

Missouri Valley Conference rivals Dallas Baptist (No. 35), Missouri State (No. 49) and Indiana State (No. 94) are also included. Kansas State is No. 57 and Kansas is No. 86.

Teams are ranked by judging recent history, coaches, facilities, recruiting and other factors.

▪  Former Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Steve Sax will speak to the Shockers on Oct. 5. Sax will visit Wichita to promote the Steve Sax Foundation, a youth mentoring program, and children’s weather books written by Wichitan Mindy Cook.

Sax, the 1982 National League Rookie of the Year, will also speak at North High and Maize South and meet the public at The Hill Bar & Grill, 4800 E. Douglas, from 5-7 p.m.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Wichita State notes: Canadian basketball player turns into rising recruit."