Official Recruiting Thread II

[JuiceCruz16]

He may not even step on a college campus.

Yes, I've heard he should be eligible for the draft, and if so he will go pro.

[greasywheels121]

Kevin Jones is expected to announce his college decision at 2:30 PM. I haven't heard anything to tip off where he'll be at, but Indiana, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John’s, and Massachusetts are all in the mix.

[Palehosefan]

He may not even step on a college campus.

 

Yes, Riek is terrible. He would be better off not stepping onto a basketball court again until the draft and hope he gets taken for his potential. I've seen two games now from him where he was standing under the basket with his 7'2 frame and still couldn't muster up enough athleticism to dunk the ball and missed the layup several times. He has nothing in the way of an offensive game, and blocks several shots just standing on the ground because of his again 7'2 frame. I don't even know if I could call him a poor man's Hasheem Thabeet.

Edited November 14, 2007 by Palehosefan

[Palehosefan]

Anybody catch the Elite 24 game last night that aired on ESPN 2 at 11:30 Central time? It's 24 of the best players regardless of class. Anyways, here's what I thought about some of the players. I'll start with some guys that might interest other posters here.

 

Devin Ebanks, IU, commentators kept stating he reminded them of Rudy Gay and I can see it. He's got the same style of body and athleticism. Didn't see much from a shooting perspective and that's his weakpoint right now, but tons of potential.

 

BJ Mullens, OSU, great talent, best player on the floor most of the time. Runs the floor relentlessly and has suprising athleticism on his 7 foot frame. Had a nice reverse put-back dunk that got the crowd going. If he teams with Koufos for a year, look out world.

 

Samardo Samuels, Louisville, if he was 7' he would be the top ranked player in the class easily. But at 6'8 he's got a wide base and relentless agression. Not the most athletic guy in the world, but can throw down some dunks and suprise some people. Once he's on the block, he's not being moved by anyone. If his 6'8 size keeps him around a few years in Louisville, they should thank God.

 

Delvon Roe, MSU, quiet game, but had a few nice dunks. He's not great at anything specific, but is solid all-around.

 

Now for other's, including underclassmen.

 

Brandon Jennings, Arizona, ridiculously talented, but I'm not sure how much of a shooter he is going to be. He can get anywhere he wants to on the floor and has nice size at 6'1. Reminds me of a better shooting Rajon Rondo, with less defensive intensity. I don't think he did himself well going into the unstructured style at Arizona. He could have used a defensive, focused program for a year before departing.

 

Tyreke Evans, Louisville most likely, almost unstoppable offensive game. Doesn't possess a 40 inch vertical, but has great quickness and ballhandling. Reminds me of a bigger, thicker, Joe Forte. Hopefully he doesn't carry the same attitude. Reminds me somewhat of Monta Ellis.

 

Demar Derozen, USC, wow is he fun to watch. Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant type athleticism and potential. Shooting has improved drastically in the past year and he has skyrocketed up the charts. Sky is the limit, but again USC isn't going to do anything for his game.

 

Jrue Holiday, UCLA, undersized 2G prospect at 6'4, but has a lot of skills. Pretty similar to Tyreke Evans, just not as flashy and is more interested in defense. Great ballhandler that can play the PG slot as well, but SG is his calling.

 

Kemba Walker, UConn, most dissapointing at the game. You can see he's an athletic, nice sized PG, but that's all you can see.

 

Lance Stephenson, 09, In a similar mold to Tyreke Evans, but an inch or two taller. Great offensive game but actually has a desire to play some defense as well, not an elite high flyer athleticism wise.

 

Dexter Strickland, 09, again WOW at the athleticism. 6'3 PG type with a 45 inch vertical, threw down some nasty dunks. Great PG prospect, but can slide over to the 2G position as well.

 

Xavier Henry, 09, top ranked player in class, but was outshined in this game by several 09 counterparts. Still, you can see why he's such an elite talent. Smooth lefty that has a game similar to Michael Redd. He just understands how to play and where to be on the court. I think he was holding back in this environment, and let the more outspoken and showboating guys have this night.

 

Noel Johnson, 09, underrated. Plays on the loaded Atlanta Celtics AAU team and gets overshadowed. Reminds me a lot of Martell Webster with his shooting ability and size. Will probably put on 20 pounds before suiting up on college and will be a great shooter and 2nd threat on a team. Great compliment player.

 

John Riek, 09, good ole John Riek. He sure is tall.

 

Quinton Ross, 2011, youngest ever to play in the game. Has a mature game for an incoming high school frosh. Game is way more developed than his classmates, we will see how he develops over time.

[RockRaines]

Thanks PH for the in depth review, Im sorry I missed that show. Im surprised they didnt have Buford and Sidney.

[Rowand44]

Kevin Jones is expected to announce his college decision at 2:30 PM. I haven't heard anything to tip off where he'll be at, but Indiana, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John’s, and Massachusetts are all in the mix.

And it's WVU.

[Palehosefan]

No prob Rock, they did have Renardo Sidney and a few other players that I didn't mention like UNC's Ed Davis. But they didn't really do anything special good or bad.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Yes, Riek is terrible. He would be better off not stepping onto a basketball court again until the draft and hope he gets taken for his potential. I've seen two games now from him where he was standing under the basket with his 7'2 frame and still couldn't muster up enough athleticism to dunk the ball and missed the layup several times. He has nothing in the way of an offensive game, and blocks several shots just standing on the ground because of his again 7'2 frame. I don't even know if I could call him a poor man's Hasheem Thabeet.

 

I've been hearing about John Riek Suas for a while now since DePaul was in on him very early along with his other Sudanese teammates at OSNA in New York, Teeng Akol and Leek Leek. John Riek and Teeng have since transferred to other prep schools. Coach Wainwright sure does like going for foreign kids now...

 

Anyways, John Riek just blew up practically out of nowhere in one camp, so that's where the hype started. It's very probable that he shot up way too high in the rankings, but he does have some defensive post presence with his legit 7'2 size, which doesn't show very well in those all-star games.

 

He's extremely raw from what I've seen, and he's a foreign kid who has not been here long nor has played much organized ball. The ranking is clearly based on potential because of his size, which, as they say, you can't teach.

 

But yeah, he does look very offensively-inept, and kinda slow and just rumbles along. I agree with you on that, from what I've seen. Still too early to tell for me though. There's always value in a legit 7'2 young guy who shows potential in rebounding and blocking shots.

 

 

And I did not know that showcase game was gonna be televised. Much appreciated if someone posts if and when they show something like that again on TV.

[Buehrle>Wood]

I watched a lot of it PH. Funny thing is, I thought it was a replay. Not used to HS all star games this early.

 

 

Lance Stephenson, he's the one from Brooklyn, right? He was amazing, best player on the court when I was watching. Of course, he was mainly pulling off street ball moves, but he is going to be BIG TIME.

 

Tyreke Evans, as you said, just unstoppable.

 

BJ Mullins, wow, talk about your deceptive athlete. One look at him and you wouldn't think he's much. But he threw down a couple nice dunks last night(That alley-oop, wow). I was impressed.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Something I found kinda interesting from today's Tribune in an article about DePaul recruit Jeremiah Kelly:

 

While at Julian and Boys to Men, Jeremiah Kelly received at least 15 letters per week from colleges. Letters from schools such as Xavier, Washington, Florida State, Michigan and USC have kept coming despite Kelly's commitment to DePaul in May.

 

 

Also of note is that he's at the same school as Tyreke Evans now.

[chimpy2121]

Chris Singleton committed to the Noles today. It rounds out one of the best recruiting classes for basketball ever at FSU. (I know FSU was close to #1 in 2003, but I think this class is better).

 

We got:

Xavier Gibson 4* PF, 43 overall

Chris Singleton 4* SF, 33 overall

Deividas Dulkys 4* SG, 65 overall

Luke Loucks 4* PG 78 overall

Pierre Jordan 3* PG

 

According to Rivals that is the 10th ranked class in the country. Hopefully we can pull in Derwin Kitchen in the Spring signing period. We're going to need guards next year.

Edited November 14, 2007 by chimpy2121

[SleepyWhiteSox]

Too bad hamilton doesn't know what to do with the talent.

[chimpy2121]

Too bad hamilton doesn't know what to do with the talent.

 

Blah...nothing pisses me off more than having a 6'10" PF handling the ball 20 feet away from the basket. I think he has some problem with allowing guys to get the ball in the post.

[Palehosefan]

I watched a lot of it PH. Funny thing is, I thought it was a replay. Not used to HS all star games this early.

 

That's the weird thing. I believe the game actually took place in late August, but this was the first time it was televised. I think I remember seeing that it actually took place August 24th. Weird situation.

[JuiceCruz16]

I was wondering if anybody else has heard that Scotty Hopson may not sign his letter of intent to Mississippi State, and decommit. I've seen a lot of talk about this, and he did not sign yet. He is a top notch guy who will be a huge catch if he is still avaliable. Some talk about him eyeing Carolina which would be great.

Edited November 15, 2007 by JuiceCruz16

[Rex Hudler]

I was wondering if anybody else has heard that Scotty Hopson may not sign his letter of intent to Mississippi State, and decommit. I've seen a lot of talk about this, and he did not sign yet. He is a top notch guy who will be a huge catch if he is still avaliable. Some talk about him eyeing Carolina which would be great.

 

I read somewhere that he is reconsidering and will not sign until the spring, which opens the door for other schools.

[JuiceCruz16]

Dexter Strickland confirmed in a interview that he and Dominic Cheek are talking about playing together in college (Fla & NC are on both lists). His visit to Carolina was great and he said NC, Florida, and Michigan St. are his big 3 right now with Carolina in the lead, although he had nice things to say about his visit to Indiana also. He wants to be patient though and said he will wait until mid season to commit anywhere, if then. He wants to visit more schools including Memphis.

[Palehosefan]

He wants to visit more schools including Memphis.

 

Yuck. That's not something you ever want to hear. Memphis can offer something that UNC won't.

[nitetrain8601]

Yuck. That's not something you ever want to hear. Memphis can offer something that UNC won't.

 

Money!!1!

 

Though perhaps that shouldn't be in green.

[nitetrain8601]

Chris Singleton committed to the Noles today. It rounds out one of the best recruiting classes for basketball ever at FSU. (I know FSU was close to #1 in 2003, but I think this class is better).

 

We got:

Xavier Gibson 4* PF, 43 overall

Chris Singleton 4* SF, 33 overall

Deividas Dulkys 4* SG, 65 overall

Luke Loucks 4* PG 78 overall

Pierre Jordan 3* PG

 

According to Rivals that is the 10th ranked class in the country. Hopefully we can pull in Derwin Kitchen in the Spring signing period. We're going to need guards next year.

 

Von Wafer alone > any of those players.

 

He was just stupid and got really poor advice to leave early.

[SleepyWhiteSox]

They re-ran that elite 24 at the rucker thing on espnu, but I only caught the 4th quarter.

 

It was from months ago. And just as I suspected, it was all about the guards putting on a show, as most all-star games are. Some nice players though...

[thedoctor]

four-star tight end hubie graham picks illinois

 

this is crazy because none of the services even list him as considering illinois. he had offers from florida, georgia tech, michigan, and ucla among others.

[T R U]

four-star tight end hubie graham picks illinois

 

this is crazy because none of the services even list him as considering illinois. he had offers from florida, georgia tech, michigan, and ucla among others.

 

Not according to Rivals

[dasox24]

Not according to Rivals

Yeah, according to Rivals, Graham has been an Illinois lean for awhile now.

[thedoctor]

Yeah, according to Rivals, Graham has been an Illinois lean for awhile now.

 

i don't read rivals, so that would explain that.