The NCAA Men's BB Recruiting Thread

[Narmec]

With all the talk of the upcoming NBA Draft, I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for the few who will actually go to college (you hear me, Ebi?).
Since I live in Tucson, and am a Wildcat, I'll start with Arizona. For the coming year, the U of A got Jawaan McLellan, Mohamed Tangara, and Daniel Dillon.
McLellan is ranked 18th overall by rivals.com. His team won the Texas state championship and went 39-0. He's a shooting guard who will hopefully unseat the fragile (emotionally) Salim Stoudamire.
Tangara is ranked 64 by rivals.com. He is a bruiser a/la Eugene Edgerson. This is just what the U of A needs. No more prima donnas, just a guy who wants to get the job done (and if it needs to be done dirty, so be it).
Dillon is the unknown factor. DamonEsquire gave me a rundown, but I didn't understand a ********ing word. Dillon is Australian, for whatever it's worth. Olson has been very good at finding diamonds in the rough (Gilbert Arenas), so maybe Dillon has something that others don't see.

For 2005, Arizona has got (for now) Fendi Onobun (45?). Martell Webster is the signature they want.

[Narmec]

I'm expecting replies from Skip, NNCRed, Microbrew, appoOnU, all the Turtles, CityIceMan (Devin Harris?), Damon, and all the other NCAA Men's BB posters.

UNC, the tradition with Roy Williams? Tough to beat. You're losing one, what's left?

Duke, Deng and Livingston? (I told you so, NNCRed). Ok, just 3 McDonalds All-Americans!

Who is your school getting/losing?

BTW, for 2004, I think Texas is #1, Kentucky, #2.

2005?

[skipshady]

At North Carolina, the only player we are in danger of losing is one who hasn't even played yet, J.R. Smith. Last I checked, he was anywhere from 10 to late first round, so there's a very good chance he'll be in Chapel Hill depending on his workouts.
JamesOn Curry had signed with Matt Doherty, but his drug conviction allowed Roy to release him and he got picked up at Oklahoma State.


The players who will show up for sure are:
Quentin Thomas - PG from Oakland, ranked 13th in the nation
and
Marvin Williams - PF from Washington, flirted with the draft and was a projected lottery pick.
So Carolina gets exactly what it lacked, a big man and a point guard.

[microbrew]

I'm a Cal alum; I don't pay attention to other schools. Cal had a pretty good recuiting class last year, with three freshmen starting. Cal has stepped up recruiting in order to compete with the likes of Arizona, UCLA and Stanford.

Cal has recruited from all over the country:
http://calbears.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041404aaa.html

[JG]

Illinois has two players coming for next year:

Shaun Pruitt, a 6-9 forward from Aurora, IL. Pruitt was Bruce Weber's first recruiting coup as he selected the Illini over Michigan State. He's already 235 pounds and hopefully can develop into a powerful post player--he's more of a pure inside player than the other Illinois big men.

Calvin Brock, a 6-6 forward from Chicago. Brock was largely under the radar before this season as he didn't play for one of the bigger Chicago-area AAU teams and wasn't the star of his high school team. But he had a big senior season, capturing Chicago Public League POY honors and leading Simeon to the state tournament. He chose Illinois over DePaul in the spring. I haven't seen him play--he's supposed to be very athletic but Shaun Livingston-thin, and will need to bulk up to play the 3 in the big ten.

Weber likes to redshirt freshmen, and with almost the whole team coming back I suspect he will push both newcomers in that direction. However, the final decision will probably be left up to the player.

Illinois also has two commitments from the class of 2005:

Jamar Smith, a 6-3 guard from Peoria. Big scorer, questions on whether he can be a point guard.

David Palmer, a 6-8 forward from Antioch, TN. Palmer had a big summer last year and was ranked in the top 50 by most recruiting experts. However, he had a rocky high school season, struggling with injury and an 8-19 team. He'll play at Oak Hill next year. Has only been playing basketball since he was a freshman so he should have lots of room for improvement.

[NNCRed]

Deng and Livingston entering the draft hurts Duke. I doubt Deng comes back, and I'm still not sure what Livingston will do. If Livingston goes to the NBA pre-draft camps and doesn't show well, he could very well end up at Duke. But it seems as though he's going to do private workouts in Peoria, so any potential weaknesses won't be as blatant as it would be against other legit NBA draftees. Another interesting idea is that Livingston could stay in the draft, not sign with an agent or with the team, play his freshman year at Duke, then sign with his drafted team after Duke's season. It's a weird rule, but it's legal for incoming freshman to do this, AFAIK. Duke has guard DaMarcus Nelson coming in from CA (CA player of the year, IIRC) and Dave McClure, who is probably a small forward sized player but will be asked to play more power and center from what I've heard/read.

CJ Giles is a recruit getting some pub lately. He got out of his Miami LOI and it appears he's either going to stay at home at Washington, or go to Kansas.

For the class of 2005, Micah Downs (6'8", Bothell, WA) is down to Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga. Duke has already got a verbal from Greg Paulus, who is both a top hoops recruit, but rated as one of the top qb recruits in the nation. He hasn't decided if he'll play both at Duke or just hoops.

[WingsFan]

KU has five people signed for the 2004-2005 season. Here's the list with Rivals.com rankings in parenthesis:

Russell Robinson, New York City, NY (7th ranked SG, 27th overall)

Alexander "Sasha" Kaun, Melbourne, FL (5th ranked C, 34th overall)

Darnell Jackson, Oklahoma City, OK (12th ranked PF, 54th ranked overall)

Chester Giles, Seattle, WA (9th ranked C, 62nd overall)

Alex Galindo, Newark, NJ (15th ranked SF, 65th overall)



They also have one oral commitment from the class of 2005:

Micah Downs, Bothell, WA (6th ranked SF, 22nd overall)



More possibilities for 2005:

Mario Chalmers, Anchorage, AK (1st ranked PG, 8th overall) will announce his choice between KU and Arizona tomorrow.

Tyler Hansbrough, Poplar Bluff, MO (3rd ranked PF, 5th overall) will announce his choice between KU, Kentucky, and North Carolina in July.



Hopefully the addition of Kaun and Giles will help soften the blow of the loss of David Padgett. Jackson, Galindo, and Robinson should learn a lot going head to head in practice against Wayne Simien, Keith Langford, and J.R. Giddens. It sure looks like KU should be among the elite once again.

[WingsFan]

I'm a Cal alum; I don't pay attention to other schools. Cal had a pretty good recuiting class last year, with three freshmen starting. Cal has stepped up recruiting in order to compete with the likes of Arizona, UCLA and Stanford.

Cal has recruited from all over the country:
http://calbears.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041404aaa.html

I just clicked on your link and noticed that Kevin Langford (younger brother of Keith Langford from KU) was one of Cal's four signees. If he is anything like his older brother, you're going to enjoy four years of watching him play. His brother sure has been fun to watch for the past three years.

[Lucid]

I dunno why I don't post here more often. I guess I go through my phases where I remember to check the basketball forum, and times when it just doesn't occur to me. Anyways...

Bill Self is the F'ing pimp. Let's take a brief look at the last 6 months at KU. Self gets a couple solid guys in Robinson and Jackson, not studs, but solid guys that fill holes, then lands Alexander Kaun, a soon to be stud. I'm thinking we're looking pretty good for the future with a frontcourt of Padgett and Kaun, and then Padgett's whiney ass bolts along with Omar Wilkes and Moulaye Niang (who later changes his mind) who could leave for all I care. Now KU is screwed cause we had 1 scholorship to hand out and we have nobody with good experience to pair with Simien under the basket. Ku fans are down, then boom! 5/8 rule recinded, KU is money, now we have two scholly's and Self is going strong on Hairston. Well he ended up chasing the money and going to Oregon, but it actually worked out for the better, because Self got commitments from the best two players left out there for this coming class, and then a probable McD AA for next year in a span of about two days to top off what is probably the best two recruiting days at KU ever. Now, it appears we're getting Mario Chalmers, one of the top PG's for next year's class, tommorow?

There is no way Self just pulled out 5 recruits in 5 days who are all either solid starters or studs, right? Especially with Downs canceling on a Duke visit to sign with us, and Chalmers likely picking KU tonight over Arizona? I'm not going to claim it already, it'll have to be a few successive years at doing this type of stuff, but if Self keeps this up for the next 5 years, he's the best recruiter in the country and we get just about any player we want.

As good a coach as Roy was, he sucked at recruiting if this is the type of stuff you can do at Kansas. He's great at developing players, but he only nabbed a couple McD AA every 3-4 years. Self looks like he'll get multiple ones every year. With Roy, I never had faith that a recruit would go with us over Duke, UA, UNC, Kentucky, etc... without it being an "upset." But now I like our chances against just about any school out there.

Sorry for the rant, I just love Bill Self right now.

[Narmec]

Good to hear from you again, Lucid!

If Kansas beats out the U of A to Chalmers it's for one reason only, Mustafa Shakur. Yes, he can't shoot for ********. But, he's got shot doctor Josh Pastner working with him this summer. He was the guy who got Mike Bibby straightened out on his jumper.

Anyway, Chalmers' choice is Kansas (Miles soon to graduate) or Arizona (Shakur a sophomore to be). It's looking bleak for Arizona.

On another note, 2006 AZ recruit Nic Wise is watching intently. If Chalmers commits to AZ, they will have two PG's on the roster already when he were to arrive. If Chalmers does commit to the U of A, look for Wise, the best-ballhandling PG of his class, to recommit somewhere else (Texas?).

[NNCRed]

Self's done a tremendous job the last week or so, that's for sure. However, I'm going to be a bit defensive here and play devil's advocate on a couple things though:

-Beating out Washington (as much as I like them) for CJ Giles is something KU should do. If UW got Giles it would've been an "upset".

-If Micah Downs didn't go to Kansas, it would've been an "upset" as well. His dad is a huge KU fan and was pushing him to go there the entire time. As a Duke fan it didn't really come as a shock, surprise, or a major blow when Downs committed to Kansas.

-While Galindo might become a terrific player, keep in mind that he originally signed with UTEP, who is not a big time power. Either he was a major, major signing for UTEP, or a lot of big time schools passed on him for one reason or another (maybe the 5/8 rule?). I just think he's a question mark right now.

While Self has shown that he is a good recruiter and looks to be keeping KU where Roy left it (ie- a FF caliber team every year), I think it's just a bit premature to say that KU gets every player it wants in 5 years or so.

I will say congrats on a great recruiting class and on paper KU looks to be a nat'l title contender. That's better than I can say about Duke right now.

[skipshady]

I will say congrats on a great recruiting class and on paper KU looks to be a nat'l title contender. That's better than I can say about Duke right now.Your problem seems to me that Coach K's recruits are too good? Deng last year, Livingston this year - Duke should be making Final Four reservations right now.

[NNCRed]

Your problem seems to me that Coach K's recruits are too good? Deng last year, Livingston this year - Duke should be making Final Four reservations right now.

It seems that way. I think the loss of Michael Thompson transferring to Northwestern after the Alaska trip will become evident this year. There is very little depth in Duke's frontcourt. We could see a four guard lineup (JJ, Ewing, Dockery, DaMarcus Nelson) with either Shelden or Shav as the lone big man at times. If (what a huge if) Deng and Livingston were to be on campus this fall, I'd feel pretty confident about a FF bid.

Skip, I'm assuming you've heard the nightmare prediction of what could happen to NC after this year? The possibility of losing Marvin Williams, May, Felton, McCants, etc. all after this year. And JR Smith has signed with an agent, so he won't be attending NC for sure now.

One thing I've noticed is that the state of Washington is producing some better recruits the last few years. A lot of Gonzaga's talent has been in state since their rise, including incoming freshman big man Heyveldt (sp?, can't remember his first name). UW's Pac10 runner-up team is mainly composed of Seattle area kids. Guys like Downs and Giles going to Kansas. The state of Washington is producing some talent.

[skipshady]

It seems that way. I think the loss of Michael Thompson transferring to Northwestern after the Alaska trip will become evident this year. There is very little depth in Duke's frontcourt. We could see a four guard lineup (JJ, Ewing, Dockery, DaMarcus Nelson) with either Shelden or Shav as the lone big man at times. If (what a huge if) Deng and Livingston were to be on campus this fall, I'd feel pretty confident about a FF bid.I'm thinking it was a blessing in disguise that Humphries ended up going to Minnesota - one less NBA-bound guy to deal with.
Skip, I'm assuming you've heard the nightmare prediction of what could happen to NC after this year? The possibility of losing Marvin Williams, May, Felton, McCants, etc. all after this year. And JR Smith has signed with an agent, so he won't be attending NC for sure now.I'm not going to think about it and I will remain in denial until it actually happens.

Now, I don't believe May is an NBA prospect, at least not the way he played this season. At best, he's a poor man's Elton Brand. The other 3, I wouldn't be surprised to see go. I hope Roy's hitting the road hard. Okay, back to denial mode.

[NNCRed]

Skip, don't go into denial mode. Just enjoy the year that these guys are going to have. I really think that this is the year NC gets back on the nat'l map (like they ever really left) by going deep in the tournament. I really enjoyed JWill, Dunleavy, and Boozer's last year because it was so fun to watch them play. I didn't start worrying about if they were going to stay or go (in JWill's case it was known all along he was gone) until after the season.

I think May will have a better year this year. He never looked fit last year. As an NC fan, you have to hope it was because of the lingering effects of his broken foot. As a Duke fan, I have to hope it's because he's fat and lazy and will never get in shape. But yeah, he does appear to be a poor man's Elton Brand.

[odg78]

--That's the good thing about growing up as a State fan, I never had to worry about Jeremy Hyatt or Bryant Feggins leaving early. Now, getting shot is something else.

[skipshady]

--That's the good thing about growing up as a State fan, I never had to worry about Jeremy Hyatt or Bryant Feggins leaving early. Now, getting shot is something else.
If someone had told me Jeremy Hyatt got shot for being ugly, I would've believed it.

[Lucid]

NNC, I'm completely with you that KU should beat out UW normally, but this is a Washington kid, and a week before he committed, he said he was "99% sure he was going to UW. Then we brought him out here for a visit and blown away, he apparently committed to Self at the end of the visit. He's apparently recieving death threats back home since announcing KU and his family is just going to move here.

I was actually unaware up until a few days ago that Downs' dad was a KU fan, and from what it looked like, Self pretty much killed Coach Kaslkhgfhfdskljsf in terms of recruiting this kid, I mean didn't even bother making the trip to Duke. I mean Duke is just about the pinnacle of basketball recruiting, so it always feels good to beat them.

- Galindo signed early and that proved to be a mistake becuase his stock shot up. But still, look at the schools we were going against... Pittsburgh and Rutgers. Good, not exactly elite. I think had he not signed with UTEP earlier, you would see major programs going after him, but during this recruiting period, Kansas was really the only major program who was looking to sign people.

- Chalmers, well he's just about the highest ranked recruit we've gotten in years.

Take any one of those and just isolate it to where it's not 4 signings in 5 days and we're not as excited. The reason why KU fans are so extatic right now about mid-100 players is because Self already had a pretty good class coming in, and add Giles and Galindo to that, which makes it even better. Then we beat out Duke and Arizona for young players, which always feels great. And keep in mind, the last two months KU has seen three players transfer (one ended up changing his mind), and then Hairston picks Oregon over KU. We got beat by a decent program in a power-conference. So we weren't exactly feeling great about ourselves, then Self rolls off commitments from everybody he wanted, four in five days, and all pretty good players too.

Like I mentioned before, KU fans weren't the most confident in the world when it came to recruiting. We were an elite program who recruited like your average school. We were able to get the McD AAs every once in a while, but with them came recruiting classes like '02 with Jeff GGraves and Moulaye Niang as our only recruits. '00 sported a class of Bryant Nash and Mario Kinsey. Bottom line is Roy just couldn't recruit. He'd connect with a few players from time to time, and get really lucky sometimes with players like Hinrich and Gooden who grew way beyond their supposed potential. This past week, Self just did something Roy was never able to do, sell KU on it's history and tradition and get every recruit you wanted.

Player by player it's not the greatest class in the world, but we filled a lot of holes. Face value of each signing doesn't warrant how nice it was to be able to get this group as a whole. Self is doing what Roy should have been doing for years. Enjoy him UNC fans.

[odg78]

--I just had a flashback to the Ishua Benjamin/Jeremy Hyatt backcourt. Eww. It's a bit of a leap from there to Julius Hodge.

[skipshady]

Lucid, I'm holding off on judging Williams' recruiting until at least next year - he was limited by the scholarship limit. Still, he got commits from 2 Top 10 prospects Marvin Williams and JR Smith (oops), and Quentin Thomas, arguably the top west coast point guard prospect.

Next year should be a different story, with 4 seniors on the team and McCants and up to 4 others possibly declaring for the draft, and he won't have the 5/3 rule to worry about. So yeah, it'll be a real test of his recruiting.