|
Here is some of the latest
recruiting news on the top prospects in the nation.
|
OJ
Mayo
the #1 player in the nation is leaning toward to
attending Southern California. He was expected to officially
announce his choice at the Reebok ABCD Camp, but it came
and went without any announcement. He said that USC is the
top choice right now, but is still considering Kansas St.
At one time K-State was considered the CLEAR favorites to land OJ and
teammate
Bill Walker. Mayo also mentioned Florida as a possibility,
but that is a long shot.
|
Bill
Walker
was recently ruled ineligible by the OHSAA for
playing 8 full high school semesters. The top wing man in
the nation has a
lot on his plate.
1. What is he going to do
next year?
He can't come back to NCHS to play basketball. He can go
to a prep school and play there as a fifth year senior, he can sign a
shoe deal and go to Europe and forgo his college eligibility, or
just set out the year and go to school at NCHS.
2. Will he enter the 2007
NBA Draft?
Can he and Will he? He fits the two requirements, which
are being one year removed from your high school class
(according to the OHSAA he is a member of the Class of 2006) and
being 19 years old by the time of the NBA Draft (which he will
be). The feeling on OJ and Bill has always been that
neither of them would like to ever spend a minute on a college
campus. If he gets his shot at this I bet he goes for it.
3. If he goes to college where
will he go?
In my mind Kansas St. is still at the top of his board, but if
OJ goes to USC I would not be surprised at all if Bill follows
him to USC. The biggest factor in this is will OJ and Bill
go their separate ways in college. Bill likes K-State and
OJ likes USC. |
Kevin
Love
played great at the Reebok ABCD Camp. This is no
surprise especially to UNC and UCLA who are battling it out for
the highest rated post man in the Class of 2007. It is
hard to get a read on which way he is leaning. At this
point it is 50/50! Love is in no rush to make a decision,
so this one could take a while.
|
|
Eric
Gordon
is still committed to play for Illinois, but he is giving
the new coaching staff at Indiana a chance at him. This
happens all the time in the recruiting world. Gordon said
he is still solid with Illinois, but I have seen this too many
times. Expect a border state war over Gordon. In the end
he will probably stay with Illinois, but this just adds some
fire to the Illinois/Indiana rivalry. Weber will not give
up on this one easy. Gordon (if signed) will be the
biggest recruit in the history of Illinois basketball. |
|
Derrick
Rose
is still quiet on his recruitment. Rumors have been
swirling that Memphis is the leader. I still believe that
Illinois is the team to beat here. This is the real test
for Weber. Can he close on the big time in-state guy which
he has not been able to do in the past ('04- Livingston, '05-J.
Wright, '06-Sheyer)? Memphis, Illinois, North Carolina, Arizona, and
Kansas are all still in on him. The best bet is Memphis. Rose
reportedly is considering signing a shoe deal and going to
Europe to play for one season before going pro in 2008. |
|
Kyle
Singler
still lists Washington, Arizona, Kansas, Duke, and UCLA
as his college destinations. I just can not see him
picking any school other than UCLA or Duke. Those
schools just seem like a perfect fit for him. At this
point Duke seems to be the leader, but if UCLA lands Kevin Love
they might then become his #1. Singler has had a nice
summer. He played at Nike instead of ABCD, where the other
top talents in the Class of 2007 where. Don't worry though
he has solidified a spot in the top 6 for the rest of the summer
with his play. |
|
DeAndre Jordan's stock
rose more that anyone in my opinion at the Reebok ABCD camp. Jordan moved all the way up to 5-Star Status and #7 overall.
He finished everything around the basket. Jordan's
recruitment has started to heat up. Indiana appears to be
the leader on him. Sampson can not come and see him, so
his assistant coaches have to do their jobs on him. Other
schools he is considering include LSU, Texas, Texas A&M,
Florida, and Kentucky. |
|
Jerryd Bayless is
public enemy N0. 1 in Arizona these days. Bayless, the
in-state point guard, was committed to the Arizona Wildcats
until recently when he decommitted and is now considering
Kansas, Texas, and North Carolina. Texas appears to be the
team to beat. At this point I would be very surprised if
he did not end up being a Longhorn. |
|
Herb Pope could go any
of four ways. Those four schools are UConn, Louisville,
Kansas St., and Pittsburgh. The leaders in this race right
now are Louisville and Kansas St. who have both offered the
power forward. |
|
Patrick Patterson
has been rising up recruiting boards all summer long. The
3 schools in the running for him are Florida, Wake Forest,
and Kentucky. |