Archive for the ‘featured’ Category

NJ point guard Sina headed to the B1G

Published by Source on July 3rd, 2012

Bill Carmody has secured the first piece of his 2013 recruiting class and it’s a big one — in reputation, rather than stature. For the second straight class, a top 150 recruit has committed to Northwestern. This time, it is 6’1″ point guard Jaren Sina from Gladstone, NJ’s Gill St. Bernards School. The rising senior, who was once an Alabama verbal, also held offers from Virginia, Butler, Penn State, St. John’s and several other power conference and mid-major programs.

ESPN has him as the 75th best prospect in the 2013 class. Scout has him at #82. Rivals, who just updated their rankings Tuesday, has him at #106. And now Bill Carmody has him committed to the Purple.

Sina was drawn to all of Northwestern’s strongest selling points: the unbeatable location in Evanston, just north of beautiful Chicago; the highly-regarded academic programs that the school prides itself upon; and the style of play that Bill Carmody runs with the Wildcats. There was just a comfort level with the whole program that Sina felt was too good to pass up, comparing his home near New York City to his future home near Chicago.

 

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2-sport star Harris headed to Michigan State

Published by Source on June 28th, 2012

2014 basketball and football standout Drake Harris hopes to play both sports in college. On Wednesday, the rising junior announced that his college future will be at Michigan State. Harris picked State over Michigan and Notre Dame.

The 6’4″ Grand Rapids (MI) prospect is both a shooting guard and a wide receiver, but as of now is more highly-touted as a hoops recruit. Michigan State, probably the only “basketball school” in his final group, is getting a top-50 guard for Tom Izzo and a tall, athletic wideout for Mark Dantonio.

Being a success on both the hardwood and gridiron is a rarity in college athletics, but Harris has the talent to be a star on each team. Harris has said that Izzo is okay with him playing football and actually came to watch him on the field this past season at Grand Rapids Christian.

Harris took an unofficial visit to East Lansing last weekend that sealed the deal for him. He cited the close proximity to home, the family atmosphere and the promise of being able to play both sports as major reasons why he chose Sparty.

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Nic Moore transferring to SMU

Published by Source on June 14th, 2012

Illinois State transfer Nic Moore has made up his mind about where he is headed next. The 5’9″ point guard is headed south to play for the SMU Mustangs. Even though Moore seemed determined to play for a big program in the Midwest, the opportunity to play for former ISU coach Tim Jankovich again was too enticing.

Moore averaged 10.0 points per game in his only season in Normal, which was good for 3rd best on the team. He shined as the team’s starting point guard, dishing out 3.8 assists per game (5th best in the Missouri Valley). The Redbirds made a surprising run in the MVC tournament, beating top-15 ranked Wichita State in the semifinal to face Creighton in the title. Moore scored 20 points in that title game, which was somewhat of a coming out party for the freshman. He followed that up with 24 and 25 point performances in the NIT to go out on a hot streak.

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Interview with 2014 SF Malek Harris

Published by Source on June 11th, 2012

Among the prospects visiting Indiana University this past weekend was 2014 SF Malek Harris (Sandburg HS / Orland Park, IL). I got a chance to speak with Harris about his visit and where he is at in the recruiting process.

The unofficial visit to Bloomington is the latest development for the 6’7″ Harris, who has been picking up interest from programs in the Big Ten and beyond. With offers from Miami (OH), Iowa and DePaul, the list of schools interested also includes Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Louisville, Marquette, St. John’s, Oregon State and Creighton.

“The visit went great,” he said of his trip to IU. He get to check out the team’s workout and then scrimmage with some of the current players. “It was just a great experience and I learned a lot from Indiana.”

 

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Posted in Chicago HS Prospects, DePaul, featured, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Marquette, Mid Major, Nebraska
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JUCO forward chooses Marquette

Published by Source on June 2nd, 2012

2013 JUCO power forward Jameel McKay has made his college decision: he will return home to Milwaukee to be a Marquette Golden Eagle. The big man chose MU over Indiana, Florida, Memphis, Iowa State and others.

Marquette coach Buzz Williams has built up a reputation among the JUCO ranks as a coach that can take prospects to the next level. The 2011-12 Big East Player of the Year, Jae Crowder, came to Marquette as a 3-star JUCO prospect in 2010. Williams also coached Darius Johnson-Odom, an all Big East player who came to the team from Hutchinson CC in Kansas, as well as current Chicago Bulls wing Jimmy Butler, who transferred from Tyler JC in Texas.

The reputation Williams has with JUCO players was a major factor for McKay, as was the opportunity to return home and play in front of friends and family. Speaking with JucoRecruiting.com, McKay said “Nobody is getting any younger and to have the opportunity to have my family see my play during my final two years was very important.”

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Stanford Robinson (2013 SG) commits to Indiana

Published by Source on May 16th, 2012

Tom Crean has done a fantastic job landing top talent from within the Indiana state lines and now his recruiting success has reached beyond the heartland to the DMV. 2013 shooting guard Stanford Robinson (Paul VI – Fairfax, Virginia) made the decision to become a Hoosier on Wednesday, announcing it via his personal twitter account. He had visited the Bloomington campus the previous weekend and upon returning to the Virginia had set Friday as his decision day. Apparently he couldn’t wait to announce the news and IU’s 2013 class has grown to four prospects. Robinson chose the Hoosiers over Maryland, Rutgers, Texas and Villanova.

Robinson is a talented scorer who really only began mentioning Indiana this spring AAU season. He plays for Team Takeover out of Washington DC, alongside fellow 2013 IU target BeeJay Anya (Dematha Catholic). Tom Crean has had plenty of success in the area since arriving at Indiana, already landing current Hoosiers Maurice Creek and Victor Oladipo. The recent hiring of Towson assistant Kenny Johnson also played a huge role in this recruitment, as Johnson was a former Team Takeover/Paul VI coach that has long-lasting relationships with both Robinson and Anya. Robinson actually credits Johnson as being the reason he transferred to Paul VI High School in the first place.

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Two B1G transfers find their new schools

Published by Source on May 15th, 2012

Two former B1G players announced where they were headed next on Tuesday. Minnesota transfer Chip Armelin tweeted that he had officially signed to play at Southern Mississippi out of Conference USA. Around the same time, former Ohio State Buckeye JD Weatherspoon announced that he would transfer within the state to a MAC school, Toledo.

Chip Armelin is originally from Louisiana and signed with the Gophers out of high school. Tubby Smith was the only power conference coach to offer Armelin, who chose Minnesota over Louisiana Tech and North Texas. In his two seasons as a Gopher, Armelin averaged 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.5 minutes. He saw his minutes go up his sophomore year but decided to leave the program in early April. Giving up his scholarship actually cleared room for Gophers’ star Trevor Mbakwe, who was granted a 6th year of eligibility after missing a majority of the last season to an ACL tear.

The Golden Eagles of Southern Miss enter next season with a new coach, former Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall. In his six seasons at MSU, Tyndall won two OVC tournament titles that translated to two NCAA tournament appearances. The highlight of his tenure may have been the Eagles’ first round upset of 4th seed Louisville in the 2011 Tournament, led by senior sensation Kenneth Faried (now with the Denver Nuggets).

Back on April 16, Buckeyes JD Weatherspoon and Jordan Sibert announced their intentions to leave the program. Both are Ohio-natives that came to OSU as nationally-ranked high school prospects. Weatherspoon is actually from Columbus, playing alongside Buckeye star Jared Sullinger at Northland HS. He was a late addition to Thad Matta’s impressive 2010 recruiting class, which was headlined by Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas, but he struggled to find his place in the Buckeye rotation. He averaged just 2.7 points in 6.0 minutes last season, appearing in just 10 games before being ruled academically ineligible for the rest of the year.

Last week, it was announced that Sibert was headed to the Dayton Flyers out of the Atlantic 10. Weatherspoon will also remain in the Buckeye state, heading to the up-and-coming Toledo Rockets. In just his second season, head coach Tod Kowlczyk was able to turn a 4-28 team into a 19-17 squad that finished 2nd in the MAC West. Last season was capped off by an appearance in the CIT, where the Rockets advanced to the second round. Toledo has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1980 but have made several NIT appearances since then.

 

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LeVert a late addition for Wolverines

Published by Source on May 11th, 2012

A former Ohio University commit has made the decision to cross state lines and become a Wolverine.

2012 forward Caris LeVert (Pickering Central, OH) has committed to the University of Michigan after visiting the campus last weekend. Apparently the decision was made right after that visit, but no official announcement was made until this Friday.

LeVert, a friend of current Wolverine point guard Trey Burke, chose UM over Xavier, Dayton and Purdue. He was originally let out of his letter of intent at Ohio U after head coach John Groce left the school to take over at Illinois.

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Illinois lands Drake transfer Rayvonte Rice

Published by Source on April 26th, 2012

Rayvonte Rice was perhaps the best player for the Drake Bulldogs as a sophomore last year: he led the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and was second in rebounding (5.8 rpg). He was a 2nd team All-Missouri Valley selection and previously was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team – he averaged 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in his first year.

But, after the Bulldogs finished 18-16 overall and just 9-9 in Valley play, Rice decided that it was time to look for a more high-profile team. Meanwhile, back in his hometown of Champaign, Illinois, the Fighting Illini replaced the coach that failed to recruit Rice out of high school. With new head coach John Groce at the helm at Illinois, the path was cleared for Rice to return home for his final two years of eligibility. (more…)

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Zeller and Watford returning to Indiana

Published by Source on April 10th, 2012

Two key pieces to Indiana’s success this past season will be back again next year to help the Hoosiers make a run at the National Title. Freshman big man Cody Zeller and junior wing Christian Watford announced Tuesday that they will both be back for the 2012-13 season to play for Tom Crean and the Hoosiers.

Zeller, the B1G co-Freshman of the Year and honorable mention AP All-American, had a brilliant season in which his post presence changed the entire complexion of the team on both sides of the court. The star forward averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds on a team that went to its first Sweet 16 since 2002. Zeller was the cornerstone of the team’s turn-around and will continue to have a major impact on their success moving forward. Many NBA experts projected Cody as a lottery pick, many placing him in the top-10.

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