Wednesday, November 11th was the first day of basketball’s early signing period for high school seniors, and several noteworthy prospects signed on the dotted line throughout the day. A recap (all rankings from the ESPN 100):
The biggest story came out of Columbus, Ohio. Thad Matta is flexing right now, as he brought in four players in the top 100, including two players in most recruiting analysts’ top 10-12; Jared Sullinger, an almost unanimous #2 in this year’s whole senior class (pictured above), and #12 DeShaun Thomas, a smooth 6’7 three-position threat. Also signing with the Buckeyes were top-60 players Jordan Sibert and Aaron Craft, so you can see why OSU boasts the best recruiting class for 2010 to this point.
Perry Jones, considered the third-ranked prospect in the current senior class, signed with Baylor today, thus continuing Scott Drew’s highly commendable rebuilding of that program. Jones verbally committed back in 2007 but today’s signing made it official. The 6’10 Jones has the skill set to play the 3, 4, or 5 at the collegiate level.
Other signing notes: Marquette inked a couple of top-100 recruits in the excellently-named 6’3 shooting guard Vander Blue and 6’6 wing Jamail Jones. A couple of former NBA stars saw their sons sign letters; Shawn Kemp, Jr. (6’9, 215) signed with Auburn, while Tim Hardaway, Jr. (6’5, 185) pledged his support to Michigan.
Two of the biggest names in the class of 2010 also revealed their plans to announce soon. Harrison Barnes (dunking above) is touted as possibly the best player in the class, and says that he’ll announce this Friday at 4 P.M. ET. The leaders for his services are said to be Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Top ten recruit Tobias Harris, according to his father, will not sign a letter of intent this week, but will announce his college choice next week; Maryland, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and West Virginia are listed as the top possibilities for the 6’8 combo-forward.