Who’s Got Next? is a bi-weekly column by Josh Paunil, the RTC recruiting guru. We encourage you to check out his website dedicated solely to college basketball recruiting, National Recruiting Spotlight, for more detailed recruiting information. Twice a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are in the lower levels of the sport. If you have any suggestions as to areas we’re missing, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.
Introduction
The DeAndre Daniels saga is finally over. After committing and then de-committing and then setting up different decision dates and not following through on them, Daniels let everyone know where he will play college basketball. Where, you may ask? Well, that may be the most surprising thing that’s happened is his whole recruitment. Class of 2012 shooting guard Rodney Purvis (#7) also spoke out on a couple of his recent visits and many other top prospects talked about their new lists. And speaking of Purvis, why will he be attending the same camp as North Carolina star Harrison Barnes this weekend? You can find out that and more in this edition of Who’s Got Next?
What They’re Saying
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Senior DeAndre Daniels on why he committed to Connecticut: “I chose UConn because I thought it was the best fit for me, just their style of play, and just how they develop their wing guys. And just how he makes his guys better.” On head coach Jim Calhoun possibly returning: “[Calhoun said] I don’t have to worry about him not being there. He said he’ll be there.”
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Junior Archie Goodwin (#19) on his list and when he will commit: “Kentucky, Baylor, Arkansas, Memphis, Tennessee, UConn, Missouri along with a lot of others including Louisville and Georgia. I’m definitely going to [sign] later.”
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Junior Devonta Pollard (#40) on his offers and what he’s looking for: “Mississippi State, Georgetown, Ole Miss, North Carolina State, LSU, Alabama and Kentucky… a place where I can go and be comfortable, where I can play and be successful.”
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Junior Perry Ellis (#10) on who he’s considering: “I still am considering all six teams (Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Memphis, Oklahoma, and Wichita State), as well as Duke now.”
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Sophomore Malcolm Hill on his Indiana visit and the schools who are recruiting him: “They have a nice campus, it’s a good environment and I saw that they have good study habits. I really like the practice facility a lot. The other schools that are looking at me are Ohio State, Xavier, UCLA, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Providence and Tennessee.”
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Sophomore standout Isaiah Lewis on what he’s looking for in a school: “The fan base… academics, that’s an important part. I want to see where coaches play me. I really want to go to college playing point guard.”
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Freshman shooting guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes on his list: “Arizona, North Carolina State, Texas, Oregon and a couple of other schools.”
What Rodney Purvis is Saying
Rodney Purvis talked a lot about recent visits. (Credit: HighSchoolHoop)
Class of 2012 shooting guard Rodney Purvis (#7) recently wrote a player blog for ESPN RISE in which he said some interesting things. Take a look below.
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On his de-commitment from Louisville: “I wanted to step back and make a decision that I was comfortable with. I just want to make the best decision for me.”
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On his list (or lack thereof): “Right now I don’t really even have a list. I plan on coming up with a firm list sometime soon, but for now I’m just gonna take things slow.”
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On his recent visit to Duke: “I had a lot fun there… My AAU teammate [class of 2014 shooting guard] Theo Pinson was there, too, and we both had a good time. I ended up going back to Duke two days later and played with them again and got a chance to talk with coach [Jeff] Capel.”
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On his visit to North Carolina State: “That visit went really well too. The coaches there just talked to me about how I’d fit into their system so that was cool. I always have a good time when I visit State.”
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On whether he will take any more visits: “I’m gonna setup a few more visits soon.”
What You Missed
The timing of DeAndre Daniels' commitment was surprising, but the school he chose was even more shocking. (Photo Credit: IMG Academies)
DeAndre Daniels Chooses Connecticut. It’s been a long journey for class of 2011 small forward DeAndre Daniels. First, he committed to Texas in 2009, then he de-committed from the Longhorns in 2010. Then he set up multiple decision dates that he never followed through on in the past few weeks. But as of a couple days ago, it’s all over. Daniels committed to the Connecticut Huskies over Duke, Florida, Kansas and Texas in a surprising decision since UConn wasn’t even on his radar until the end of March (to see why he committed, check out the “What They’re Saying” section above). Daniels joins point guard Ryan Boatright as the Huskies’ only two recruits in the Class of 2011 and fills head coach Jim Calhoun‘s last scholarship available. Daniels looks to be a great fit for the Huskies as they lost their main scoring threat in Kemba Walker and Daniels is a big-time scorer who is a good slasher. He can also knock down the perimeter jump shot and can get the ball in the basket while working the mid-range game. His size helps him score in the interior too as well as rebounding on both ends of the floor. He will be joining a young Huskies squad that includes rising sophomore guard Shabazz Napier, sophomore wings Jeremy Lamb and Roscoe Smith and rising junior big man Alex Oriakhi , just a year after the national championship run.
The Negative Impact Video Crews Have on Prep Basketball. Rivals.com recently received a question in their mailbag asking about the possible negative impact that video and mix-tape crews have on the game of basketball and players’ conduct on the court. This question raises some excellent points since players act differently when they see different people taping their games, in that they try to attempt more difficult dunks or actually come in contact with the people recording the games. Eric Bossi made a good point in the mailbag response when he pointed out that sometimes the people videotaping the game get involved with the players and approach them during game action which is completely inappropriate for someone with media credentials. As he said, “credentialed media is supposed to cover the action, not insert itself into the action.” But going back to the main point, it seems to really affect how players perform since they want to show off and put an impressive play on their highlight reel at the expense of their team’s best interest. I’ve personally seen and heard players comment on how they act and play differently around the cameras but that’s something that’s very discouraging to observe considering a lot of these guys will be playing on national television regularly once they get to college. Players need to learn and understand that you should act the same way on the floor whether someone is holding a video camera or not.
Father-Son Package. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports recently discussed the issue of whether or not colleges should be giving parents jobs to recruit their sons who are star recruits. I completely agree with Parrish on this one since not only do schools avoid punishment, but picking up a star recruit simply by hiring his parent is the smart move if it will help your program. This whole discussion began after Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports reported that various colleges — including LSU, Texas A&M and Texas Tech — extended a job offer to John Reese. Reese is the father of Class of 2012 point guard J-Mychal Reese (#38), who is a great floor general in a class that is really lacking such players. Although the elder Reese is widely considered a very good coach in the state of Texas, no college coaches came calling in the past decade until J-Mychal entered the picture. The younger Reese would likely be a program-changer for all of the aforementioned schools but is also considering more prestigious destinations including Kansas, Texas, Louisville, Memphis and Baylor. The reason he is such a highly touted recruit is because he has good three-point range and very good ball-handling skills. He also has a very nice floater that he always hits in the middle of the paint after he blows by his defender using his quick first step. Reese has good court vision as well but needs to get stronger to improve his game.
Team Spotlight: Duke
Austin Rivers (#2) will certainly help Duke make up for the loss of their three stars. (Greg Nelson/SI)
When a team loses their best three players including a National Player of the Year contender, a Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four and a guy who was one of the best players in the country, that team would suffer a huge dropoff and would be lucky to crack the top 25 rankings. However, this is Duke we’re talking about. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski is bringing in the second-best recruiting class in the country this year thanks to his late addition of small forward Alex Murphy (#34) and other signings of point guard Quinn Cook (#16), shooting guard Austin Rivers (#2), small forward Michael Gbinije (#26), and center Marshall Plumlee (#41). See how these guys will help Coach K cope with the losses of Kyrie Irving, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler below.
A Quick Look
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Prospects |
Rank |
Pos. Rank |
Quick Analysis |
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Austin Rivers |
#2 |
SG (#1) |
Rivers has killer range out to the NBA three-point line and simply cannot be stopped when he’s at his best. He gets to the bucket easily and his mid-range game is developed well beyond his years. He isn’t the most athletic person in the class but his footwork, ball-handling and intelligence allows him to score when he wants and create his own shot. |
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Quinn Cook |
#16 |
PG (#5) |
Cook is a very nifty passer who has great floor vision. He is excellent at creating scoring opportunities for his teammates and is a great finisher when he gets in the lane. He is very good at penetrating and kicking out (which is perfect for Coach K’s offense) and is fast and quick. |
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Michael Gbinije |
#26 |
SF (#6) |
Gbinije is one of the most fundamentally sound players in the class. He isn’t an elite scorer due to his lack of initial burst in his first step but he does have a very nice step-back jumper that he seems to never miss and is nearly impossible to guard. |
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Alex Murphy |
#34 |
SF (#10) |
Murphy has a striking resemblance to former Blue Devil Kyle Singler. He has a nice shooting stroke and does an excellent job setting his feet before he takes his shot. He is also surprisingly athletic and is a great ball-handler for a wing-player which enable him to be a superb slasher and good finisher. |
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Marshall Plumlee |
#41 |
C (#3) |
Plumlee is an athletic seven-footer who runs the floor very well. He is a good shot-blocker and rebounder and often alters shots if he can’t get his hands on them. He also has good hands and a few different moves he can use to score in the low post. |
Evaluation
The Blue Devils have five of the top 41 prospects as well as the #2 recruit in the country in shooting guard Austin Rivers. Rivers is the most NBA-ready player in the class and has NBA-level talent. He is unstoppable at times on the offensive end and will have point guard Quinn Cook (#16) to feed him the rock and small forwards Michael Gbinije (#26) and Alex Murphy (#34) on the other wing to keep the defenses honest. Also, Duke has one of the top centers in the country coming in with Marshall Plumlee (#41) giving them an inside presence, which gives the Blue Devils their best recruiting class in a while. I expect Cook to be the one that surprises people since his combination of scoring ability, court vision and nifty passing is excellent and will be hard to defend.
Video of the Week
Take a look at the senior highlight tape of the second-best high school player in the country, Class of 2011 shooting guard Austin Rivers (Duke).
A Look Ahead
The best guards in the country — both high school and college — will be in attendance at the CP3 Elite Guard Camp. (Credit: Chris Paul)
Stars Headline CP3 Elite Guard Camp. The best high school and college guards will be in attendance this weekend at the CP3 Elite Guard Camp in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, highlighted by the best guard in the Class of 2012, Rodney Purvis (#7). The third-best guard in the Class of 2012 will be in attendance as well with shooting guard Gary Harris (#13) going to the camp in addition to one of the best shooters in the Class of 2012 in point guard Ryan Arcidiacono (#29 — Villanova). Arcidiacono is also a top-five point guard in the junior class and will be joined by the number three point guard in his class, L.J. Rose (#20). However, the college roster may be even more impressive since Harrison Barnes (North Carolina), Scoop Jardine (Syracuse), Seth Curry (Duke) and Kendall Marshall (North Carolina) are headlining the upper division. Overall, this is a great camp and will be a great showcase of the future stars at the guard position.