Seven Sweet Scoops is a weekly column by Sean Moran, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you seven notes from the high-stakes world of college basketball recruiting. We also encourage you to check out his contributions at The Intentional Foul, dedicated to recruiting coverage and analysis. You can also follow Sean at his Twitter account @Seanmohoops for up-to-date news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.
Note: Scout.com used for all player rankings.
1. Dukes Scores Again With Winslow
The Duke recruiting run is still going strong with this week’s commitment of five-star forward Justise Winslow. One week after landing the package deal of Jahlil Okafor (#1 overall – 2014) and Tyus Jones (#4 overall – 2014), Duke picked up the No. 10 ranked player in the class of 2014 and No. 4 small forward. Over the past year rumors popped up about Winslow joining both Okafor and Jones in college as they were all familiar with each other from USA Basketball. Winslow did his due diligence on schools in taking over 20 college visits including official trips to Duke, Florida, Stanford, UCLA and Arizona. Winslow stands 6’5” and with big, broad shoulders he is one of the strongest kids in the high school ranks. A jack of all trades, he also averaged 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game throughout the spring and summer AAU season. With the commitment, Winslow gives Duke three players in the top 10 as well as four-star shooting guard Grayson Allen (#36 overall) in their 2014 class. With the clear cut No. 1 recruiting class the Blue Devils are more than ready to compete for national titles over the next few years.
2. Myles Turner Schedules a Trip to Stillwater
Seven-foot center Myles Turner, the top uncommitted prospect in the class of 2014, scheduled his second official visit for Oklahoma State on December 6 when the Cowboys take on South Carolina in the Big 12/SEC challenge. The No. 2 overall player in the country had a meteoric rise to the top of the rankings this spring and summer when the five-star Texan came out of nowhere and started dominating the AAU circuit. Turner has a 7’3” wing-span and is one of the best shot-blockers in the country. He can run the floor, post up, and shoot from all parts of the court as well. His first official visit was to Ohio State and he is also considering Kansas, Texas, Duke, and Kentucky. Oklahoma State is a guard-oriented team this year with Marcus Smart and Markel Brown but with their impending departures, Travis Ford would have no problem making next year’s team revolve around the talented Turner.
3. Top Shooting Guard Takes Official to Iowa State
For Iowa State and Fred Hoiberg, a perfectly hatched plan came to perfection this past Sunday. With a top-10 Michigan team making its way out to Ames for a huge non-conference tilt, the Cyclones brought in their biggest recruit in recent memory, Rashad Vaughn (#13 overall, #2 SG). The five-star shooting guard took in an electric atmosphere and an intense game that was made all the better with the Cyclones pulling off the upset. Vaughn watched Iowa State get up and down the court (74 possessions) and play an uptempo style suited to his talents. The 6’5” guard is one of the most potent scorers in the class of 2014 and had previously cancelled official visits to UNC and Baylor earlier in the year. Vaughn is currently spending his senior year at Findlay Prep in Nevada and is expected to stay local for his next visit. Over Thanksgiving weekend his family plans to visit UNLV. While the Rebels are a fairly new player in his recruitment, Iowa State has been there from the beginning. The Cyclones got the first official visit from the Minnesota product and couldn’t have asked for a better weekend for what would be the biggest recruit in Hoiberg’s tenure.
4. Jonah Bolden Trims List
While Vaughn began to take visits, his Findlay Prep teammate Jonah Bolden started to trim his list down. The 6’9” forward came to the United States late this summer via Australia and cut his list to Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana, UCLA, USC, and SMU. The four-star prospect (#30 overall, #6 PF) was first seen at the Adidas Nations tournament in August, but he should be able to showcase his versatile skill set over the next several months. Bolden plans to start his visits in the next few months, but with so few top prospects on the market, expect his recruitment to heat up in a hurry.
5. National Prep Showcase Kicks Off the High School Season
Each year, the National Prep Showcase serves as the official beginning of the high school basketball season. Over the course of three days all of the prep school powers from New England and other parts of the country gather to play in front of college coaches and fans at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. Last year Goodluck Okonoboh (#39 overall, #5 C) began his rise out from under Nerlens Noel’s shadow and into one of the top shot-blockers in the class of 2014. This year Okonoboh is back along with Georgetown commit Isaac Copeland (#48 overall, #10 PF – 2014), Oklahoma State commitment Jared Terrell (#77 overall, #16 SG – 2014), Syracuse commitment Tyler Lydon (#94 overall – 2015) along with five-star junior Cheick Diallo (#6 overall – 2015), and four-star sophomore Mustapha Heron (#20 overall – 2016).
6. Newman Making the Trip to Baton Rouge
With a simple tweet Malik Newman, the No.1 prospect in the class of 2015, got the attention of all LSU basketball fans. “Might take that LSU trip this weekend,” tweeted Newman on Tuesday. With the Tigers scheduled to take on Texas A&M and Johnny Football on Saturday afternoon in Death Valley, the most explosive scorer in high school basketball might take in the action. The 6’4” guard hails from Mississippi and is coming off an AAU season where he led the Nike EYBL with a 24.1 PPG average despite being one year younger than most of the players. The Tigers already have the No. 8 ranked player in the 2015 class (Ben Simmons) and the fact that they could get a number one recruit on their campus is huge for the school’s program.
7. Thomas Welsh Stays in L.A.
Four-star center Thomas Welsh chose the hometown Bruins over Stanford and California on Tuesday. The seven-foot center hails from Los Angeles and is currently the No. 45 prospect overall and No. 6 center. With the commitment, Steve Alford has steadily put together an impressive class together in 2014 with Welsh and five-star forward Kevon Looney (#14 overall). Along with these two, the Bruins also have three-star center Gyorgy Goloman and most importantly 2013 recruit Isaac Hamilton (#31 overall, #6 SG), who is currently sitting the season out after originally committing to UTEP. Welsh started to garner high major interest at the beginning of the year and his play took off in the summer. It may have taken Alford some time to get going but now he has himself quite a recruiting class coming into Westwood next year.