Recruiting Updates

[Nuclear Dish]

Brian Zoubek, 7'0" (#5 C) #31/#17

Will commit to Dook today. Chose Dook over Stanford and WF. This gives Dook a trifecta this week, with Scheyer and Henderson also committing. It's thought that next week could be Caolina's counterpunch, with both Ellington and Durant visiting this weekend.

Jordan Hill, 6'8" (NR PF) NR/#39

Committed to Arizona on his first official visit, knocking out Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Virginia. Rivals doesn't even rank him, which might explain why he jumped at an offer from Arizona. However, he adds to a decent recruiting class, which already includes Nic Wise (#19 PG) and which leads on Lance Thomas (#7 SF see above).

[Sports Guy]

Nice recruiting class for my boys, following up the great class they have coming in this year.

[Nuclear Dish]

Nice recruiting class for my boys, following up the great class they have coming in this year.

Definitely a solid class for Dook, especially when you consider that none of the guys they are bringing in are considered candidates to go pro before college.

Carolina could end up with the better class, but they also might lose some of those recruits to the draft.

[Nuclear Dish]

Casiem Drummond, 6'10" (#11 C) #82/NR

Drummond seems to be leaning toward Pitt over Cincinnati, St. John's, and Villanova.

Dominique Sutton, 6'4" (NR SF) NR/NR

When Sutton was first being recruited it was by the likes of East Carolina and Mt. St. Mary's. But lately, he's drawing a lot more attention from the big boys. He now has WF as his leader, with FSU running neck-and-neck, and UConn and Clemson trailing.

Doneal Mack, 6'5" (#25 SG) #109/NR

Took his official visit to WF, which has now joined Miami (FL) and VT as leaders. Florida St. and NC St. trail.

Derrick Jasper, 6'5" (#3 PG) #25/#95

Southern Cal seems to lead, although his list is still very long. Others involved include UConn, Kansas, Arizona, and GT.

Jerry Smith, 6'1" (#4 PG) #27/#42

Smith is down to a final four. He's visiting Louisville this weekend. His favorites appear to be WF and Wisconsin, but Louisville and Tennessee also figure in. WF will have a tough choice between Smith and Conley if both are interested. It might come down to who decides first. My bet is on Conley to announce first, and I think he'll go to WF (over Ohio State, see above), with Smith going to Wisconsin or Louisville.

[Max Power]

Chase Budinger, 6'7" (#8 SF) #33/#44[/b]

Based on looks alone, Budinger will either go to Dook or UCLA (he's pale white, he's gangly, and he's a redhead).

I thought UNC had a lock on pasty, gangly redheads. Or are Heel fans no longer allowed to recognize the Neil Fingleton experience in public?

[Nuclear Dish]

I thought UNC had a lock on pasty, gangly redheads. Or are Heel fans no longer allowed to recognize the Neil Fingleton experience in public?

1. Neil Fingleton played exactly 1 game for Carolina.

2. As seen in the photo I have attached, Neil Fingleton, although both pasty and gangly, is not a redhead. He does, however, have a British accent.

A great piece of trivia, BTW:

Can you name Neil Fingleton's HS basketball head coach?

Hint: He's no longer the coach there, but rather works in some capacity in baseball for an AL East team.

[Nuclear Dish]

Wayne Ellington, 6'4" (#4 SG) #23/#6

After completing his official visit to UNC, Ellington has verbally committed to the Tar Heels. His official press conference will be Wednesday. Ellington, whose teammate Gerald Henderson (see above) committed to Dook last week, had dropped hints about going from teammates to rivals with his good friend. Ellington chose UNC over Villanova (and, secondarily, UConn). This constitutes a huge loss for the Wildcats to have landed neither of the two big recruits coming out of Philly this coming year.

Kevin Durant, 6'9" (#5 SF) #16/#2

Durant took his official visit to Texas with his father. His mother had accompanied him on his trip to N. Carolina a couple weeks ago, and he had visited UConn at the end of April on his own. Although Durant was quoted as having enjoyed himself at Texas, most observers still believe that he will choose UNC over UConn and Texas because his mother was moved to tears during the UNC visit, and because Durant's high school teammate and close friend, Tywon Lawson has already committed to UNC. Durant is considered a legitimate threat to go straight to the NBA. An announcement is expected in the next week or so.

[Nuclear Dish]

I thought UNC had a lock on pasty, gangly redheads. Or are Heel fans no longer allowed to recognize the Neil Fingleton experience in public?

Speaking of Budinger, he's going to visit UCLA on June 3. Sounds like the perfect place for him.

[Nuclear Dish]

Dominique Sutton, 6'4" (NR SF) NR/NR

(See above for initial remarks.) Sutton was offered by WF, which was leading, but he has decided that he really wants to go to Carolina, and would sign there immediately upon receiving an offer. He was told that UNC will not offer him unless he gets his grades and scores up, so he will transfer to Hargrave Military Academy for his senior season. Barring a Carolina offer, he will choose WF. The question is whether Carolina really wants him - he's a fast riser, but he started out without much hype. Plus, they have Ellington, Graves, and maybe Durant coming in at similar positions.

Adrian Oliver, 6'4" (NR SG) NR/#97

(See above for initial remarks.) Chose Washington over Kentucky, even though Kentucky signed his HS teammate (unranked) to woo him. I can't see this being considered a big loss by Wildcat fans, although they probably regret signing Michael Porter now.

Pierre Niles, 6'7" (#12 PF) #40/#61

Down to Memphis and Arkansas, eliminating GT.

Derrick Caracter, 6'8" (#3 PF) #6/#11

Down to 4 schools: Louisville, Memphis, Virginia, and Villanova.

Alex Stephenson, 6'9" (#8 PF) #22/#68

North Carolina was slow to offer, so he seems to have cut them from his list. He's now down to 6 schools, supposedly, including: Arizona, UConn, GT, UCLA, WF, and Washington.

[Nuclear Dish]

Larry Davis, 6'3" (NR SG) NR/NR

Will visit NC State, Pitt, and Villanova. However, there are those who think he may choose NC State and cancel the next two visits because of a desire to play in the ACC. His stock is rising.

Paul Harris, 6'4" (#4 SF) #15/#9

Down to Pitt and Syracuse. Harris is a stud, and it could be a dogfight between the two Big East schools for his services. The one who comes out on top will have a real keeper.

[Nuclear Dish]

Ray Hall, 6'11" (#15 C) NR/NR

UCLA and USC lead at the moment. He's been offered by Illinois and GT, and he's also interested in Kansas and UNC. He won't make official visits util after July, but the theory is that his leaders are the result of unofficial visits he's made to those two schools.

P'Allen Stinnett, 6'3" (NR SG) NR/NR

Verbally committed to Iowa St. over Gonzaga.

Andre McFarland, 6'5" (NR SF) NR/NR

Verbally committed to USC on his visit there. Had been considering offers from Oregon State and UNLV.

Darrin Govens, 6'1" (NR PG) NR/NR

Verbally committed to St. Joe's. Comes from same high school and plays same position as Jameer Nelson. St. Joe's is trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Raymar Morgan, 6'7" (#28 SF) #111/#49

Michigan St. and Ohio St. are both pursuing him hard, already providing offers. He's not falling for their hard sells so fast. He also likes Michigan, Arizona, Syracuse, and UConn, and is content to wait for more offers to materialize before deciding.

[Nuclear Dish]

James Dews, 6'2" (#17 SF) #69/NR

Solid verbal to Miami (FL), over Seton Hall and W. Virginia.

[Nuclear Dish]

Reggie Redding, 6'4" (#36 SG) #146/#66

Solid verbal to Villanova over Pitt, W. Virginia, and NC State. Comes as something of a surprise, since Villanova wasn't high on his list, and he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Pitt.

Derrick Rivera, 6'1" (NR PG) NR/NR

Solid verbal to St. Joseph's over Seton Hall and Virginia Tech. Local guy jumps at first offer he receives because it's his first choice in any case.

[Nuclear Dish]

Larry Davis, 6'3" (NR SG) NR/#73

(See above) Davis gave a solid verbal to NC State, as expected. He chooses the Pack over Pitt, who had been pushing hard, UConn, St. John's and Villanova. Davis is a pure shooter with a good touch.

Albert Jackson, 6'10" (NR C) NR/NR

Jackson had committed to Georgia, but he's having second thoughts. He was initially recruited by Illinois, Michigan St. and Xavier, but now he's thinking about maybe staying in-state and going to Kentucky. He will visit Lexington and make a final decision after that.

Jawan Carter, 6'0" (#12 PG) #52/NR

Verbal to St. Joe's over Clemson, Georgetown, and Villanova. St. Joe's has quietly and suddenly put together a nice recruiting class of mid-major prospects. They've managed to get verbals from Carter, Rivera, and Govins in the past week. Only one problem: they are all PGs!

I will try to put together a list of the top recruiting classes through the spring shortly.

[Nuclear Dish]

Kevin Durant, 6'9" (#1 SF) #2/#2

(See above) Will announce on Thursday and is rumored to be going to Texas over UNC and UConn. That's a shocker to many on the East Coast. Durant is a prime candidate to go to the NBA without entering college if there is no age limit.

Brandan Wright, 6'9" (#1 PF) #6/#3

According to conflicting sources, Wright is down to either Kentucky and Dook or Kentucky and UNC. Suppsedly Dook is backing off because they are expecting Wright to go straight to the NBA.

DaJuan Summers, 6'8" (#19 SF) #71/#62

Soft verbal commitment to Georgetown.

Marques Johnson, 6'5" (#26 PG) #125/#58

Committed to Tennessee over a number of Big 10 (ILL, PUR, IND) schools.

Dwayne Collins, 6'7" (NR SF) NR/#91

Committed to MIA (FL). As expected, Collins stayed home. He had listed Kansas, Cincinnati, WF, and Florida in his final 5, although it never got to the point of receiving offers from anyone other than Miami.