2007 Recruiting Updates

[LADANK]

Koustus Koufus just committed to Ohio State

[Nuclear Dish]

Koustus Koufus just committed to Ohio State

See the Maryland board. I decided it was more appropriately listed there.

[Nuclear Dish]

There's a rumor going around that OJ Mayo may decide to skip college and enter directly into the NBDL, changing the face of college recruiting right back to what it was last year before the age limit was instituted in the NBA.

[Sports Guy]

Mayo going to USC.

[Nuclear Dish]

Mayo going to USC.

I'll bet he never plays a game for them and goes the NBDL route.

Of course, the last time a guy named OJ played sports at USC, it ended up with 2 murders, a low-speed chase with a white Bronco, and the worst travesty of justice the US has ever seen.

[Sports Guy]

I'll bet he never plays a game for them and goes the NBDL route.

Of course, the last time a guy named OJ played sports at USC, it ended up with 2 murders, a low-speed chase with a white Bronco, and the worst travesty of justice the US has ever seen.

What is Walker going to do?

[Nuclear Dish]

What is Walker going to do?

Mayo announces USC and never plays there, and Walker follows Huggins to KState. Pope is having second thoughts about KState right now, and could choose UConn or Louisville instead. And Beasley is definitely going to KState.

Mayo chose USC because a) if he's goingt o go to school for a year, he may as well be in sunny SoCal instead of Manhattan, Kansas, and b) because he liked what the PR machine at USC did for Linart and Bush. But in the end, he's more likely to become a pro right off the bat than ever play a game for the Trojans.

Besides, the biggest catch of that class will end up being Kevin Love much more so than Mayo in any case. And Love is choosing between UCLA and Carolina and should announce in a few weeks.

Other big news is that Gary Johnson, who's a top 5-10 guy in 2007, announced for Texas, and Jerryd Bayless backed out of his Arizona commitment and is considering Texas, Kansas and UNC in addition to the Wildcats.

Oh, and Jeff Jones announced his list of schools to consider, which still includes Maryland. But he's going to take a long look at Arizona, Clemson, GT, Charlotte, UVA, VT, WF, and Illinois too.

[Nuclear Dish]

Mayo backed off the concept that he's committing to USC. He hasn't committed yet, but he lists USC in his final 3.

[Nuclear Dish]

Speaking of Walker... check this out. It seems he may not be eligible to play high school ball in Ohio this season.

Walker Status

North College Hill rising senior Bill Walker, who will be named to the Senior All-Star team Sunday morning, has averaged 15.0 points during pool play to lead the Hawks to a 6-0 mark to date. His player rating is 25.4, best among his teammates and good for third among all camp participants.

But as Walker has toiled in Teaneck, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has spent the week investigating whether the 6-foot-6 swingman has exhausted his eligibility. While attending Rose Hill Christian in Ashland, Ky., during the 2002-03 school year, Walker participated on the varsity basketball team and was listed as a freshman -- but was enrolled by NCH school district as an eighth-grader following his move to Ohio that February.

Further complicating matters: Kentucky school regulations permit students to play varsity sports before ninth grade, where Ohio bylaws mandate that a student-athlete must be a freshman.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Friday that the OHSAA will probably make an announcement Monday as to whether Walker will be permitted to play for North College Hill in the 2006-07 season.

If Walker returns, North College Hill would be an overwhelming favorite to win its third consecutive Ohio Division III championship.

It's something to mind moving forward. But it's safe to say that the proceedings didn't pose a distraction to the dynamic senior-to-be during his week at ABCD.

If he loses his elibibility, he'd likely have to transfer to a prep school to be able to play.

EDIT: I just read that Walker's eligibility appeal was denied, and he will NOT be allowed to play with OJ Mayo at North College Hill this season. Where he's going to go is still unclear, but this is actually a big blow to KState and Bob Huggins. With Walker under someone else's influence (like Sonny Smith at Oak Hill, for instance), the odds are against him ending up with Huggins now.

[Nuclear Dish]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060710/SPT0301/307100013

OJ Mayo's mother says Walker is still planning on attending NCH (which makes no sense from a basketball perspective), while itmentiones in the article that he's considering prepping this year so he can play. But he can't play sports for any Ohio high school this year.

[Lefty0315]

http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9548336

It looks like Walker may be the first guy to skip college after the new rules have been in place.

[Nuclear Dish]

http://www.cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9548336

It looks like Walker may be the first guy to skip college after the new rules have been in place.

He may not be the only one...

http://www.suntimes.com/output/prep/cst-spt-rose11.html

Derrick Rose is thinking about either going to Europe or just working out for a year in draft prep, while signing a shoe contract to give him some cash in the meantime. Why he wouldn't play in the NBDL, I don't know.

It seems this might be the case for Mayo, Walker, and Rose. And once they set the precedent, lots will follow in coming years.

Plus, there's the line in this article that Sonyn Vaccaro is trying to find a way to get some of these players foreign citizenships so they can enter the draft without college (as long as they are 19 at the time of the draft) like the foreigners can.

[Nuclear Dish]

Kevin Love is scheduled to make his big announcement in 1 hour from now (4:30 PM EDT). It's expected to be UCLA over UNC, but he mentioned something about "surprising a lot of people" with his decision, so there are a few theories out there:

1) He's just saying that to get people more interested in his presser

2) He's going to choose UNC

3) He's going to choose to go to USC with Mayo (not likely)

4) He's going to choose to stay closer to home and go to Washington (not likely)

5) He's going to pull a Derrick Rose and skip college altogether and train for the NBA.

6) He's going to declare for the NBA and sue the league to challenge the age limit. (not likely)

My guessis the Option #1 is going to happen, but I sure hope it's #2.

[Nuclear Dish]

As expected, Love chooses UCLA.

[Sports Guy]

As expected, Love chooses UCLA.

Damn....I was really pulling for UNC there.