Look back/ahead to the Top 100 College Basketball recruits in the SEC

[jbcarol]

Matthew Harris @MHarrisAdvocate  ·  21h

#LSU commit and Montverde swing man Ben Simmons moves up to No. 2 in the ESPN top 100 for the 2015 class: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/order/true ...

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  4h
Florida 2016 PF commit John Mooney ranked 34th on ESPNU Top 60 prospects list for 2016: http://tinyurl.com/q58kttt

[jbcarol]

Seven-footer Thon "Highlight" Maker remained ESPN's No. 1 prospect for the class of 2016

Maker — a native of Africa who plays for a high school in Virginia — has been in recent contact with Kentucky and already has scholarship offers from many of the nation's top programs. His guardian, Edward Smith, told the Herald-Leader last month that UK assistant Kenny Payne had called him recently and said that John Calipari would be calling soon, possibly with a UK scholarship offer.

Smith also said it was possible that Maker could reclassify to 2015...

etroit forward Josh Jackson, St. Louis wing Jayson Tatum, Arkansas guard Malik Monk and North Carolina power forward Harry Giles round out the new top five from ESPN.

Tatum and Giles have already received scholarship offers from Kentucky, and both players visited Lexington for Big Blue Madness last October.

The other class of 2016 prospect with a confirmed scholarship offer from UK — California power forward M.J. Cage — is No. 37 overall. He is the son of former NBA player Michael Cage, who Calipari coached while in charge of the New Jersey Nets.

The rest of the top 10 includes Florida center Udoka Azubuike at No. 6, followed by Memphis forward Dedric Lawson, Michigan wing Miles Bridges, North Carolina guard Dennis Smith Jr. and Texas guard Terrance Ferguson.

Taylor County standout Quentin Goodin is the only Kentuckian in the ESPN Top 60, coming in at No. 50 overall. He has offers from Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and West Virginia, among others. Both UK and Louisville have expressed interest in the 6-2 guard.

Reports that UK coaches have suggested Goodin find a school where he can play better competition.

[jbcarol]

Diamond Stone is Scout.com's new No. 1 player in the class of 2015, and UK's lone commitment for next year took a major fall in the rankings.

Charles Matthews — a 6-foot-5 guard from Chicago — went from No. 15 overall to No. 48 overall in the player rankings that were updated Thursday. Matthews committed to UK in February and will (may?) be eligible to sign with the Wildcats in November.

Scout.com's Evan Daniels reported Thursday morning that $tone will take a trip to UConn this weekend. He and fellow 2015 star Malik Newman have said they will attend the same college. Newman is a major UK recruiting target who is also interested in UConn. He fell four spots in the new rankings, to No. 6 overall.

Following Stone in the Top 10 were Louisiana State commitment Ben Simmons, California forward Ivan Rabb, Georgia forward Jaylen Brown, New York forward Cheick Diallo, Newman, Wisconsin center Henry Ellenson, Las Vegas center Stephen Zimmerman, Las Vegas center Chase Jeter and Memphis forward Skal Labissiere.

[jbcarol]

Coach Whitt @cPhaseSports  ·  Jun 3
2015 G Jimmy Whitt invited to the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp -Aug 7 to 10 in Winston Salem, NC. Ja-W looking forward to attending.

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  12h
#Vols 2015 PG target Dequon Miller (Motlow State CC) says he'll take official visits to Tennessee, Missouri and Arizona State in the fall.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  1h
Mizzou offered 2016 G Montrell Dixson

Dikembe's cousin, a 6-6 G-F now playing at Mingo Central in Hatfield and McCoy country.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Jun 16
Tyus Battle will head to Kentucky this evening for an unofficial visit, per his father. Five-star 2016 wing prospect.

Florida offered Derryck Thornton, http://Scout.com 's No. 13 overall player in the 2016 class, today.


Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Jun 15
John Calipari & Kentucky offered Thon Maker a scholarship today, per his guardian Ed Smith.

Thon Maker will likely visit Kansas and Missouri a week after NBPA Camp, which begins on Wednesday.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  22h
LSU commitment Ben Simmons is leading NBPA Top 100 Camp in scoring with 18.3 ppg through 4 games. He's 71.4% from the field.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  Jun 19
:15 mark ... RT @CityLeagueHoops Thon Maker has been absolutely scary at NBPA Camp so far.  Check out these blocks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-H_OM7dJEg ...

[jbcarol]

Alex Kline @TheRecruitScoop  ·  9h
2015 PF Jon Nwankwo visits: Alabama 6/22, Rice 6/23, Vanderbilt 6/25, Tennessee 6/26, Temple 6/27, Drexel 6/28 & George Washington 6/29.

[jbcarol]

Alex Kline @TheRecruitScoop  ·  5h
Alabama will host 2015 House of Sports (NY) PF Jonathan Nwankwo for an unofficial visit today.

[jbcarol]

Preferred walk-on Zach Hodskins, the one-armed basketball player from Georgia, will enroll at Florida on Monday to go through orientation prior to the Summer B semester. Hodskins plans to wear No. 24 at Florida, if possible.

[jbcarol]

Top 100 Camp @Top100Camp  ·  21h
Congratulations to camp MVP Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25 ) #NBPATop100Camp



LSU Commit

[jbcarol]

In February, LSU got an early start to its Class of 2016 with a commitment from University Laboratory School (Louisiana) point guard Skylar Mays. However, on Saturday night, Mays backed away from his initial pledge.

"I've chosen to reopen my recruitment. I still love the LSU basketball program and have interest in what the staff has going on over there." Mays tweeted.

The 6-foot-3, Baton Rouge native committed to the Tigers on LSU, before leading his high school team to the Class 3A state championship later that season...

Earlier this week, Mays participated in the Nike Elite 100, a showcase for the top rising sophomores and juniors in the country. According to Eric Bossi, Rivals recruiting analyst, Mays had an impressive week in St. Louis.

[jbcarol]

Verbal Commits @VerbalCommits  ·  12h

2015 Columbia-Hickman (MO) G Jimmy Whitt has received an offer from UNLV. @JimmyWhitt33 http://verbalcommits.com/players/jimmy-whitt ...

[jbcarol]

7' 5" 2015 center Tacko Fall

Video at link of Tacko Fall nearly tearing down a rim at the NBPA Top 100 Camp.

He attends Houston Lutheran South


Courtesy Channel 2 - WESH-TV

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  55m
As I reported earlier, Thon Maker will visit Missouri tomorrow. Tim Fuller is tied in there, as is Fulford. Fulford will be in town by then.

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  8h
Big Sexy is cruitin' 7-foot-5 2015 C Tacko Fall RT @RealKevinNash: @Vol_Hoops Might want to give this big man a look

GoVolsXtra @GoVolsXtra  ·  7h
Vols offer 7-foot-5 center; Kevin "Big Sexy" Nash approves (via @Ben_Fred) http://ow.ly/ynw4v

[jbcarol]

Top 100 Camp @Top100Camp  ·  21h
Congratulations to camp MVP Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25 ) #NBPATop100Camp



LSU Commit

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  2h
.@jerrymeyer247 told me Saturday that he was leaning toward ranking Ben Simmons No. 1 http://bit.ly/1qHL7Bh . Rankings come out tomorrow.

[jbcarol]

Shea Dixon @Sheadixon  ·  1h
Big news for #LSU basketball. Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) is now the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2015 class (FREE) http://lsu.247sports.com/Bolt/Ben-Simmons-is-No-1-overall-29340127 ...

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  15h
Just spoke to Thon "Highlight" Maker's guardian. He tells me they'll meet with his schools academic people in mid-August to decide if he'll reclassify.

[jbcarol]

Chart: Where UK's one-and-dones have been drafted

From John Wall to Archie Goodwin...

Julius Randle and James Young became the 12th and 13th one-and-done players at Kentucky since John Calipari became head coach five years ago. All 13 players were selected in the first round, and Randle became the eighth to be chosen in the lottery...

[jbcarol]

Baton Rouge News @brnola  ·  18h
LSU commitment Ben Simmons is the top overall prospect in Rivals rankings, Brandon Sampson the top Louisiana player http://bit.ly/1nN58BF

[jbcarol]

Here are the players in the class of 2015 who have received scholarship offers from Kentucky.

Players who have received scholarship offers from Kentucky:

Carlton Bragg

Position: Forward

Height, weight: 6-9, 220 pounds

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio

Rivals ranking: 9

Scout ranking: 11

ESPN ranking: 14

247Sports ranking: 7

■ Bragg is a versatile forward who has established himself as one of the best inside-out players in the class. He's usually listed as a power forward, but he has said that many schools are looking at him as a "stretch-4" ...


Jaylen Brown

Position: Small forward

Height, weight: 6-7, 220 pounds

Hometown: Marietta, Ga.

Rivals ranking: 3

Scout ranking: 4

ESPN ranking: 8

247Sports ranking: 2

■ The recent transformation in Brown's game has landed him in the discussion for the No. 1 ranking in the 2015 class. He's always been explosive and he's always played hard. Now, he's added a reliable jump shot. Brown has made 30 of 58 three-point attempts (51.7 percent) on the Adidas circuit so far this summer.


Cheick Diallo

Position: Forward/Center

Height, weight: 6-9, 220 pounds

Hometown: Centereach, N.Y.

Rivals ranking: 5

Scout ranking: 5

ESPN ranking: 7

247Sports ranking: 3

■ Nobody plays harder than Diallo, a native of Mali who is arguably the best rebounder and post defender in the class. He was named the most valuable player at last year's NBPA Top 100 Camp despite being a year younger than many of the top players in attendance. He nearly repeated that honor at this year's event. "He has the highest motor in high school basketball, and I don't think it's even close,"
-- Scout.com's Evan Daniels


Derrick Jones

Position: Small forward

Height, weight: 6-7, 190 pounds

Hometown: Philadelphia, Pa.

Rivals ranking: 33

Scout ranking: 43

ESPN ranking: 27

247Sports ranking: 28

■ One of the most athletic recruits in the class, Jones is a highlight-reel dunker and intriguing prospect who is still developing as a player. His length and athleticism catch the eye — and his amazing dunks are impossible to miss (another one to search for on YouTube). But he can disappear at times on the court...


Skal Labissiere

Position: Forward/Center

Height, weight: 6-10, 200 pounds

Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.

Rivals ranking: 14

Scout ranking: 10

ESPN ranking: 11

247Sports ranking: 43

■ The native of Haiti is still rounding into shape after missing almost all of his junior season with a stress fracture in his back. Labissiere returned to the court in April. At 6-10, Labissiere likes to play away from the basket, and he has a good-looking jump shot that could be a major weapon in college. He also possesses good instincts as a post defender, but he'll need to add more weight...


Malik Newman

Position: Guard

Height, weight: 6-4, 180 pounds

Hometown: Jackson, Miss.

Rivals ranking: 2

Scout ranking: 6

ESPN ranking: 3

247Sports ranking: 4

■ He's arguably the best scorer in high school basketball, and he's generally regarded as the best backcourt player in the class. He's also the only uncommitted guard in 2015 with a scholarship offer from John Calipari. Newman uses his strength and a quick first step to get past defenders on the perimeter and create easy buckets for himself around the rim. He's also effective from three-point range and is capable of long scoring runs...


Ivan Rabb

Position: Power forward

Height, weight: 6-10, 220 pounds

Hometown: Oakland, Calif.

Rivals ranking: 4

Scout ranking: 3

ESPN ranking: 1

247Sports ranking: 5

■ He's one of the most well-rounded post players in the class. Rabb led the gold-medal winning Team USA under-16 squad in rebounding last year and is among the leading rebounders on the Nike circuit this summer. He's also an effective post scorer and defender. "Ivan is a very competitive young man."
-- High school coach Lou Richie


Stephen Zimmerman

Position: Center

Height, weight: 7-0, 240 pounds

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.

Rivals ranking: 7

Scout ranking: 8

ESPN ranking: 6

247Sports ranking: 14

■ Zimmerman has struggled offensively during his first summer on the Nike circuit, but he established himself long ago as one of the best post players in the class. He possesses great offensive skills around the basket and has a good jump shot that can extend out to the three-point line. He's also shown the ability to be an above-average passer.

[jbcarol]

Shea Dixon @Sheadixon  ·  Jun 27
Johnny O'Bryant came out of HS ranked as the No. 40 player in the country. Last night, he was drafted No. 36. #Bolts http://lsu.247sports.com/Bolt/Bucks-draft-Johnny-OBryant-29355229 ...

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2h
Recruiting Roundup: Monday Visits Include Maker to Duke, Gill-Caesar to Mizzou, Jones to UConn; http://zagsblog.com/articles/recruiting-roundup-monday-visits-include-maker-to-duke-gill-caesar-to-mizzou-jones-to-uconn-diallo-visit-kentucky-bridges-hits-n-c-state-more ...

Thon "Highlight" Maker, a Class of 2016 7-footer from the Carlisle (Va.) School, who may reclass to 2015, will visit Duke. Maker recently tripped to Kansas and Missouri and also plans to hit Arizona, UCLA, Kentucky and Indiana later this summer.

Speaking of Mizzou, Montaque "Teki" Gill-Caesar, a Class of 2015 wing from Huntington (W.V.) Prep who may reclass to 2o14, will trip to Missouri. The link there, of course, is that the Tigers just hired former Huntington coach Rob Fulford as an assistant.

Also on Monday, Derrick Jone$, a 6-7 wing from Archbishop Carroll (PA) will visit UConn...

This past weekend, 6-9 2015 forward Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American visited Kentucky, and Tweeted a picture of himself in the locker room.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  3h
Taylor County guard Quentin Goodin is the No. 59 overall prospect in the Rivals rankings and the only Kentuckian http://bit.ly/1pTwd7C

Commonwealth of Kentucky producing fewer talented players seemingly each year.  Goodin is in the '16 class.

[jbcarol]

20 questions every athlete should ask a prospective coach

Calipari's annual recruiting manifesto

Every answer a coach gives from this list should be from the last five years or so. What happened 10 or more years ago is irrelevant.

What type of media training do you offer?

How many double-figure scorers have you averaged in the last four to five years? If you only have one or two a year, what does that mean for me?

How many McDonald's All-Americans have you coached? How many of them went on to the NBA?

How have your teams fared with three or four McDonald's All-Americans on the same team?

How many freshmen have you started within the last four to five years?

How many draft picks have you had over the last five years? How many drafted were not McDonald's All-Americans? How many of the total were first-rounders and were any of them No. 1 draft picks during that time?

How many of those players have gone on to make the NBA All-Rookie team?

How many games will my family be able to watch on national television?

How many of your home games are sold out? How many of your road games are sold out?

How have you done in postseason play? Any Final Fours?

[jbcarol]

John Talty @JTalty  ·  5h
Danjel Purifoy, the top-ranked basketball player in Alabama, is leaving for Hargrave: http://ow.ly/yIaOz

Purifoy will instead enroll at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., Purifoy's AAU coach, Winfred Jordan, confirmed to AL.com. Hargrave is known for its stellar high school and post-graduate athletic programs, and typically has players from all around the country.

The 6-foot-6, 195-pound guard played last season at Bibb County, but was cut from the team in April for a reported lack of participation.

ESPN recently rated him as the nation's No. 51 player and he is No. 53 in the 247Composite. Purifoy has scholarship offers from Kentucky and Michigan State.

Bama and Auburn are both recruiting Purifoy, though it will be interesting to see how the efforts will be altered by his move to Virginia.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  19h
There are 13 centers ranked in the top 35 in the 2015 class. None are committed.

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish @GaryParrishCBS  ·  Jul 3
Is Michigan's John Beilein the best at turning lowly recruits into lottery picks? Recent history says yes. Column: http://cbsprt.co/1vDafqV

Gary Parrish @GaryParrishCBS  ·  Jul 4
In that column I note that Burke and Stauskas were both ranked outside of the top 80. Became top-10 picks in two seasons. That's rare stuff.

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell @Carvell_AJC  ·  Jul 5
Top Georgia prospect picks Ohio State http://on-ajc.com/1qy9O1T

Daniel Giddens, who is rated as the state's No. 3 overall basketball prospect for 2015, committed to Ohio State on Friday, less than a week after returning from an official visit with the Buckeyes.

The 6-foot-10 center from Wheeler High School picked Ohio State over Wake Forest, while also considering UGA and Florida.

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish @GaryParrishCBS  ·  9h

Are you a top-10 recruit? If so, congrats. You're virtually guaranteed to leave college early/make the NBA. Column: http://cbsprt.co/1rH1Vsx

It breaks down like this:

    2006: Ten of 10 played in NBA after spending an average of 1.5 years in college.
    2007: Nine of 10 played in NBA after spending an average of 1.8 years in college.
    2008: Ten of 10 played in NBA after spending an average of 1.5 years in college.
    2009: Eight of 10 played in NBA after spending an average of 1.4 years in college.
    2010: Nine of 10 played in NBA after spending an average of 1.5 years in college.

Top-five prospects from those classes made the NBA literally 100 percent of the time.

The highest-rated prospect from those five classes not to make it?

Renardo Sidney.

Obviously, Class of 2011, Class of 2012 and Class of 2013 prospects could still theoretically be in college. But it should be noted that only one top-10 prospect from the Class of 2011 (Oklahoma State's LeBryan Nash) remains in school. And only two top-10 prospects from the Class of 2012 (Arizona's Kaleb Tarczewski and Kentucky's Alex Poythress) remain in school. And five top-10 prospects from the Class of 2013 entered the NBA Draft after just one season of college basketball

LSU Verbal Ben Simmons is currently No. 1 in 247Sports.com's Class of 2015 player rankings. (Getty)

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  8h
NEW: Top UK recruit Jayson Tatum is the new No. 1 overall player in the Scout rankings for 2016 http://bit.ly/1qEgyLE

Retweeted by Jayson Tatum
Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  7h
Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson, Harry Giles & Thon Maker lead the way in our updated 2016 Top 75: http://scouthoops.scout.com/story/1418840-updated-2016-top-75?s=75 ...

[jbcarol]

Seth Emerson @SethEmerson  ·  10h
Georgia hoops recruiting news: PG William "Turtle" Jackson of Athens has reneged on commitment to UConn and flipped to UGA, per sources.

[jbcarol]

Rob Dauster @RobDauster  ·  21h
What is the July evaluation period, and why is it so important? http://wp.me/p1aWjM-26lo

This Wednesday, July 9th, at 5:00 p.m. kicks off the 2014 July evaluation period, one of the most crucial stretches of the year for any college basketball team across the country.

But there are many fans out there that may not be aware of what a "live period" is or what it means for coaches and the players they are recruiting or plan to recruit in the future.

The NCAA rulebook is thick and it is scary and it is often confusing, but when it comes to the recruiting calendar, things are fairly cut and dry, particularly during the spring and summer months. The way it works is like this: there are only certain times during certain months where coaches are allowed to be on the road scouting and evaluating players. These are called evaluation periods, or "live periods", and during a usual calendar year, there will be five of them: two in late April and/or early May and three during July.

In the summer, it's a bit different. For three consecutive weekends during the month, coaches are allowed to evaluate prospects from 5:00 p.m. on a Wednesday until 5:00 p.m. on a Sunday. What that means is that during a 15-day stretch in the middle of the summer, these high school players will be in gyms across the country, essentially auditioning for the coaches that they hope to one day play for.

Audition is the proper word to use here as well.

No in-person contact is allowed between the college coaches and the recruits or the families of the recruits. It's strictly an opportunity for scouting and evaluation, which creates a surreal environment at the events that take place. Family, friends, AAU coaches and the athletes themselves are all ushered onto one side of the court after entering the gym through one entrance. The college coaches are fenced in on the other side of the court after entering through a different entrance.

How a staff will go about traversing the country and utilizing their time during the live period will differ between programs...

[jbcarol]

The July evaluation period will kick off on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.

...seven programs with the most on the line heading into this month:

Auburn: "Auburn made huge news when it hired Bruce Pearl. Since then, the Tigers have landed commitments from Juco and graduate transfers, but Pearl's show-cause penalty runs through late August. What that means is that he won't be out on the recruiting trail this month. How does that hurt his Class of 2015? And if it does, will it hinder Pearl's rebuild?"

Missouri: "The biggest question when Missouri hired Kim Anderson to replace Frank Haith was going to be how the longtime Division II coach would be able to recruit. Well, he managed to keep Tim Fuller on staff and hired Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford as an assistant, meaning that he'll have the pieces in place to land a big time recruiting class. How will they fare in their first summer on the road together?"

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  Jul 6

High school standout claims Hornets rookie P.J. "Angry" Hairston sucker-punched him while playing pickup today in Durham: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11184420/pj-hairston-charlotte-hornets-involved-altercation-pickup-game ...

Northern Durham High rising senior Kentrell Barkley, who is being recruited by numerous mid-major college programs. "I walked up to him and asked him what happened and then he hit me again in the neck."

Hairston's agent, Juan Morrow, confirmed to ESPN that his client, selected 26th overall in last month's NBA draft, did throw a punch at the 6-foot-5, 195-pound Barkley. However, Morrow said it was in retaliation. "The pickup game got heated."


It's fun to play at the YMCA.

[jbcarol]

2015 247 Top Five + Two (with known SEC offers for the uncommitted)

1. Ben Simmons  Montverde Academy, 6-8 SF, LSU verbal
2. Jaylen Brown  Marietta Wheeler, 6-7 SF, Offers: Bama, UGa, UT, VU, UF, AU
3. Chieck Diallo  Our Savior New American, 6-9 PF, Offers: UK, UF
4. Malik Newman  Callaway Jackson, 6-3 SG, Offers: Ark, Bama, LSU, OM, MS, UK, MU
5. Ivan Rabb      Bishop O'Dowd, 6-10 PF, Offers: UK, UF
...
49. William Jackson  Athens Christian, 6-4 PG, UGa verbal
50. Jimmy Whitt  Columbia Hickman, 6-4 SG, Offers: Ark, MU

http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Basketball/RecruitRankings

[jbcarol]

Thorough analysis of some of the coaches who have landed the most 5-stars and the percentage who have landed in the NBA.  Calipari and Donovan included here:

[jbcarol]

Calipari offers scholarships to 3 UK targets

Milwaukee center Diamond Stone was the first player to claim a UK scholarship offer during the July recruiting period. Stone — a 6-foot-10 prospect — told Scout.com's Evan Daniels on Thursday that UK had offered and that the Wildcats are recruiting him "real hard."

Scout.com ranks him as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2015. He and top UK recruit Malik Newman have repeatedly said that they would like to play for the same school.

North Carolina prospect Brandon Ingram told the Herald-Leader that Calipari called him Saturday night and extended a UK offer. Ingram — a 6-foot-8 small forward — also has offers from Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and several others. He said he is planning an August visit to Lexington.

Wisconsin power forward Henry Ellenson got his UK offer on Sunday, his father confirmed. "A very exciting day and Henry is very honored," John Ellenson told the Herald-Leader.

The 6-foot-10 prospect was among the standouts at the LeBron camp and has been one of the nation's fastest-rising prospects in recent weeks.

Scout.com now ranks him as the No. 7 overall player in the class of 2015.

UK has now offered 11 players from the class of 2015, in addition to Charles Matthews, who committed to the Cats in February.

[jbcarol]

UK freshman Karl Towns was named the 2014 Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Towns — a 7-footer from New Jersey — is the seventh basketball player to win the award since 2003. Past recipients include LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Andrew Wiggins and former Kentucky guard Brandon Knight, who was there Tuesday to see Towns receive his award.

Towns averaged 20.9 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game during his senior season while leading St. Joseph to a 30-2 record and state championship. He also graduated with a near-4.0 grade-point average.

[jbcarol]

If you are talking elite talents in the Class of 2015, two come to mind for me, Ben Simmons (headed to LSU) and Malik Newman...

At one point, the 247 Sports "Crystal Ball" had UK as a 100% selection and the assumption was he would be in Blue. ...over the last month, most experts have been putting Newman with different schools and UK seems to be losing ground. In the latest Crystal Ball, 247 Sports' head recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer has moved Newman to a Mississippi State selection, Jeff Borzello of CBS has put him with UCONN and others have moved him to Kansas. The consistent theme? Everyone is switching from Kentucky.

So is there anything to this move or is it just the natural progression of a recruiting wave? This is becoming a slightly difficult recruiting year for John Calipari (for reasons we will talk about more tomorrow) and schools are ganging up against the Cats. And the addition of returning players is making Calipari's job harder this year. But it can't be ignored that the buzz around Newman is not going UK's way. While experts cannot agree as to which school he will attend, they are in agreement that the school will not be Kentucky. The buzz around recruiting circles is that even if he is not a "package deal" with Diamond Stone (that is not assured), UK has lost ground and is not the obvious choice....an opinion seemingly validated by the Cats making offers to three new players.

[jbcarol]

Arlington (Tex.) Prime Prep point guard Emmanuel Mudiay–the consensus top overall prospect in the 2014 class, announced he would be headed overseas instead of playing at SMU.

State of Tejas is potentially shutting down Prime Prep Academy over accreditation and state lunch money misappropriations.  Deion Sanders was reported to be saddened and felt betrayed.

[jbcarol]

Over the course of July's live recruiting period, NBCSports' College Basketball Talk will be posting anonymous quotes from coaches about the prospects that they are watching and recruiting.

PF Ben Simmons, No. 1 2015: "He's more of a four in college, but I think he's a three in the pros. His vision is tremendous. No need for an outlet pass when he gets a defensive rebound, he takes it himself. Run offense through him, don't let him just be a facilitator in college. He's too good for that."

LSU commit

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  11h
#Gator 2015 commit, SG @TheCAJasonSmith  KeVaughn Allen just blew the top off  place, taking high alley-oop pass from KJ and stuffing it.


L. Jason Smith @TheCAJasonSmith  ·  11h
@gatorhoops He's an absolute steal for Gators out of Arkansas. Absolute stud.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  26s
Talked with Malik Monk yesterday. He was very pleased to get that UK offer. Says he watches every UK game, big fan of Calipari.

Malik Monk's final stat line tonight: 40 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists. 14/20 FGs, 6/10 threes. 28 minutes. What a performance.

[jbcarol]

Peach Jam Updates:

he Class of 2016 is shaping up to be quite impressive at the top... there is a very real argument to make that 6-foot-3 Arkansas Wings guard Malik Monk is the most impressive player in the class.

He's certainly the most explosive, and I'm not just talking about his leaping ability. (video at link)

On Friday night, in front of coaches like Bill Self and John Calipari, Monk put on an absolute show. He scored 40 points in a win over Team Penny — which includes the Lawson brothers and Florida commit KeVaughn Allen on the roster. He hit threes from 25 feet, finishing 6-for-10 from beyond the arc and 14-for-20 from the floor. Three times in the first half he threw down vicious dunks after knifing through traffic in the half court. He made no-look passes that drew just as many oohs-and-aahs as those dunks, collecting six boards and five assists in the process.

And it's not even close to the best game he played on the EYBL circuit.

That would be the 59 points he put up on All Ohio Red out in Sacramento back in August. He hit 10 threes in that game and got to the foul line 23 times. That pretty succinctly sums up what Monk is able to do with the ball in his hands, and gives you a feel for why programs like Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana, Baylor and Memphis have already offered him a scholarship, although the consensus right now seems to be that Florida and Arkansas are the favorites. Monk is a native of Bentonville, Ark., and his brother played football and basketball for the Razorbacks. He is a must-get recruit for Mike Anderson, and not just because he is the ideal two-guard for Anderson's system.

It's not all big shooting numbers and highlight reel dunks for Monk, however, as he still has a tendency to mix in a 3-for-11 night too often. The game before he went for 40 he finished with just eight points and 1-for-8 shooting from three in a 15-point loss.

The thing to remember is that Monk is a member of the Class of 2016.

He's doing all of this while playing up a level.

What happens when, in a year, he goes up against guys that are in his age group?

Entering July there was a debate surrounding the No. 1 overall player in the 2015 class.

With one performance at the Nike Peach Jam on Thursday night, 6-foot-9 forward Ben Simmons ended that debate.

Soundly.

The native of Australia scored 21 points (8-for-11 from the field) and added seven assists, four rebounds, three steals and a block...

The LSU commit showcased his unique versatility and skill level in the win and Simmons easily would have had a double-double if his teammates consistently knocked in the open layups and three-pointers that he created.

After watching top ten prospects like Jaylen Brown and Diamond Stone play very well earlier in the day at the Under Armour Association Finals in Suwanee, Simmons took their strong efforts and easily trumped it on Thursday night.

There's just no question that he's the No. 1 player in the 2015 class.

"In my eyes I'm No. 1 all the time. I'm not going to going to say, 'this kid's better than me,' but in my heart I think I'm the best," Simmons told NBCSports.com.

Simmons throws crisp passes with both hands, handles the ball incredibly well for a forward and often brings the ball up the floor. He's a mismatch on nearly every single play. Simmons even calls himself a point forward when he's asked to label his game and he takes an immense amount of pride in his passing ability.

"That's how you play the game; that's how you play the game," Simmons said of his passing. "You see the Spurs did it, and we won with Patty Mills and Baynes and Australian players, but that's how you play the game."

Although E1TI beat CP3 and Class of 2016 five-star forward Harry Giles on Thursday — and the highly-touted head-to-head matchup, was seen by nearly every major head coach and media outlet in the country — Simmons downplayed his individual performance in lieu of team success.

"With this tournament... you're just trying to win," Simmons said. "You're not focused on individuals. I want to be there in the end holding the trophy up."

That's what separates Simmons from his peers...

Johnny Jones later appeared with Andy Katz on ESPNU from the tourney site.

Sheldon Mickles @MicklesAdvocate  ·  Jul 17
#LSU's Johnny Jones to appear on Katz Corner on ESPNU on Friday night. http://theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/9748121-123/lsus-johhny-jones-set-to ...

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  4h

NEW: @jerrymeyer247 changed his Malik Newman pick to Mississippi State. He explained it in a recent radio appearance http://bit.ly/1z3A3QP