2015 SEC Basketball Recruiting

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  20 minutes ago
Terrence Phillips has committed to Missouri, per a source.

Terrence Phillips is the brother of Brandon Jennings. He was one of the best available PG prospects remaining in the 2015 class.

Terrence Phillips on his Missouri pledge: "Going to Missouri, I can play against the best and prove myself every single night."

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  3 hours ago
FWIW, if Carlton Bragg makes his decision on Thursday, my money is on it not being Kentucky

If decision comes Thursday, I think Carlton Bragg picks either Kansas or Illinois

[jbcarol]

Tod Palmer @todpalmer  ·  21 hours ago
With Terrence Phillips' commitment, #Mizzou currently has one available scholarship for next season unless a player leaves.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Jan 5
Kansas doesn't currently have a commit in 2015. But the Jayhawks are in deep with 6 of the top 12 players in the class. Could get a couple!


Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Jan 6
Carlton Bragg (http://foxs.pt/1ywEial ) announces on Thursday. Kansas appears to be the heavy favorite.

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  3 hours ago
Blog: Florida hoops commit KeVaughn Allen to visit #Vols this weekend http://knoxblogs.com/fastbreak/2015/01/07/florida-hoops-commit-kevaugh-allen-visit-vols/ ...

[jbcarol]

Steve Jones @SteveJones_CJ  ·  14 seconds ago

Carlton Bragg commits to Kansas, puts on KU hat but accidentally says Kentucky. Whoa.

Carlton bragg's mentor Mike Graves talking now. He's also a super nice guy and accommodating to the media

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  2 hours ago
John Calipari at McCracken County for recruiting and is apparently taking a nap in high school coach's office between games

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  23 minutes ago
UK Recruit makes an Amazing play and leaves Calipari giggling on the sideline watching: http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/recruit-makes-cal-giggle-like-youve-never-seen-after-and-1-play/ ...

Cal took a break from his office naps yesterday at the Mustang Madness to watch Huntington Prep get a game in.  Mustang Madness has some top talent, but Class of 2015 4-star Power Forward Thomas Bryant caught Coach Cal's eye after an amazing finish at the rim...

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell @Carvell_AJC  ·  3 hours ago

ICYMI: Nation's No. 2 basketball prospect to reschedule #UGA visit. http://on-ajc.com/14ZAfXg

UGA will have to wait for its chance with Jaylen Brown, the nation's No. 2 overall college basketball prospect.

The 6-foot-7 forward from Wheeler High School was supposed to visit UGA for Saturday's home game against Florida. But it has been postponed, according to Brown's AAU coach.

"He had to change it because they (Wheeler) leave on Saturday for the Hall of Fame game on Monday on ESPN," Desmond Eastmond told the AJC. "He was going to go to UGA on an unofficial. So they have to set up another date."

Wheeler plays Bishop O'Dowd High School of Oakland, Calif., at 11 a.m. Monday on ESPNU as part of the Spalding HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Brown has taken official visits to Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA and North Carolina, with him ranking the trip to the Tar Heels as a "10." He take his final official visit to Michigan on Jan. 24.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2 hours ago

Former Mizzou commit @RonnieSuggs2 is considering Butler, VCU, Texas Tech, Duquesne and Rice and will decide in the spring.

[jbcarol]

Aggie Men's Hoops @AggieMensHoops  ·  18 hours ago

Big congrats to Aggie signees @tyler34davis @Hph_lilmon @Dj_hogg1 & @edotcash on being nominated for the McDonald All-America games #12thMan

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  45 minutes ago

#Vols target to watch. RT @JucoRecruiting: Tennessee has offered Kimani Jackson (6'8/F/2015) of New Mexico JC.

[jbcarol]

Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello  ·  6 hours ago
Top-50 prospect Ted Kapita says his top three are Arkansas, Memphis and Missouri. No timetable on decision.

Hasn't played all season (hip).

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  4 hours ago

UK signee Skal Labissiere moves up to No. 3 in the new ESPN rankings. Isaiah Briscoe is No. 13. Charles Matthews is No. 42. UK has #1 class.

[jbcarol]

NOLATigers @NOLATigers  ·  6 hours ago
#LSU commit Ben Simmons remains No. 1 in ESPN rankings; Brandon Sampson top in-state player http://ow.ly/HMiEb

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  14 hours ago
UK signee Charles Matthews scored 30 points in tonight's victory. He's been on a roll lately.

[jbcarol]

Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello  ·  30 minutes ago

People knocking SEC the past few years -- but the league appears to be on an uptick moving forward due to recruiting  ESPN 2015 Top 100

The disparaging comments started early this season -- like first-night-of-the-season early.

That's when Missouri lost at home to UMKC and Ole Miss fell in overtime against Charleston Southern. After back-to-back seasons of only three NCAA tournament bids for the SEC, most thought it would be more of the same this campaign...

That should shift dramatically over the next few seasons, though, as the SEC's "other" teams have improved the talent level in the league with the Class of 2015 more than perhaps any other conference. Kentucky has the No. 1 class in the country and Florida sits at No. 8...

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  5 hours ago

Latest Kentucky & UK Recruiting Coverage: Isaiah Briscoe / Tai Wynyard / Booker, Lyles NBA Draft /Thomas Bryant http://zagsblog.com/kentucky/  #BBN

Kentucky-bound point guard Isaiah Briscoe will find out soon whether he's a McDonald's All-American.

If the 6-foot-3 Briscoe gets the nod on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU, he will become the 16th member of the NJ Playaz to make the prestigious game in 18 years. Former Playaz to make the McDonald's game include the likes of Kobe Bryant, J.R. Smith, Kyle Anderson and Dajuan Wagner.

Tai Wynyard, the 6-foot-9 16-year-old power forward from New Zealand who is the son of world champion woodchoppers, has committed to Kentucky.

Wynyard also considered Texas and Villanova and recently visited all three schools.

Wynyard is Kentucky's first commit in the Class of 2016.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  3 hours ago

ICYMI: Thomas Bryant has no visits set, monitoring Kentucky's bigs http://zagsblog.com/articles/thomas-bryant-has-no-visits-set-monitoring-kentuckys-big-men/ ...

Bryant may not be the only one waiting to see who stays and goes (either by draft entry or transfer) at UK.  Not everyone wants to platoon.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  7 hours ago
Top b-ball links: Busy weekend for Caleb Swanigan; Lots of results from Friday night's games; NYC's next big recruit http://bit.ly/ILFf7c

Five-star post player Caleb Swanigan is scheduled to take two more unofficial recruiting visits this weekend.

Swanigan — a 6-9 prospect from Indiana — will be in Louisville on Saturday for the Cards' home game against North Carolina. On Sunday, he returns to Michigan State to watch the Spartans face rival Michigan, according to INBasketballSource.com.

Notre Dame hosted Swanigan on Wednesday for its game against Duke, another school that is recruiting him heavily.

Scout.com ranks Swanigan as the No. 9 overall prospect in the class of 2015. He has not yet narrowed his list and is still considering several schools in a recruitment that could stretch well past the end of the college basketball season.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  34 minutes ago

On the blog: USA Basketball names Isaiah Briscoe (No. 1 PG, No. 6 overall per 247) ... to this year's Nike Hoop Summit team http://bit.ly/1zNgr7F

UK basketball signee Isaiah Briscoe was named Monday to the 11-player Nike Hoop Summit team that will compete against a squad of international prospects in April.

USA Basketball officially announced the team, which will also include UK recruiting targets Jaylen Brown, Malik Newman, Ivan Rabb, Caleb Swanigan and Stephen Zimmerman.

The game will be played April 11 in Portland, Ore., and the international team could include UK signee Skal Labissiere, who was born in Haiti and attends high school in Memphis. Another UK target — Mali native Cheick Diallo — is also a likely candidate for the international roster, which is expected to be announced in March. [Would expect LSU signee Ben Simmons to make the international team.]

The U.S. team also includes Jalen Brunson (Villanova), Henry Ellenson (Marquette), Chase Jeter (Duke), Luke Kennard (Duke) and Allonzo Trier (Arizona).

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  8 hours ago

On the blog: 5-star SG Malik Newman knows the 5 schools he wants to see with his official visits (UK is one of them) http://bit.ly/1z7mNYn

Five-star shooting guard Malik Newman still has all five of his official visits, and he knows which five schools he wants to use them on.

Newman told ESPN's Reggie Rankin on Monday that he's planning to use those trips to travel to UK, Kansas, LSU, N.C. State and Ohio State. So far, the 6-foot-4 prospect has taken only unofficial visits to Ole Miss, Mississippi State and UK (for Big Blue Madness in October).

ESPN ranks Newman as the No. 4 overall prospect in the class of 2015. He is not expected to announce a college decision until April, at the earliest.

His father, forward Horatio Webster averaged 17 ppg for Miss. State in 1997-98.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Feb 2

Missouri saw Kobi Simmons today. Will have an assistant watch Josh Langford tomorrow.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  5 hours ago

Thon Maker will visit Kentucky, Kansas, others if he reclasses http://zagsblog.com/articles/thon-maker-expected-to-make-reclassification-decision-next-week/ ...

His guardian Ed Smith said Maker finished his classes a week ago and they are awaiting the results on his grades.

"They just finished a week ago so all the grades will be finalized and then they're going to give me something next week to let me know what the timeline is for him," Smith said. "It won't be any later than Wednesday because we'll get back Sunday or Monday and I'll get to the school probably on Tuesday."

Smith also indicated he would sit down with the NCAA to make sure that Maker is likely to pass through  the NCAA Clearinghouse. If not, he would consider following Emmanuel Mudiay's path and potentially playing in China or Europe.

[jbcarol]

Courtney Cronin @CourtneyRCronin  ·  2 hours ago

Tweet of the day right here. RT @iammaliknewman: @CourtneyRCronin hey any idea on where the newman kid is going??


malik newman @iammaliknewman  ·  2 hours ago

So in guessing @CourtneyRCronin is going to be selfish and not tell us all? What a friend! 😤

[jbcarol]

kobe eubanks retweeted
Kansas Jayhawks @JayhawkRecruits  ·  59 minutes ago

Kobe Eubanks (@kobeeubanks) top 5 schools are Missouri, Texas, Oregon, UCLA, and Georgia ...

kobe eubanks retweeted
Mizzou Basketball @ZOU_Hoops  ·  1 hour ago

We made @kobeeubanks top 5! 🐯



Plantation SG
http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/kobe-eubanks

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  7 hours ago
Recruiting Roundup: Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram, Tyus Battle, Jamal Murray http://zagsblog.com/articles/recruiting-roundup-jaylen-brown-brandon-ingram-tyus-battle-jamal-murray/ ...

Jaylen Brown, the 6-foot-7 wing out of Marietta (GA) Wheeler, still plans to take an official visit to Michigan but has no date set...  Brown is also considering Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Georgia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina and will commit in the spring.

Roy Williams and assistant Steve Robinson will be at Kinston (N.C.) High on Friday to attend the Senior Night of Brandon Ingram, his father Tweeted. The 6-8 Ingram is also considering Duke, N.C. State, UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky.

Rick Pitino will see 2016 Gill St. Bernard's guard Tyus Battle Feb. 12, his dad told SNY.tv. The 6-6 Battle has a list of 11 schools, including Kentucky, Duke, Louisville, Michigan and Ohio State, but may soon trim it.

Iowa State is expected to watch 2015 forward Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American this weekend. Diallo's team plays twice, including Sunday at the PrimeTime Shootout at Roselle (N.J.) Catholic. The 6-9 Diallo is also considering Kentucky, Kansas, St. John's and Pitt.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  6 hours ago
Marcus LoVett & Traci Carter are among the top 5 available 2015 PG's | Full List: http://foxs.pt/192tMNx 

[jbcarol]

Courtney Cronin @CourtneyRCronin  ·  19 hours ago

Malik Newman named a semifinalist for 2015 Naismith Boys HS POY award http://www.maxpreps.com/blogs/maxwire-national-blog/BP3kUoCU5EStlsECJlE2hg/semifinalists-announced-for-naismith-boys-high-school-player-of-the-year-award.htm ... Past winners include Kobe Bryant & LeBron James

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  1 hour ago

South Carolina-bound Chris Silva, Monmouth commit Pierre Sarr to be tested mightily by Ben Simmons http://zagsblog.com/articles/kentucky-bound-briscoe-to-face-2-mcdonalds-all-americans-appear-on-national-tv/ ... @joshua_newman

In the wake of the death of a close family friend last weekend, Kentucky-bound point guard Isaiah Briscoe has a huge weekend ahead.

The 6-foot-3 Briscoe from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic will play against two fellow McDonald's All-Americans on Friday and Sunday, and will compete in a nationally televised game Sunday on Fox Sports 2 before the NBA All-Star Game that evening.

On Friday night, Roselle Catholic, ranked No. 1 in New Jersey by The Star-Ledger, will meet 6-10 Ben Simmons and Montverde (FL) Academy in the Metro Classic at Kean University...

The games will feature three McDonald's All-Americans projected among the Top 10 picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, according to DraftExpress.com.

The LSU-bound Simmons is the projected No. 2 pick behind Marietta (GA) Wheeler wing Jaylen Brown...

Briscoe is projected as the No. 10 pick in 2016.

The Montverde game will also be a stiff test for RC big men Chris Silva, a 6-9 forward signed with South Carolina, and Pierre Sarr, a 6-7 forward headed to Monmouth. Both will have their hands full with Simmons, an incredibly talented point forward from Australia.

"I mean, it's a great challenge for them," Boff said of his forwards. "We started talking about this week, the opportunity to go up against a kid like [Simmons] and prove to everybody that you can defend at a high level because those guys are going to be asked to do that against kids like him in the not too distant future, so Chris will go head-to-head against him hopefully in the SEC a couple times. So it's an opportunity to show people that he can defend at a high level."

[jbcarol]

Steve Walentik @Steve_Walentik  ·  57 seconds ago
Kim Anderson meeting with reporters now.

Anderson was asked about recruiting, said he thinks it's been going well. "As in most recruiting classes, time will tell."

Anderson said he continues to sell university, program history to recruits, but he's also pitching them on opportunity to contribute now.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  3 hours ago
This is significant news for Arkansas. Ted Kapita is a big, strong physical post player. He's athletic & boards it. Ranked No. 43 overall.

Dudley E. Dawson @Dedsports  ·  3 hours ago
This means Arkansas has landed two top 55 players in the 2015 class in PF Ted Kapita (No. 43)  and Columbia Hickman SG Jimmy Whitt (55)

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  18 hours ago

Can Alabama or Auburn keep coveted 5-star guard Joshua Langford in the state? http://ow.ly/J9Puf

Joshua Langford has plenty of options.

As the state's top basketball prospect, the standout guard from Madison Academy has upwards of 20 offers from elite programs across the country. Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford and Texas all want him.

Alabama and Auburn have also offered, but do the Tide and Tigers stand a chance at keeping Langford in the state?

"I don't have a top five or top three -- everybody has a chance at this moment," Langford told AL.com Saturday. "I'm still weighing my options."

Langford said the Gators, Wolverines and Spartans are the teams he hears from most often...

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2 minutes ago

ICYMI: With Calipari Courtside, Briscoe Wins In Matchup With Diallo http://zagsblog.com/articles/with-calipari-courtside-briscoe-wins-in-matchup-with-diallo/ ...

In a nationally televised game played in a state-of-the-art basketball facility featuring a full-sized LED basketball court that brings graphics and video to life [Nike Zoom City Arena in lower Manhattan], Kentucky-bound point guard Isaiah Briscoe went for 29 points as Roselle (N.J.) Catholic took out Kentucky target Cheick Diallo and Our Savior New American, 63-59.

"Coach [Calipari] was here to check me out and wish me a good game," Briscoe told SNY.tv. after the game.  "He's been busy but the games that he's came to, he's came to."

The 6-foot-9 Diallo had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the loss. He is considering Kentucky, Kansas, Iowa State, St. John's and Pitt and will commit in the spring.

Briscoe, who is confident that Callaway (MS) guard Malik Newman will end up at Kentucky, added that he would like to play alongside Diallo in college.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  10 minutes ago

Thon Maker (http://foxs.pt/17TjO0G ) has been slotted at No. 6 in the 2015 class.

Thon Maker says he's on track to graduate, which means he's headed to 2015

[GoHogs1091]

I see that move to Rick Ray has really worked out well for State.

Ray is doing fine.  There have been glimpses this season of what his team will be doing to the rest of the SEC in the near future (i.e., the way State played against LSU; State didn't have as tough of a time with LSU as Kentucky did).

Regarding recruiting, Ray has signed 4 Star SG, Quinndary Witherspoon (6'5").  Ray also has signed a PG, Tookie Brown, who has the quickness to consistently break a full court press similar to Ole Miss' Stefan Moody.

Additionally, Ray has a better than average chance to land 5 Star Malik Newman (Newman's Father played for State).

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  18 hours ago

Can Alabama or Auburn keep coveted 5-star guard Joshua Langford in the state? http://ow.ly/J9Puf

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  23 hours ago

Alabama's Anthony Grant is also currently watching five-star wing Josh Langford.

Rob Ketcham @rketcham  ·  23 hours ago

I found them both! #NWRegionals

[jbcarol]

David Cloninger @DCTheState  ·  2 hours ago
USC signee P.J. Dozier had a 30-plus point performance as Spring Valley beat Byrnes 87-69 and advanced to the third round of the playoffs.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  17 minutes ago

Finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year: Jaylen Brown, Ben Simmons, Malik Newman, Dwayne Bacon & Allonzo Trier

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2 hours ago

Kentucky-Bound Briscoe Scores 2,000th Career Point http://zagsblog.com/articles/kentucky-bound-briscoe-scores-2000th-career-point/ ...

One night after propelling Roselle (N.J) Catholic into the Union County championship game, Kentucky-bound point guard Isaiah Briscoe scored his 2,000th career point.

Briscoe's 2000th came on a one-handed dunk off an assist by teammate Pierre Sarr. He finished with 24 points, 9 assists and 4 steals on Senior Night as RC beat Union Catholic, 73-51.

A McDonald's All-American who played is first two high school seasons at St. Benedict's Prep, Briscoe is projected as the No. 14 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.

One question is who will return at the guard positions for UK?

Aaron Harrison is shooting under 30% from 3 in SEC play while freshman Devin Booker is now projected as a first rounder in the '15 draft.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  13 hours ago
My man on the mic says South Carolina-bound Chris Silva is a better NBA prospect than UK-bound @_IsaiahBriscoe . FWIW

[JackJohnson]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2 hours ago

Former Mizzou commit @RonnieSuggs2 is considering Butler, VCU, Texas Tech, Duquesne and Rice and will decide in the spring.

Butler and VCU are much better options to have as a basketball recruit then Mizzou

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  5 hours ago

Updated 2015 Top 25 Class Rankings | No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Texas A&M | Story: http://foxs.pt/1DUzjQx 

7. LSU
18. Arkansas
22. Auburn
23. Florida

[jbcarol]

AllMetroHoops @ehoopsshowcase  ·  1 hour ago
6-10 C Travon  Bunch has committed to South Carolina per high school coach

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  1 hour ago

Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports says he is hearing from more than one source that there is no way Malik Newman goes to Kentucky

[GoHogs1091]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  1 hour ago

Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports says he is hearing from more than one source that there is no way Malik Newman goes to Kentucky

From what I have read, it is down to a Kansas, Mississippi State, and LSU battle.

Newman would get more playing time at Mississippi State than the other two (considering what Kansas and LSU already have at the Guard positions, and who they have coming in).  Newman is a very good player, and he is going to cause a lot problems for opposing teams. 

[jbcarol]

Riley Blevins @Riley_Blevins  ·  Mar 4

STORY: Malik Newman shows off his distribution skills in Callaway's trouncing of Pascagoula in the 5A quarterfinals http://www.clarionledger.com/story/prepsreport/2015/03/04/callaway-newman-trounce-pascagoula-in-5a-quarterfinals/24415985/ ...

Time and time again in the first half, Callaway's five-star combo guard would start to drive and swing it down to Vaughn.

"Malik's passing ability is so underrated. I had a conversation with (Kansas coach) Bill Self," Sanders said. "He said if he comes to Kansas, he's going to be a point guard. He does a great job of being unselfish and spreading it around."

Added Newman: "Since high school, I've been really labeled as a scorer. But I really think (passing) is one of my biggest strengths. When I get double teamed like I was tonight, I have to be able to read the floor."

The son of former all-SEC player Horatio Webster has playing point guard on his mind.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Mar 5

Kentucky landed the most players in the @JordanClassic with three -- Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe and Charles Matthews.

LSU & FSU each landed two prospects in the @JordanClassic. LSU has Ben Simmons & Antonio Blakeney. FSU with Dwayne Bacon & Malik Beasley.

[jbcarol]

Courtney Cronin @CourtneyRCronin  ·  17 hours ago

LOL RT @iammaliknewman: 😂 I see the crystal ball stressing a lot of ppl out! Yall kill me

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  10 minutes ago

From updated @syrbasketball story: "It appears the scholarship ban will keep Syracuse from adding Thomas Bryant." http://www.syracuse.com/orangesports/i