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

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  Jul 22

Malik Monk turned in one of summer's best performances. Says Calipari wants him "real bad" http://bit.ly/1o12QSj

[jbcarol]

Reports that Thon "Highlight" Maker will not reclassify to 2015.

[jbcarol]

Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  ·  14h

Ole Miss vs. UK, Memphis? MT @GaryParrishCBS: The complex and fascinating recruitment of 2015 star Skal Labissiere: http://cbsprt.co/1rfuBpf

[jbcarol]

Jim Kleinpeter @JimKleinpeter  ·  2h

Nice work by our @RandyRosetta: Ben Simmons' connection to #LSU rock-solid after an explosive summer http://s.nola.com/qdI4s5K  via @nolanews

[jbcarol]

http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Basketball/RecruitRankings?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool

Ben Roberts is still the SEC's rep

[jbcarol]

Class of 2016: 1. Jayson Tatum, 2. Josh Jackson, 3. Malik Monk, 4. Thon Maker, 5. Harry Giles.

http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Basketball/RecruitRankings

[jbcarol]

Antonio Blakeney @blakeney96
My final 7 : FSU, Louisville , Mizzou, Kentucky , Oregon , LSU and USC . No order . Thanks to all the other schools who recruited me 🙏!!

2015 5-star

[jbcarol]

In an early snapshot of the SEC Class of 2015 basketball team recruiting rankings, Florida is perched at the top. The Gators have two four-star verbals in KeVaughn Allen (North Little Rock, Ark.) and Kevarrius Hayes (Live Oak, Fla./Suwannee).

http://247sports.com/Season/2015-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings?Conference=SEC

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  2h
Great name. Had Vols offer. MT @jeffborzello: Mississippi State has landed a commitment from Quinndary Weatherspoon, source tells @CBSSports

[jbcarol]

Highly touted class of 2015 basketball prospect P.J. Dozier announced his top five schools Friday afternoon.

Dozier listed Louisville, North Carolina, Georgetown, Michigan and South Carolina as his top five and said he would use his five official visits on trips to those schools.

The versatile, 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Columbia, S.C., missed his entire junior season following surgery to repair a torn ACL. He is considered a top-25 overall prospect by 247Sports.

His father is also his high school coach and, of course, played his college ball for South Carolina.

[jbcarol]

Montaque Gill-Caesar, the 6-5 four-star recruit, is reclassifying to the class of 2014 and will be going to play for the Mizzou Tigers who recently added his Huntington Prep coach, Rob Fulford, as a staff member.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  9h

Big news from @JoshGershon. Oscar Frayer is a top 50 recruit in the 2016 class. Very good athlete. Cuonzo Martin with a big one early.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Aug 2

Josh Langford, a five-star 2016 wing, took an unofficial visit to Vanderbilt today, per a source.

[jbcarol]

Swaggy_J @JimmyWhitt33  ·  21h
It's set!
Official visits:
Sept 5th-7th Marquette
Sept 13th-15th Illinois
Sept 19th-21st SMU
Oct 10th-12th Arkansas
Oct 25th-27th Mizzou

[jbcarol]

Dave Matter @Dave_Matter  ·  Aug 5
6-10 forward Thomas Bryant, visiting Mizzou Oct. 11, is rated 2015's No. 10 player by ESPN, 5 stars; Rivals: 4 stars, rated No. 34

[jbcarol]

Memphis Roar @MemphisRoar  ·  33m

Tigers land transfer power forward Calvin Godfrey. http://memphis.247sports.com/Bolt/Tigers-land-transfer-power-forward-30138560 ... via @247Sports

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  23h
Carlton Bragg (@carltonbragg31) told ESPN he will visit Kansas on Oct. 10 and Kentucky for Big Blue Madness on Oct. 19.

Bragg is one of the top players in the Class of 2015.

[jbcarol]

Randy Rosetta @RandyRosetta  ·  3h
Strong bond with Mickey gives #LSU a chance with Dallas-area big man Elijah Thomas  http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/08/strong_bond_with_jordan_mickey.html ...

[jbcarol]

Retweeted by Swagy_J  (Jimmy Whitt)
David Schneider @ShowTimeNation  ·  Aug 9

2015 Blue Springs South (MO) F Kevin Puryear (@CallMe_KP24) picks up an offer from Missouri. #SEC #T2SO http://showtimenation.com/database-2/

[jbcarol]

Skal Labissiere, the five-star prospect from Olive Branch whose guardian Kennedy may have been willing to give an assistant coaching job to.

Labissiere announced to a group of basketball recruiting analysts tonight his top six, one that did not include Ole Miss...

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels

Skal Labissiere announced he is down to Baylor, Georgetown, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina and Tennessee.
10:14 PM - 12 Aug 2014

[jbcarol]

Steve Walentik @Steve_Walentik  ·  Aug 11
PF Alex Owens, a top-150 prospect from Orlando who was being recruited by #Mizzou, tweeted that he committed to Providence.

Alex Owens @OwensAlexx  ·  Aug 11
I've chosen to attend Providence University for College Basketball 💯👌🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀 #GoFriars #Hannn

Steve Walentik @Steve_Walentik  ·  Aug 11
I believe #Mizzou viewed Owens more as a fallback option with Tigers more interested in players such as Huntington Prep PF Thomas Bryant.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  4h

Jaylen Brown and Ben Simmons sit at the top of http://Scout.com 's updated 2015 Top 100.

[jbcarol]

Carey Rich @TheCaptain560  ·  2h

6'5" scoring guard Tevin Mack just received an offer from Frank Martin and South Carolina @dreher_hoops #SC Wolves @30piecemack

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  3h

2015 Florida SG commit KeVaughn Allen jumps from 91 to 55 on http://Scout.com 's latest top 100, compiled by @EvanDaniels

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  Aug 14

UK has offered all 8 uncommitted players in the new Scout Top 10. UK offers out to 12 players in the Scout Top 25 http://bit.ly/1sZeM96

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  9h

#Vols are in the top 10 for 2015 5-star guard Dwayne Bacon (@BaconDwayne1000)

[jbcarol]

Malik Newman helped lead the Team USA under-17 squad to a FIBA world championships gold medal Saturday in Dubai.

Newman — a 6-foot-4 guard in the class of 2015 — had 21 points and 11 rebounds in Team USA's 99-92 victory over Australia in the title game. The Americans won all six of their previous contests in the competition by an average margin of 43.2 points per game.

Newman — from Jackson, Miss. — averaged team-highs of 14.9 points per game during the tournament and was named the event's most valuable player.

"He's got that attitude that he's not going to lose a game," said USA Coach Don Showalter. "We got down by 10 and he kind of took over there in about a four, five-minute stretch where he was unbelievable. He hit shots that were tough shots and he really led our team. I think the rest of our players just fed off of that. In the second half he did a good job of distributing the basketball and we got everybody involved."

Newman — known for his scoring ability — led Team USA with 3.0 assists per game.

He was also the MVP for last year's under-16 team that won a gold medal in Uruguay.

Diamond Stone — a 6-10 center from Milwaukee — was second on the team in scoring (13.1 points) and led the squad in rebounding with 9.9 boards per game. He set a Team USA record for blocked shots in the event with 23, which was eight more than the previous mark.

Newman and Stone are friends off the court and have talked about the possibly of playing for the same college. Stone will make his announcement in November, while Newman plans to wait until after his senior season to make a college decision.

Talented class of 2016 prospects Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles also averaged double-digit points for the tournament.

[jbcarol]

Noah Dickerson @NDickerson41
Excited to say I have committed to the University of Florida #GatorNation 🐊🐊
3:31 PM - 17 Aug 2014

Noah Dickerson became the third player in the Class of 2015 to commit to Florida...

The 6-foot-8 Dickerson is a four-star prospect, rated as the No. 56 overall recruit in the Class of 2015 by Rivals. He joins four-star shooting guard KeVaughn Allen and three-star power forward Kevarrius Hayes in the Gators current recruiting class.

That class will be joined by South Florida transfer John Egbunu, who transferred to Florida back in May.

[jbcarol]

Vaughts' Views @vaughtsviews  ·  8h
The spot on SEC Network with UK putting shoes on kids' feet is something that recruits' parents have to love to see

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones @KySportsRadio  ·  Aug 17
Tyler Ulis is better than we ever imagined and it's only August http://bit.ly/1t8hMQn  #BBN

[jbcarol]

Christ⚡️Silva 10 @SilvaObame  ·  Aug 17
K-state, Villanova, S-Carolina, Seton Hall and Rhode Island will be the 5 school I will consider making my choice

[jbcarol]

Dave MatterVerified account ‏@Dave_Matter

Not sure if it has any bearing on commitment but I'm told Whitt visited Arkansas today.

[jbcarol]

Austin Kim @AustinKKim  ·  9h

Just got a text from @JimmyWhitt33. He'll decide tomorrow and will choose between #Mizzou, Arkansas, #illini, SMU and Marquette.

[jbcarol]

Jimmy Buckets @JimmyWhitt33  ·  7h

First day of school and I'm supposed to make one of the biggest decisions of my life.......😬🙉😂👌

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts ‏@NextCats 1m
[Finally] Scout rankings for 2014: 4. Karl-Anthony Towns, 11. Trey Lyles, 20. Tyler Ulis, 29. Devin Booker http://scouthoops.scout.com

All UK

Ben Roberts ‏@NextCats 1m
Karl-Anthony Towns jumped 7 spots to No. 4 in the final Scout rankings. He finishes Top 5 in Rivals, Scout and 247Sports.

16. Devin Robinson, UF
44. Brandone Francis, UF
46. Alex Robinson, A&M
57. Elbert Robertson, LSU
58. Chris Chiozza, UF
59. Jakeenan Gant, MU
72. Namon Wright, MU
90. Temarcus Blanton, SC
100. Matthew Fisher-Davis, VU

CBS Sports' Parrish on Ulis: Wildcats are better when freshman point guard Tyler Ulis is on the court.

Gary Parrish
College Basketball Insider
Kentucky enhances its reputation during August trip to Bahamas
August 18, 2014 4:21 pm ET

John Calipari's team appears better (and deeper) than last year's Wildcats squad. (USATSI) John Calipari's team appears better (and deeper) than last year's Wildcats squad. (USATSI)

Relateds: Cats giving back | 2015 recruiting rankings: UK No. 28| Top 25: UK No. 1

The whole thing ended Sunday with a turnover that prevented Kentucky from returning to the continental United States with a perfect record during what, for television purposes, became known as the Big Blue Bahamas trip. So that wasn't ideal. But the shorthanded Wildcats were still impressive while compiling a 5-1 record over a span of eight days against mostly grown and reputable professionals, and it's now hard to imagine any reasonable person voting anybody other than John Calipari's team as the preseason No. 1.

Did you watch the games?

If so, you recognized the overwhelming talent Kentucky displayed even without the services of Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles, both of whom missed the exhibitions while recovering from injuries. If not, no worries. Because I watched them for you. Every minute that was televised, I saw. And my main takeaway is that something I previously thought might be true now seems absolutely true -- specifically that the Wildcats are better when freshman point guard Tyler Ulis is on the court.

"Kentucky has tied it up, and Tyler Ulis is the primary reason," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said during the first half of Sunday's telecast. Later, after Ulis sank a runner just before halftime, Dave Neal, the play-by-play man, asked a simple question: "What hasn't he done?"

Ulis averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 20 minutes per game on the trip while shooting 60.0 percent from 3-point range, meaning his per-40-minute averages were 15.4 points, 8.0 assists and 2.6 steals. Even more notable is that the staff had Ulis on the court in crunch time of both close games, which suggests he could be one of UK's most important pieces even though he's hardly the most heralded member of this freshman class.

"He was good," Calipari told reporters afterward...

The reporters with UK in the Bahamas all agreed that Kentucky's best lineup will eventually feature Ulis playing alongside both Andrew and Aaron Harrison, which is an indication that Calipari's challenge of trying to find proper minutes for his incredible group of frontcourt players might be more difficult than most anticipated.

Every minute Ulis plays alongside the Harrisons is a minute the Wildcats will be utilizing a three-guard lineup rather than a three-big lineup, meaning it's hard to envision a scenario where Poythress, Lyles, Cauley-Stein, Karl Anthony-Towns, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee all get the minutes they'd probably prefer.

[jbcarol]

John Clay @johnclayiv  ·  2h

Bahamas rewind: Devin Booker http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2014/08/19

The true freshman came to UK with the reputation of being a knock-down shooter and certainly showed a shooter's touch during the team's open practices preparing for the Bahamas trip.

Once on the island, however, Booker never could quite find the range. He made just 11 of 32 shots overall. In three of the games, Booker was just two-of-13 from the floor.

Despite his overall shooting woes, Booker did shoot the ball well from three-point range, hitting six of 14 from behind the arc.

Booker also showed a somewhat surprising knack for coming up with steals...

[jbcarol]

Michael Carvell @Carvell_AJC  ·  13h

Jaylen Brown: Nation's No. 2 basketball prospect likely to delay college decision http://on-ajc.com/1oVYwj8

Jaylen Brown, Georgia's highest-ranked college basketball prospect in five years, is leaning toward waiting until after his senior season at Wheeler High School to make his college decision.

"I'm probably not going to sign or commit until after basketball season," Brown told D1Circuit's Alec Kinsky.

The 6-foot-7 small forward moved up from the nation's No. 4 overall prospect to the No. 2 spot after a sizzling summer on the AAU circuit, per the 247sports.com composite rankings.

Scout.com has Brown rated at No. 1 nationally.

Which college is the favorite to sign Brown? He hasn't named any leaders but Kentucky, UGA, Georgia Tech, Kansas and UCLA appear to be around the top of the list. Brown hinted that he may come out with a top 10 list very soon.

[jbcarol]

Austin Kim @AustinKKim  ·  2m
Jimmy Whitt picks Arkansas

Whitt says he really likes his strong relationship with Mike Anderson and his staff. Anderson was Mizzou's former coach.

[jbcarol]

Gabe DeArmond @GabeDeArmond  ·  20m
Whitt says Kim Anderson told him he respected the decision and wished him luck in the future

Whitt said he committed early to avoid stringing coaches along

Whitt said he sees himself as a combo guard for Arkansas

Whitt said Mizzou is a great school but "I just felt it in my heart" that Arkansas was the place

[jbcarol]

Dave Matter @Dave_Matter  ·  9m
Jimmy Whitt says final choice came down to Arkansas & Missouri. Had nothing but good things to say about Kim Anderson.

[jbcarol]

Austin Kim @AustinKKim  ·  23m
For MU fans, Whitt said his relationship with Kim Anderson was stronger than his relationship with Frank Haith. Said MU made strong case

[jbcarol]

Jimmy Buckets @JimmyWhitt33  ·  25m
"@ByronBundyGSM: This kid @JimmyWhitt33 is so well spoken and well put together" Thank you for noticing!

[jbcarol]

Sports Illustrated Wire: Point guard Jimmy Whitt commits to Arkansas

Jimmy Whitt, a highly touted point guard from Columbia, Mo., announced on Twitter Tuesday that he has committed to Arkansas...

Whitt, who is 6-foot-2, 165 pounds, is the first player in the class of 2015 to commit to Arkansas.

[jbcarol]

When last we saw the sophomore from Texas, Aaron Harrison was winning white-knuckler NCAA Tournament games with long and dramatic shots. Aaron's three-pointer from the deep corner helped send Rick Pitino and Louisville packing. Aaron's dagger of a three knocked Michigan out of the Midwest Region final. Aaron's last-second bomb wiped out Wisconsin the national semifinal.

No such stakes in the Bahamas, but Harrison showed he hasn't lost his perimeter game as he hit nine of 20 shots from behind the arc.

[jbcarol]

Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  ·  22h

Ole Miss is going to host Indianapolis guard Kyle Guy for the Alabama game, and then Indy center Joey Brunk for Tennessee weekend.

Both are 2016 prospects Todd Abernethy got Ole Miss involved with. Here's what I wrote about them this summer. http://www.clarionledger.com/story/olemisssports/2014/06/18/ole-miss-basketball-recruits/10740813/ ...

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  24h

Caleb Swanigan, who has a great relationship with UK's Slice Rohrssen, doesn't plan on making a decision anytime soon http://bit.ly/1pLD1X8

Swanigan moved up to No. 8 in the latest Scout rankings. @EvanDaniels calls him "a versatile offensive threat"

Swanigan has drawn early comparisons to NBA star Zach Randolph (as did Julius Randle)

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson @Ben_Fred  ·  44m

Chris Clarke, 2015 4-star wing from Va. Beach, has #Vols among finalists. Along w/ UConn, Florida, Iowa St, Creighton, Minnesota, Va Tech

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  1h

Tyler Davis is a heck of a pick up for Texas A&M. He played his way into our top 25. Big, strong & physical post w/ toughness. Can score too

6-10, 270 Plano C is ESPN's 21st ranked player in the '15 class.

[jbcarol]

Tyler Davis @tyler34davis  ·  1h

I am very excited and blessed to say that I am officially committed to the university of Texas A&M🙌🏀💯 #GIGEM

[jbcarol]

Here's some of those Top 100 recruits from the '08 class that either signed with or landed at SEC schools:

11 SF Scotty Hopson 6-5/180  (University Heights Academy) Hopkinsville, KY  UT via MS
17 PF  JaMychal Green 6-7.5/205  (St. Jude HS) Montgomery, AL  Bama
20 SF  DeAndre Liggins 6-6/180  (Brewster Academy) Wolfeboro, NH  Kentucky 
25 C   Kenny Kadji 6-10/255  (IMG Academy) Bradenton, FL  Florida -> Miami
26 PF  Trey Thompkins 6-8/220  (Norcross HS) Norcross, GA  Georgia
29 C   J'mison Morgan 6-9/265  (South Oak Cliff HS) Dallas, TX UCLA via LSU NLI -> BU 
30 PF  Eloy Vargas 6-9/220  (American Heritage School) Plantation, FL  UF -> jc -> UK
34 SF  Tony Mitchell 6-6/185  (Swainsboro HS) Swainsboro, GA  Bama dismissed
35 SF  Darius Miller 6-6/185  (Mason Co HS) Maysville, KY  Kentucky 
49 PF  Romero Osby 6-8/230 (Northeast Lauderdale HS) Meridian, MS  MSSt -> OU
60 PF  Terrance Henry 6-9.5/185  (Carroll HS) Monroe, LA  Mississippi 
61 PF  Allan Chaney 6-8/220  (New London HS) New London, CT  Florida -> VaTech
65 PF  Steve Tchiengang 6-8/225  (Montverde Academy) Montverde, FL  Vanderbilt
66 SF  Ray Shipman 6-5/204  (Pace HS) Pace, FL  Florida ->
67 SF  Murphy Holloway 6-7/185  (Dutch Fork HS) Irmo, SC  Ole Miss -> SC -> OM
68 PF  Delwan Graham 6-7/210  (Dunwoody HS) Dunwoody, GA  LSU -> juco -> Jax'ville
79 PG  Andrew Steele 6-3/195  (John Carroll HS) Birmingham, AL  Alabama 
82 PF  Lance Goulbourne 6-7/215  (The Hun School) Princeton, NJ  Vandy
94 C   Philip Jurick 6-11/255  (East Ridge HS) Chattanooga, TN  UT -> juco -> OkSt
95 SG  Brad Tinsley 6-3/190 (Oregon City HS) Oregon City, OR  Pepperdine NLI -> Vandy
100 SF  Renaldo Woolridge 6-8/205  (Harvard-Westlake School) N Hollywood, CA  UT -> USC   

Of the SEC players, where are they now?
Hopson was '11 1st Team Coaches All-SEC and '09 Freshman All-SEC. Left UT after Jr. season. On the 19 man Houston Rockets roster with PBev and Terrence Jones.

Green was '11 1st team and '12 2nd team All-SEC. On the 18-man roster of the Champion Spurs.

Liggins was '11 All-SEC Defensive Team. Left UK after Jr. season. Has played in the NBA. Was '13 D-League Defensive Player of the Year at Sioux Falls where he returns in '14-15.

Thompkins was '10 and '11 1st Team All-SEC. Left UGa after Jr. season. After seasons with the LA Clippers, Trey is playing in a Russian pro league.

Tony Mitchell was '11 2nd Team All-SEC; '10 All-Freshman Team. Dismissed from Bama in '12 for conduct detrimental to the team. '13 D-League Rookie of the Year, plans to play '14-15 for a pro team in Italy.

Darius Miller was '12 SEC Sixth Man of the Year. Played four years at UK. Currently on the Pelicans 14 man roster where serves as a mentor for Anthony Davis.

Henry was '12 Second Team All-SEC. Played '13-14 in France.

Tchiengang helped Vandy win the '12 SEC Tournament over UK. Signed with a Romanian team for '14-15. The Cameroon native started a literacy foundation for kids in the Nashville area.

Shipman was '10 SEC Scholar-athlete of the year and let go at Florida.

Holloway helped Ole Miss make the '13 NCAA-T.  Tried out for the NFL Ravens and the NBA but did not get on.