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

[jbcarol]

Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  ·  8 hours ago
Jarvis Summers is a consensus top 100 guy nationally, so I wrote some words on how he finally became properly rated. http://www.clarionledger.com/story/olemisssports/2014/10/30/ole-miss-jarvis-summers-underrated/18175787/ ...

Ole Miss' senior guard was named to the preseason All-SEC team last week, and also received votes for player of the year. In the last week he's appeared on three separate lists of the top 100 players nationally: CBS Sports (No. 92), SB Nation (79) and ESPN (96).

Coming off a junior season in which he averaged 17.3 points and 3.8 assists, Summers is finally earning the recognition that has been a long time coming. Since the moment Summers stepped on campus in 2011 he's been a driving force behind Ole Miss basketball, even if no one noticed.

He was the quiet freshman point guard on a decent team with a couple of big personalities (Murphy Holloway and Terrance Henry specifically), and then was lost over the last two years behind the force of nature that was Marshall Henderson. Coach Andy Kennedy repeatedly said it last season: Summers, not Henderson, as the team's best player. No one outside of Oxford listened, because Henderson was the show.

3-star PG out of Jackson, MS

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  6 hours ago
There are 22 top 100 players in 2015 still available. Here's a breakdown of all 22: http://foxs.pt/1tqeibG

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Oct 30
Today we extended our 2017 rankings from a top 15 to a top 50. Check it out: http://foxs.pt/106ULm2 

2017 Top 50

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2 hours ago
Mudiay Goes for 18 in Chinese Debut; Marbury Drops 32 in Win http://zagsblog.com/articles/mudiay-goes-for-18-in-chinese-debut-marbury-drops-26-in-win/ ... @joshua_newman @vinparise

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  23 hours ago
NCAA has cleared talented Arizona 7-foot freshman Dusan Ristic, source told ESPN. Pro talent

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  19 hours ago
Top 5 picks in today's D-League Draft: 1. Robert Covington 2. Elliot Williams 3. Erik Murphy 4. Carrick Felix 5. Ben Hansbrough

Other first-rounders for the D-League Draft today: Marquis Teague, Chane Behanan, Eloy Vargas, Michael Dunigan, Brady Heslip.

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  19 minutes ago
Indiana sophomore Devin Davis' speech is normal and he has the use of all extremities, per Hoosiers spokesman. Great news.

IndianaMBB @IndianaMBB  ·  24 minutes ago
Sunday Morning Update on Devin Davis http://www.iuhoosiers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  11 minutes ago
Karl Towns looks terrific. His progression over the past year has been significant. He'll contend for the No. 1 pick in the draft.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  21 hours ago

Update on every available top 100 prospect | Story: http://scouthoops.scout.com/story/1475199-hoops-where-are-the-top-recruits-going ...

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  4 hours ago

DraftExpress considers Jaylen Brown, Diallo, Newman, Rabb, Briscoe and Brandon Ingram to be Top 10 NBA picks for 2016 http://bit.ly/10zSu3d

DraftExpress has 9 UK players among the top 43 NBA prospects for 2015 draft. Ulis is only "platoon" member not listed...


Bobby Portis is #18 on the 2015 list of top NBA prospects.

http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Top-100-Prospects

[jbcarol]

Jonathan Givony @DraftExpress  ·  Nov 4

Its early still, but only 11 guys (3 non top-10) from the vaunted 2014 draft class seem to be rotation players so far

Click to temporarily enlarge:

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  23 hours ago
Last few weeks St. John's has been the rage for Isaiah Briscoe (http://foxs.pt/1x9kubX ). Buzz shifting back to Kentucky. Decision soon.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Nov 7
The initial Signing Period begins next Wednesday. 22 of Scout's top 100 are still available. I'm expecting decisions from 4. Possibly 5.

[jbcarol]

College basketball recruiting roundup

Isaiah Briscoe
Jaylen Brown
Tyus Battle
Diamond Stone
Antonio Blakeney

[jbcarol]

Both Evan Daniels and John Martin, a columnist and producer for 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis, have sources that say Skal will pick Kentucky, with the latter citing an interesting reason why: the Tempur-Pedic beds in the Wildcat Coal Lodge.

Tempur-Pedic, a Lexington-based company, outfitted the Lodge with its memory foam mattresses when it opened in the summer of 2012, and all of the new dorms on campus have them.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  6 hours ago
Hot Board: What's the latest on the 22 available top 100 prospects? | Story: http://foxs.pt/1B2LcWm 

[jbcarol]

Gary Parrish @GaryParrishCBS  ·  2 hours ago
AAU coach tells @CBSSports that Skal Labissiere's guardian asked for advice on how to profit off prospects. Story: http://goo.gl/r5cjX3

This is true. RT @GoodmanESPN: @GaryParrishCBS Nice job. Also been told NCAA has already begun to build a file on Skal and his recruitment.

[jbcarol]

SEC Sports @SEC  ·  29 minutes ago

RT @SEC_Craig: 2015 SEC Men's Basketball Preseason Teams Announced http://www.secsports.com/article/11869559/2015-preseason-all-sec-teams ...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference unveiled its 11th annual men's basketball coaches preseason All-SEC first and second teams Thursday, tipping off another great season of SEC men's basketball.

Eleven different schools are represented on the two teams with Kentucky having five selections while Florida and LSU each had two selections. In all, 29 different players received votes for the coaches' teams.

The coaches' preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC Head Men's Basketball Coaches. No ties were broken and no predicted order of finish was made.

All 14 SEC teams officially tip off the 2014-15 campaign this weekend, beginning with 11 teams hitting the court Friday night. Conference play is set to begin on January 6 and the 2015 SEC Tournament will be March 11-15 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

A list of the 2015 SEC Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason All-SEC team follows:

First Team All-SEC
Dorian Finney-Smith - Florida, F, 6-8, 218, Jr., Portsmouth, Va.
Michael Frazier II - Florida, G, 6-4, 194, Jr., Tampa, Fla.
Aaron Harrison - Kentucky, G, 6-6, 212, So., Richmond, Texas
Andrew Harrison - Kentucky, G, 6-6, 210, So., Richmond, Texas
Damian Jones - Vanderbilt, C, 6-10, 240, So., Baton Rouge, La.
Charles Mann - Georgia, G, 6-5, 215, Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.
Jordan Mickey - LSU, F, 6-8, 235, So., Dallas, Texas
Bobby Portis - Arkansas, F, 6-11, 242, So., Little Rock, Ark.
Jarvis Summers - Ole Miss, G, 6-3, 186, Sr., Jackson, Miss.

Second Team All-SEC
Alex Caruso - Texas A&M, G, 6-5, 184, Jr., College Station, Texas
Willie Cauley-Stein - Kentucky, F, 7-0, 240, Jr., Olathe, Kan.
KT Harrell - Auburn, G, 6-4, 212, Sr., Montgomery, Ala.
Jarell Martin - LSU, F, 6-10, 236, So., Baton Rouge, La.
Alex Poythress - Kentucky, F, 6-8, 238, Jr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Josh Richardson - Tennessee, G, 6-6, 200, Sr., Edmond, Okla.
Sindarius Thornwell - South Carolina, G, 6-5, 215, So., Lancaster, S.C.
Karl-Anthony Towns - Kentucky, F, 6-11, 250, Fr., Piscataway, N.J.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  1 hour ago

Since 2010, the top player in New Jersey has bolted for the Bluegrass 3 times: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Karl-Anthony Towns Isaiah Briscoe

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  7 minutes ago

Parrish says plenty more about Gerald Hamilton, timing of his latest story, what's next for UK/Skal, NCAA stuff, etc. http://bit.ly/1vdIZnP

"Skal is the best. I've never heard anybody say a bad word about him. I think he's smart, thoughtful, genuinely kind. And even the people who have been wronged in this recruitment – the folks at (Evangelical Christian School), the Team Penny situation – even the people who hate the way Gerald Hamilton has handled things, those people still think the world of Skal and want nothing more than what's best for him. And I'm in that. I hope that he is talented enough to overcome all of the bad situations that Gerald has put him in. Because Gerald has already cost him the opportunity to win a state championship as a senior, the opportunity to be a McDonald's All-American, the opportunity to be the Tennessee state Gatorade Player of the Year. He's going to go through an extensive NCAA investigation because of what Gerald Hamilton's done. Nothing because of what he's done. And I think that's shameful and embarrassing. And I hope he's able to overcome all of it, and then someday look back and recognize what Gerald is. And see through some of the stuff that maybe a 17-year-old can't see through."

"Basically, you get the kid's signature on a national letter of intent and then you turn it over to compliance. And then you cooperate with the NCAA. And you encourage Gerald Hamilton to cooperate with the NCAA. And then they'll find what they find. Or they'll find nothing. But it is very rare for a recruit to be ruled permanently ineligible. Remember, the reason Enes Kanter was ruled permanently ineligible isn't because of runners or AAU stuff or anything Kentucky did. It was because he was a professional athlete in another country. And once you're a professional athlete in another country, you can't be an amateur athlete here. I know it's more complex than that, but that's the simple answer."

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  10 hours ago
Skal on his guardian: "I'm so thankful for you. I know people... talk bad about you. But just know I have your back."

[jbcarol]

Eric Adelson @eric_adelson  ·  3 hours ago

Fun meeting 7'6" Tacko Fall today. He'll head to UCF next year to play hoops and study engineering.

[jbcarol]

Craig Pinkerton @SEC_Craig  ·  2 hours ago

Seven from the #SEC named to Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 http://www.secsports.com/article/11892337/seven-sec-athletes-named-wooden-award-preseason-top-50 ...  (Bobby Portis photo at link)

Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison and Karl-Anthony Towns along with Florida's Michael Frazier II, LSU's Jordan Mickey and Arkansas' Bobby Portis were named to the list.

Kansas (Alexander, Oubre, Jr., Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden, Jr.) and Kentucky (Cauley-Stein, the Harrison twins, and Towns) lead the honors with four players apiece.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award Presented by Wendy's. The Wooden Award National Advisory Board will select 25 players for the midseason list in early January. The leading candidates will be further pared to 20 in early February. Fifteen top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA will be placed on the ballot and submitted to voters prior to the NCAA Tournament and voting will take into account play during the opening rounds of the tournament. The Wooden Award All American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament.

[jbcarol]

Craig Pinkerton @SEC_Craig  ·  3 hours ago

Auburn's Cinmeon Bowers named #SEC Player of the Week

[jbcarol]

Craig Pinkerton @SEC_Craig  ·  3h 3 hours ago

Kentucky's Trey Lyles named SEC Freshman of the Week

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Nov 15

EJ Montgomery, one of the best I've seen in 2018, took an unofficial to Auburn yesterday. Watched their game. Sister plays at Auburn.

[jbcarol]

Jason King on Willie Cauley-Stein's comments about his self-doubt and insecurity:

"The main thing I took away from it is he's not at all impressed or pleased with his performance in the first two years at Kentucky and he knows he's predicted as a high draft pick and all, but he thinks he's grossly underachieved. I think the quote that stood out to me the most was 'I don't think I'm nearly as good as a lot of people think I am or at least I haven't shown it yet.'

He kind of thinks this is the year where 'Hey, if I'm going to live up to all of this hype, this is the year I've got to do it. There are no more excuses, I'm not a project anymore like I was as a freshman and I can't go through those bouts of inconsistency like I did as a sophomore.' It's time to put up or shut up and Willie's inched toward that ceiling that everyone wants him to reach so bad."

Jason says Willie's insecurity goes all the way back to his recruitment, when he said he almost didn't want to get on the plane to visit Lexington because he was thinking, "Do I belong at Kentucky? My god, I'm on the visit with Nerlens Noel!". Because Willie didn't spend his childhood on the AAU/EYBL circuits like his teammates and has a wide variety of interests outside of basketball, Jason says he thinks Willie's always doubted himself a little bit.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  2 hours ago

On Barry "Slice" Rohrssen, Isaiah Briscoe, Tyus Battle, Alec Baldwin & Glengarry Glen Ross http://zagsblog.com/articles/kentuckys-slice-paying-immediate-dividends-as-a-recruiter/ ...

Kentucky's 'Slice' Paying Immediate Dividends As a Recruiter

NEW YORK — Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello remembers last spring when Barry "Slice" Rohrssen, always stylishly dressed, strolled into the New York City Catholic League playoffs while he was still on the staff at Pittsburgh.

"He walked into the CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens games and there was not one player who could play at Pittsburgh," Arbitello told SNY.tv. "Not one."

"Without a doubt, he's the most well-respected coach I know," said Arbitello, whose team has won three New York State Federation titles and four New York City Catholic crowns since 2010.

Slice, a Brooklyn native, was given his nickname by legendary Five Star Basketball guru Howard Garfinkel when Rohrssen played at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. Legend has it that Rohrssen couldn't shoot and kept slicing to the basket.

He went on to help build a pipeline form New York City to Pittsburgh under Ben Howland and Jamie Dixon, and later became the head coach at Manhattan.

Rohrssen, 54, was critical in Kentucky's successful recruitment of Isaiah Briscoe, the No. 1 player in New Jersey in the Class of 2015. And he's also a key contact point in Kentucky's recruitment of Tyus Battle, Jersey's No. 1 player in the Class of 2016.

Rohrssen has a fascinating background. In addition to his coaching history, he has also acted in various movies. He appeared briefly in the 1992 classic Glengarry Glen Ross in which Alec Baldwin's character Blake utters these famous lines when discussing a sales contest:

"As you all know first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Anyone wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired. Get the picture? You laughing now?"

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  22 hours ago

Florida lists Jacob Kurtz as starting pf v La. Monroe. Sophomore F Chris Walker will make season debut off bench #Gators


Walker is a former top 10 recruit

[jbcarol]

Courtney Cronin @CourtneyRCronin  ·  3 hours ago

STORY: Rick Ray strikes again, landing Mississippi's top junior in 2016 with a commitment from Darius Hicks. http://www.clarionledger.com/story/recruitingreport/2014/11/21/darius-hicks-commits-mississippi-state/19334113/ ...

Quitman's Darius Hicks committed to the Bulldogs Friday morning, joining three-star shooting guard D'Marcus Simonds from Georgia as Mississippi State's two 2016 commitments.

The Bulldogs 2016 class is now ranked third nationally per 247Sports.

The a 6-foot-7 power forward is a four-star prospect and also the top-ranked junior in the state of Mississippi.

Hicks was the only underclassman on the 2014-15 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen and chose Mississippi State over offers from Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, among others...

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  17 hours ago
Top 10 player Ivan Rabb told ESPN earlier today that Cal is definitely in his top three right now.


Cuonzo and John.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  16 hours ago
Ivan Rabb's mom tells me he still has a top 5 of Cal, UCLA, Arizona, UK and KU. Rabb told Goodman Cal was in his Top 3.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  5 hours ago
2016 @HuntingtonPrep F @MilesBridges01 tells @SNYtv he 'really liked' his Kentucky visit w/ 2015 big man Thomas Bryant.

[jbcarol]

Evan Daniels @EvanDaniels  ·  Nov 22

National Prep Showcase: Auburn signee Danjel Purifoy has three threes in first half. If these start going with consistency, it's going to really round out his game.

[jbcarol]

Craig Pinkerton @SEC_Craig  ·  4 hours ago
.@AlabamaMBB's Levi Randolph named SEC Player of the Week




Madison, AL SG was the 30th overall player in ESPN's Class of '11 rankings (4-star)

[jbcarol]

Dan Dakich @dandakich  ·  6 hours ago
Recruiting rule of thumb..when mommys are active on twitter/newspaper articles... Run away..don't look back..kid ALWAYS disappoints

Lori Stvns ZimmerMoM @VegasBballMom  ·  5 hours ago
Any speculation of a top 3 is just that, SPECULATION. 5 visits, 5 schools on list. Sources outside of our family are just guessing. Have fun

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  10 hours ago
On the blog: In today's chat, ESPN's Chad Ford says Devin Booker could "work his way into the 1st round" of NBA Draft http://bit.ly/1y2aQZk

[jbcarol]

If YouTube video views are any indication, the most famous high school basketball player in the world is coming to Lexington this weekend.

Thon Maker has been a phenomenon on the prep circuit for years, long enough to inspire a library of online highlight mixtapes that have been seen a total of nearly 10 million times.

People are watching because few have seen anything like him — a 7-foot-1 player who can pass, shoot, block shots, run the floor and give defenders fits with ball-handling skills that at times make him look more point guard than post player.

Rivals.com ranks Maker as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2016. ESPN had him in the same position until his recent decision to leave the United States and play for Orangeville Prep, an emerging program based in Ontario. (ESPN does not rank "international" players).

Maker, who will play Friday and Saturday in the Bluegrass Showcase at Paul Laurence Dunbar, was pursued by the top prep schools in the United States after spending the past two seasons at The Carlisle School in Virginia.

He declined the traditional powers and joined up with Orangeville, which is tied to the Athlete Institute basketball academy and offers some off-the-court developmental programs not seen at many other schools.

The perks include a nutritionist and full-time strength and conditioning coach — exactly what Maker needs to take his game to the next level.

His guardian, Edward Smith, said...

[jbcarol]

kentucky.com

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  3 hours ago
Thon Maker to Decide on Reclassing by January, Could be Top Pick in 2016 http://zagsblog.com/recruiting/thon-maker-to-decide-on-reclassing-by-january-could-be-top-pick-in-2016/ ...

[jbcarol]

Columbia MO Buzz @ColumbiaMOBuzz  ·  1 hour ago

Whitt scores 42 to lead Hickman boys basketball team to win in Arkansas: Jimmy Whitt had a double-double, tallying... http://dlvr.it/7gx9hS

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  14h 14 hours ago

NEW: John Calipari watched Jayson Tatum and Malik Monk in Arkansas tonight. Both had monster games http://bit.ly/15LhxDo

[jbcarol]

Thon Maker @Thon_Maker  ·  3 hours ago
Kentucky has a big atmosphere. Beautiful place with a professional coaching staff. This is where pros came before their profession #UK🏀

[jbcarol]

coach T @Thomas10L  ·  20 minutes ago
I witnessed three of the best high school b-ball players play.bentonville Arkansas Saturday night. Jimmy Whitt, Malik Monk and Jason Tatum.

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  7 hours ago
All 10 of UK's "platoon" players are mentioned in ESPN's Top 100 NBA Draft prospects rankings. http://bit.ly/12kX5Xu

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria  ·  6 hours ago

Thon Maker on Brink of Reclassifying, Would Impact 2016 NBA Draft http://zagsblog.com/articles/thon-maker-on-brink-of-reclassifying-would-impact-2016-nba-draft/ ...

[jbcarol]

Here's some of those Top 50 recruits from the '12 class that either signed with or landed at SEC schools:

C  1   Nerlens Noel       Tilton School      Kentucky
SF 7   Alex Poythress  Clarksville, TN NE  Kentucky
SG 14 Archie Goodwin   Sylvan Hills        Kentucky
SF  25 Devonta Pollard Kemper County, MS  Bama
PG 43 Braxton Ogbueze Charlotte United Faith Christian Academy  Florida
C  48  Willie Cauley-Stein Olathe NW        Kentucky

His payday:

Kentucky remains undefeated with a 63-51 win over No. 6 Texas on Friday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington. It's the second double-digit win over a top-10 team this season for the Wildcats.

Willie Cauley-Stein had his hands all over Friday night's win and put the final stamp on the victory, completing an alley-oop pass from Andrew Harrison [Sports Center Top 10 play].

Cauley-Stein finished with a great stat line of 21 points, 12 rebounds, five steals and three blocks.

Getty Images

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  11 hours ago
UK signee Skal Labissiere signing autographs for the kids ...



Skal Labissiere says he is not even considering going overseas next season. Says he is "100 percent" going to be at Kentucky.

Gerald Hamilton says he shared with UK "everything that we though might be a possible conflict with the NCAA."
UK's response: "Is that all?"

Gerald Hamilton on UK's response to possible NCAA issues w/ Skal: "I just got the vibe that, 'Hey, you don't have anything to worry about.'"

Gerald Hamilton says the NCAA is already looking at Skal. "They have a right to do their job." Says he and UK not worried about eligibility.

NEW: Skal Labissiere's guardian talks after tonight's game at Hoop Fest. "We don't have anything to hide." http://bit.ly/1w8JH6M

[jbcarol]

Ben Roberts @NextCats  ·  5 minutes ago
Halftime: Orangeville Prep 40, Callaway 38. Malik Newman has 25 points for Callaway. Thon Maker with 3 points for Orangeville

Malik Newman had 4 three-pointers, 4 two-pointers and 5 free throws in the first half. Scoring from all over.

[jbcarol]

Brian Rice @FTSPD4305  ·  29 minutes ago
@NextCats  Malik Monk with a monster dunk tonight!