http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting Basketball Recruiting Blog on ESPN.com en-us Sun, 27 May 2012 04:45:56 PDT http://backend.userland.com/rss webmaster@espn.go.com http://a.espncdn.com/i/tvlistings/tv_espn_original.gif http://espn.go.com 84 34 30 Copyright 2012 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 CLEVELAND -- This year's Prep Spotlight Showcase, held at Garfield Heights High School, was good even though the talent level was a little down compared to past years.

Here is a look at some of the top players from the event.

Elijah Brown (Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward) 2013, SG/PG, 6-2 The lefty scorer is the son of former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.

Kenny Simpson (Cleveland, Ohio/Garfield Heights) 2012, PG, 5-foot-10 He is a solid lefty point guard who is a good shooter out to 19 feet.

Mike...]]> Fri, 1 Oct 2010 09:11:17 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5636576 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5636576 This is what the state of Kentucky envisioned when it thought of Rick Pitino and John Calipari coaching the state's two biggest schools -- a healthy rivalry on the same level of North Carolina and Duke with two elite coaches, with big personalities, attracting top-level talent and competing for national championships.

Calipari has grabbed most of the recent attention and has the UK faithful buzzing with back-to-back No. 1 recruiting classes in 2009 and 2010 along with the front runner's position...]]> Thu, 2 Sep 2010 06:52:32 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5522849 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5522849 Mike Rice said he was going to hit the ground running when he took the Rutgers job, but this isn't running -- this is a full sprint. Rice and Rutgers landed their fourth commit for the Class of 2011 in PG Myles Mack (Paterson, N.J./St. Anthony), who is No. 71 in the ESPNU 100 and the 16th-ranked point guard in the country.

He joins 6-foot-6 SF Malick Kone (St. George, Va/Blue Ridge School), 6-8 PF Derrick Randall (Brooklyn, N.Y./South Kent) and 6-8 PF Kadeem Jack (Queens, N.Y./South Kent School)...]]> Wed, 1 Sep 2010 13:24:17 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5520535 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5520535 Steve Lavin did a great job bringing in local product and ESPNU 100 small forward Maurice Harkless (Queens, N.Y./South Kent), who is St. John's only 2011 recruit.

The former UConn commit has a tremendous skill set, high-level athleticism and is a great finisher. Harkless has excellent body control and is at his best in transition as the recipient. The 6-foot-6, 200-pounder also showed off his good mid-range shot and capable 3-point stroke at the Fab 48 in Las Vegas, where he led the New York Panthers...]]> Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:14:31 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5516892 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5516892 VENICE BEACH, Calif. -- ESPNU 100 small forward Adonis Thomas (Memphis, Tenn./Melrose) says he is looking for a program that will develop him as a player, along with the opportunity to impact the team and play for championships. At the Boost Mobile Elite 24 he narrowed his list down to six schools -- Memphis, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, UCLA and Kansas.

The 6-foot-6 multifaceted player that has tremendous tools. He brings outstanding athleticism to the floor with the ability to score the ball...]]> Wed, 1 Sep 2010 08:41:04 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5506536 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5506536 Clyde Smith, a rising junior guard from the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, is coming off a big summer and seeing his recruitment pick up as a result.

The Houston, Texas native made a quick impact in his first season at Hotchkiss, but brought his game to another level by this summer.

"Clyde has a tremendous work ethic. It was only a matter of time that others would be able to see the fruits of his labor," said Hotchkiss coach Fred Benjamin. "He had a very successful June and July and was able...]]> Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:51:35 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5490427 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5490427 VCU's basketball program has put together some outstanding runs during the past decade, but recent player signings/commitments by coach Shaka Smart and his staff has the Rams in potential position to be the next Butler/Gonzaga (a program with the potential to consistently make a deep run in the NCAA tournament).

After posting a 27-9 record in his first campaign while bringing in six new recruits for the 2010-11 season, Smart has quickly positioned his program for a bright future. The recent commitment...]]> Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:16:21 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5488708 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5488708 Monmouth hit a home run on the recruiting trail earlier this week, landing commitments from a formidable 1-2 punch that figures to make an immediate impact in the Northeast Conference.

Austin Tillotson and Andrew Nicholas have become accustomed to playing side by side after teaming up both during the high school season at Eastern York in Pennsylvania as well as on the AAU circuit with the Jersey Shore Warriors.

The Warriors just concluded a tremendously successful summer, finishing the year with...]]> Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:41:35 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5479441 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5479441 Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen finally got his man on Tuesday.

Davontay Grace, a 6-foot-2, 206-pound point guard from Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., committed to the Jaspers after being recruited by Rohrssen and his staff for the better part of the last three years.

Grace previously committed to St. John's last year when Norm Roberts was at the helm of the program, but opted to de-commit when Steve Lavin replaced Roberts this spring.

In landing Grace, the Jaspers were able to beat out...]]> Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:21:50 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5476748 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5476748 Holy Cross coach Milan Brown returned to his Maryland roots to land his second commitment in the class of 2011 on Monday. Malcolm Miller, a six-foot-six swingman from Gaithersburg High School, came out of virtually nowhere this summer before quickly establishing himself as a priority recruit for a variety of programs from the East Coast.

"Back in June I had nobody looking at me, no offers, no nothing," Miller said.

But that quickly changed in the month of July.

"I was able to get on Mid-Atlantic...]]> Tue, 17 Aug 2010 07:57:11 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5470454 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5470454 HAWTHORNE, Calif. -- Event organizers Gerry Freitas and Lionel Benjamin did a nice job of corralling most of the top prospects in southern California for the inaugural clash between the 2011 and 2012 classes. Although there were some noticeable no-shows including Norman Powell (San Diego/Lincoln), Angelo Chol (San Diego/Hoover), and 2012 standout Grant Jerrett (La Verne/Lutheran), the talent pool was quite good.

After building a 25-point lead in the first half, the Class of 2011 had to hold on...]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:01:31 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5467589 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5467589 When discussing the elite point guards in the country, 6-3 Josiah Turner (Sacramento, Cailf./Sacramento) has to be near the top of the list. During the summer evaluation period he wanted to prove to coaches and scouts alike that he was more of a facilitator than scorer -- and he achieved that in spades.

"Coming into the summer AAU season I wanted to prove that I was more of a true point guard than a scoring guard and I feel that I accomplished that," said Turner.

As a result of his outstanding...]]> Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:04:10 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5461613 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5461613 The University of Richmond got a big commitment this weekend -- literally and figuratively.

Luke Piotrowski, a 6-foot-11 center from Atlantic Christian School in New Jersey, committed to the Spiders amidst several scholarship offers and additional recruitment from BCS level schools.

"It really came down to the fact that I had developed a great relationship with their coaching staff as well as a couple of their players," he said. "I took a visit to their campus in early June and really found it...]]> Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:28:30 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5454677 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5454677 Zach Chionuma, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Marianapolis Prep in Thompson, Conn., committed to Boston University on Saturday afternoon.

The native of Dewitt, N.Y., previously attended Jamesville Dewitt High School before transferring to Marianapolis midway through his junior year, where he was named honorable mention All Class B in the NEPSAC.

While Chionuma continued to make a name for himself during the spring AAU season, he was definitely one of the winners of the recent July live period as he...]]> Tue, 10 Aug 2010 07:36:32 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5451467 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5451467 The early signing period hasn't even started, but Kansas State coach Frank Martin is off to a great start by landing two post presences in Thomas Gipson (Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill) and Adrian Diaz (Hialeah, Fla./ Hialeah Miami Lakes). It is very difficult to find size in any draft class, particularly early, which makes it that much more impressive for Martin to bring in the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Gipson and the 7-0, 205-pound Diaz. Now, Kansas State can focus on building around these two bigs to...]]> Wed, 4 Aug 2010 11:32:24 PDT http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5437295 http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=basketball_recruiting&id=5437295