Connecticut Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, South Florida Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

BIG EAST RECRUITING NOTES (4/9/08)

We have a week until the Spring Signing period begins and the April evaluation period kicks off this weekend as well, so look for recruiting coverage to spike in the next few weeks.

Unsigned 2008 seniors such as Chris Turner, Maurice Sutton, Ater Majok and Teeng Akol are getting plenty of attention, as is JUCO Roderick Flemings. Tyreke Evan’s much anticipated decision is a week away as well. Tyshawn Taylor will meet with Marquette’s new head coach. His high school coach Bob Hurley continues to reload his St. Anthony’s roster.

Read all these and more in our Big East Recruiting Update.

Later today we will have our News & Notes Update from around the Big East which will include the latest coaching rumors that pertain to the Big East.

With the spring signing period beginning in a week, Chris Turner is still trying to decide on his future college destination. At one time, Turner was ready to pull the trigger and pledge to Maryland, however Sean Mosley beat him to the punch. The Durham, N.C., native who is finishing up at Christian Life Center Academy in the Houston area, has taken Big Steps (Baltimore Sun) in improving his game from being known as an offensive threat to an all-around player.

Turner told the Baltimore Sun he would make a decision on a school in the next two weeks from a pool that includes Seton Hall, East Carolina, Baylor, Virginia, Clemson and Wake Forest, as well as Maryland. Maybe his stop at the Charm City Challenge was a preview for Maryland fans…although, indications are Seton Hall, East Carolina and Wake Forest are at the forefront of his recruitment.

It has been reported that Pennsbury (PA) High School junior Dalton Pepper has Big East interest from West Virginia and Villanova, among others. As the high school season ends and the spring AAU season gets ready to kick into high gear this weekend, the 2009 wing guard Pepper Makes a Point (phillyburbs.com) in showcasing his talents for everyone to see.

In a recent Alfred C. Donofrio Classic match-up with the Sonny Hill seniors at the Fellowship House of Conshohocken, Pepper scored a game high 24 points for the Bucks County All-Stars in a 78-57 loss. Pepper, a 2007-2008 1st team all-state swingman scored 20 of his 24 in the 1st half, keeping his team in the contest. Pepper was 6 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc in the game. Keep an eye out for him with the New Jersey Warriors on the AAU circuit, college coaches certainly will.
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The blog at KentuckySportsRadio.com takes a look at 2008 Spring Recruiting: Who is Left on the board for the Wildcats. Several of the players UK is looking at also have interest in Big East schools:

Roderick Flemings out of Weatherford CC in Texas is expected to visit Kentucky this weekend. The long and athletic 6’7 scorer also would like to check out UConn.

Ater Majok is a 6’10 versatile big man that will visit UConn this weekend and they are expected to be the team to beat in the race to land the native of Senegal who now lives in Australia. Major will play in the Derby Classic and visit UK at that time and also has Baylor in the mix for his services, among others.

Maurice Sutton is a classic spring big man target, tall and SKINNY at 6’10 and, at most, 200 lbs, will be at the Derby Classic as well and if UK puts an offer on the table, he is likely to commit, according to the Kentucky Sports Radio article. As mentioned here several times, Big East schools such as South Florida, Seton Hall, Villanova and Marquette have all been recruiting him.
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Northstar Basketball has an Update On…Tony Bergeron, Tyreke Evans and Lamont Jones of American Christian Academy (PA). Bergeron has been rumored to be a candidate for a spot on the Seton Hall staff if a position was to open. However, despite his friendship with SHU coach Bobby Gonzalez, Bergeron is happy where he is and expects to keep building the program at American Christian Academy in the future.

Bergeron’s relationship with Gonzalez helped open the door for the Pirates to recruit star Tyreke Evans, the #1 uncommitted player in the class of 2008. Evans will make his decision on April 16th, the first day of the spring signing period, between Memphis, Villanova, Seton Hall, Texas and UConn, who looks like a long shot in this case.

As for Lamont Jones, the 2009 guard prospect is still no longer committed to Louisville and will probably wait until September before forming a new list of schools.
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With Mike Rosario, Travon Woodall, Tyshawn Taylor, Jio Fontan, Alberto Eastwick and AJ Rogers taking their game to the Division 1-A level, it could have been a rebuilding year for Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s. However, over the last few weeks it has become pretty evident that the Friars will simply reload, led by elite 2009 prospect Dominic Cheek, their top returning player. A couple newcomers will give St. Anthony’s one of the best frontcourts in the prep game as Ashton Pankey (6’8) joins the program from Archbishop Molloy and All Hallows 6’7 forward Devon Collier also recently announced he will enter the program. Collier to St. Anthony (zagsblog) happens after a tough season at All Hallows that saw the Gaels struggle to a 3-24 season and a Collier was suspended for a little time after an altercation with a teammate.

Collier, a New Heights AAU teammate of Pankey, has early recruiting interest from Big East schools such as St. John’s, Seton Hall, Rutgers and Pittsburgh.

Other key returning players for St. Anthony’s include forward Jamee Jackson and guards Willie Vaughn and Devon McLeod.
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Speaking of Tyshawn Taylor, Adam Zagoria reports that Taylor Will Meet New Marquette Coach (zagsblog) Buzz Williams at St. Anthony’s on Friday. Williams will also meet with coach Hurley. Hurley has stated that Williams and Marquette will have to re-recruit Taylor now that Tom Crean has left for Indiana. However, even though Taylor has asked to be released from his letter of intent, Marquette does not have to oblige. Although, if they would like to recruit at St. Anthony’s in the future, and possibly at St. Benedict’s where Danny Hurley is the head coach, it might be a wise move to do as requested. In the end, Taylor could still re-affirm his commitment, but should be given the opportunity to explore options after the coaching change.
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It looked as if coveted JUCO recruit Juan Patillo of the College of Southern Idaho would be making a visit to South Florida as soon as this weekend, with the Bulls and Oklahoma looking as his top two choices. However, now his coach says the Bulls are Backing Off Patillo (St. Pete Times) and are moving in another direction. This could be a sign that Stan Heath is focusing his recruiting efforts on prep centers, such as Frank Ben-Eze of Arlington, Va., and Krys Faber of Los Angeles.

USF also seems to be the #1 choice for IMG Academy’s 6’11 Teeng Akol. However, Akol’s academic status might not be cleared up until later in May.
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Tamir Jackson has been a prominent player for the NJ Playaz AAU program as well as Danny Hurley’s St. Benedict’s program the last couple seasons. However, he never seemed to get a lot of recruiting interest from Big East programs and that could be what led the Combo Guard to Commit to Mike Davis and UAB (Birmingham News).

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