Adam Zagoria, Providence Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, USF Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

TALENTED JEFFERSON TRIO DRAWING INTEREST

Big East schools looking hard at Thomas Jefferson (NYC) trio

By ADAM ZAGORIA

NEW YORK – One team with a boatload of young talent is Thomas Jefferson High in Brooklyn.

In senior guard Keith Spellman, junior forward Joel “Air Jamaica” Wright and sophomore point guard Davontay Grace, the Orange Wave have three players college scouts are keeping an eye on.

The 6-foot-2 Spellman is a natural scorer who recently had 19 points against Lance Stephenson and Lincoln before fouling out. He is averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists on the season.

Spellman says “George Mason, Virginia Tech and St. John’s” have shown him the most interest, although the St. John’s offer happened two years ago.

He says he has no favorite in the group and won’t decide until after the season.

“Whoever wants him after the season, he’ll make a decision then,” Jefferson coach Lawrence Pollard said.

With the 6-6 Wright, Pollard said West Virginia, Providence, Seton Hall and St. John’s have all offered. A bouncy, athletic slasher and rebounder, he posted 21 points and 12 rebounds against Lincoln and is averaging 22 and 18 boards.

“I think he’s pretty much going to decide pretty soon where he wants to go,” Pollard said. “I think probably in the near future he’ll decide.

“I think right now it would be safe to say he likes St. John’s because his [former AAU] coach Kimani Young is [an assistant] there. I think he likes West Virginia also because me and assistant coach Seldon Jefferson went there.”

As for the 6-1 Grace, he is a strong, physical player who resembles a miniature Levance Fields. He is averaging 12 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds. He holds an offer from Hofstra, according to Hassani Stewart of the Raising Champions AAU team.

He also has interest from UCLA, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Providence, South Florida, West Virginia, St. John’s and Iowa, among others.

Asked what schools were showing the most interest, Grace said: “Rutgers, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech. It’s just a lot of letters so far. I’m just waiting.”

“He’s a Top 30 player in the country,” Stewart said.

The comparisons to Fields will likely follow Grace throughout his career, but Grace is not too fond of it.

“I don’t really play like him, though,” Grace said. “I think I shoot a little better than him.”

“I think he’s more talented than Levance,” Pollard said. “He’s more like a Khalid El-Amin. He’s a mix between both of those guys. But offensively I think he’s better than both of those guys. He shed about 15 pounds. He’s got a few more pounds to shed, but right now he’s working hard off the court, on the court. It’s showing in his game. I think he needs to be a little more selfish. It’s a learning experience.”

Grace said he has no timetable for deciding.

“It really doesn’t matter,” Grace said. “It’s just the best situation, the best system, the best campus for me.”

Adam Zagoria covers college and prep football and basketball for SportsNet New York (SNY) and Rivals.com, and his work has also appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sports Illustrated and Basketball Times. To read more of Adam’s work, please visit www.zagsblog.com.

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