Alex Schwartz, Arkansas Recruiting, Florida State, Georgetown Recruiting, Kansas Recruiting, Kentucky Recruiting, Maryland Recruiting, Michigan State Recruiting, Minnesota Recruiting, Mississippi Recruiting, Missouri Recruiting, SMU Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, Tennessee Recruiting, USF Recruiting, Washington Recruiting

RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (10/18/2012): POST MADNESS COMMITMENT CRAZE

by Alex Schwartz

Last Friday was Midnight Madness, which is the first day that college basketball programs can hold official practices. Many schools, at all levels, use the weekend of Midnight Madness as a chance to host and impress either their top target(s) or a large number of prospects.

As always, there have been numerous high-major commitments rolling in since players began their Midnight Madness visits. Below is a rundown of many of the top players to pledge over the past week.

I was out of the country over the weekend, which is why there was no Recruiting Notebook on Monday. Additionally, due to my trip—it’s crazy how disconnected to the world I am without my phone or constant internet access—the news on these pledges can be attributed to the Scout.com Commitment Tracker.

The biggest news coming from the weekend involved—who else?—the University of Kentucky. For the third straight week, John Calipari has landed at least one top-15 prospect in the class of 2013. This time it was 6-foot-9 center Marcus Lee of Deer Valley (CA), who selected UK over Cal. He is ranked No. 13 in the NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

Also nabbing a pledge from a top-20 recruit this week was Kansas. The Jayhawks added to their backcourt haul by picking up Wayne Selden, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard out of the Tilton School (NH). He is ranked No. 18 in the  NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

Florida State double-dipped this week, picking up both Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Jarquez Smith. Both players are ranked in the top-50 of the NBE Sports 2013 Top 125, so this was quite significant for the Seminoles. Rathan-Mayes is a 6-foot-3 shooting guard out of Huntington Prep (WV) who checks in at No. 44, while Smith is a 6-foot-9 power forward from Jones County (GA) who is ranked No. 48.

Syracuse was another program who landed two prospects from the Midnight Madness weekend. Jim Boeheim’s two recent additions are both ranked in the NBE Sports 2013 Top 125. BJ Johnson, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Lower Merion (PA), and Chinonso Obokoh, a 6-foot-10 center out of Bishop Kearney (NY), are the two new members of the Orange. Johnson is ranked No. 91 and Obokoh is No. 105 in the class.

Dwight Coleby opted to end his recruitment by pledging to Mississippi. The 6-foot-9 power forward from the Piney Woods School (MS) has only been in the United States for a bit over a year, but he has established himself as a high-major player in the class of 2013. In fact, he is ranked No. 93 in the  NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

Another ranked prospect to make his pledge was Sterling Brown, a 6-foot-4 small forward out of Proviso East (IL). Brown decided to commit to the SMU Mustangs and is a major pickup for Larry Brown, who is in his first year as the school’s head coach. Sterling Brown is the younger brother of former Michigan State star and current Phoenix Sun wing Shannon Brown. He is ranked No. 104 in the NBE Sports 2013 Top 125.

Not long after being featured in ESPN the Magazine because of the interest he was getting from both Georgetown and Maryland, Roddy Peters opted to end his recruitment. The 6-foot-4 class of 2013 point guard out of Suitland (MD) popped to the Terrapins. Not only is Peters a talented player, but he is an especially important pickup for Maryland after the program missed out on the Harrison twins. Additionally, he is quality local prospect and keeping talent close to home is almost always a priority.

South Florida has continued to build its impressive 2013 recruiting class by picking up a commitment from Byron Zeigler. The 6-foot-7 small forward from Detroit Community (MI) is the younger cousin of Pitt guard Trey Zeigler.

Alex Foster, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Seton Academy (IL), will be remaining in the Midwest for his college years. The class of 2013 big man popped to Tubby Smith and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Sheldon (CA) wing Darin Johnson will be heading to the Pac-12 to play his college ball. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard committed to Lorenzo Romar and is now a part of Washington’s 2013 recruiting class.

Finally, according to Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports, Jonathan Williams III will be making his commitment later today. Meyer noted that “J3” will decide between Arkansas, Georgetown, Michigan State, Missouri, and Tennessee. The 6-foot-8 power forward is ranked No. 26 in the NBE Sports  NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

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