Mississippi State Recruiting

MARY KLINE CLASSIC RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

By Alex Schiffer

Austin Colbert, a 6-foot-8 forward who attends the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. The New Jersey native plays AAU basketball with Team Final in the EYBL. Prior to the underclassman game at the 2nd annual Mary Kline Classic Colbert talked with NBE on his current recruiting situation.

“So far Florida, Baylor, Georgetown, Harvard, Seton Hall are all looking at me,” said Colbert.

At this point in time Colbert is thinking about cutting his list down, but hoping to see some additional offers before doing so.

“I’m currently looking to narrow down my list but it would be nice to pick up a few more offers,” he said.

Since the open evaluation periods of April are now past, Colbert has a clearer view of the schools willing to put more effort into his recruitment and is looking to visit one of the schools entering the picture of late.

“Temple is starting to get on my really hard and Baylor, Georgetown, Harvard, Seton Hall are on me mad tight,” he said. “Also Texas is looking at me. I plan on making a trip down to Austin pretty soon.”
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One of the hottest names from the previous two weekends in the April open evaluation period in the Class of 2013 in NYC native Jermaine Lawrence, who is currently attending Pope John XXIII in Sparta (NJ). The 6-foot-9 PF has put a strong of impressive performances together with the New Rens AAU team and his recruitment has quickly taken off.

“Cincinnati, Rutgers, St. John’s, UCLA [and] Florida are all looking at me, Miami as well,” said Lawrence.

A couple Big East programs are among the new schools quickly entering the mix following his April performances.

“UConn and Villanova as well as Temple have all started with me recently.

Lawrence has no current favorites, but is looking into taking a couple visits in the near future.

“I have no favorites right now but I’m working on making a visit to Rutgers right now as well as Cincinnati,” he said.

Lawrence kept rolling on Saturday night, scoring a game-high 27 points in the underclassman contest of the Mary Kline Classic, earning one of the two MVP honors.
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Jared Nickens, a 6-foot-5 wing out of St. Patrick in Elizabeth (NJ) listed the schools currently recruiting him as VCU, Seton Hall, St. Joe’s, SMU, Georgetown, Charlotte and Mississippi State.

“Mississippi State, Georgetown and Charlotte all recently started with me,” he said. “I have a visit to Georgetown June 16th. My current favorite is VCU.”
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Nickens’ teammate at St. Pat’s DeAndre Bembry is also drawing plenty of recruiting interest at this time.

“Vanderbilt and Georgetown just showed interest in me,” said Bembry on Saturday night. “Villanova just offered me. UNC-Charlotte and Richmond as well as South Carolina are all giving me looks.”

Bemnbry also mentioned Virginia Tech had been recruiting him hard as well. There are no favorites for Bembry yet, but he is starting to look into which school she would like to visit.

“[I] should be making some arrangements for visits in a few weeks<' said Bembry. "I'm going to try and visit UCF, Georgetown and Villanova.”
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From a pure talent standpoint, Tyler Roberson has as much of a ceiling as anyone in the Class of 2013. The 6-foot-7 forward out of Roselle (NJ) catholic and the NJ Roadrunners AAU club certainly has the recruiting list to back that up as well.

“Kansas, Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Carolina [and] Syracuse are all recruiting me,” said Roberson. “Everyone is coming at me really hard.”
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Jaren Sina, the 6-foot-1 point guard out of Gill St. Bernard’s in New Jersey made the switch this spring to Team Final on the EYBL circuit and the added exposure paid off with a Big East offer this past week.

“Pittsburgh offered me last week after the Nike EYBL,” said Sina.

Sina, who is coached by his father Mergin Sina at Gill St. Bernard’s was once committed to Alabama. The Crimson Tide remain involved but have plenty of company in the competition for his services.

“Northwestern, Pitt, Stanford, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Penn State, Alabama, Butler are all involved,” said Sina. Alabama and Northwestern as well as Penn State there all coming at me pretty hard.”

Ina ddition to the three coming at Sina the hardest, he mentioned three others schools specifically when asked where he might plans visits in the near future.

“I’m probably visiting Pitt, Michigan [and] maybe Villanova.”

Sina produced 10 points and 14 assists in the all-star game contest Saturday night, sharing game MVP honors with Jermaine Lawrence.

EARLY SIGNING PERIOD CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS – SEC

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

It comes as no surprise that John Calipari and Kentucky are out in front of the pack once again as the early signing period comes to a close of their SEC rivals. Calipari is likely not done yet either as the Wildcats will one again challenge for the nation’s #1 class by the time the books are closed in the 2012 recruiting class. What might be a surprise, however, is who currently checks in at #2 in the SEC early recruiting rankings. Read on to see…

Top 5 SEC Recruiting Classes for 2012:

1) Kentucky
Commits – Alex Poythress (SF), Archie Goodwin (SG), Willie Cauley (C)
–The rest of the SEC must be getting used to this by now as John Calipari once against has the league’s top class and he’s not done yet.

Alex Poythress is part of UK's 2012 class that tops the SEC so far.

2) Auburn
Commits – Shaquille Johnson (SF), Jordan Price (SG), Jordan Granger (PF)
–Unlike Kentucky, Auburn does not normally reside among the conference’s top classes but Tony Barbee has locked up a good one led by wings Johnson and Price.

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2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 8): DEVONTA POLLARD, TJ WARREN & BRANDON BOLDEN

By Alex Schwartz

WARREN SET FOR NORTH CAROLINA VISIT

Quite simply, T.J. Warren is a lethal scorer. One of the best players in the nation when it comes to putting the ball in the hole, Warren can hurt you in a number of ways. As a 6-foot-7 small forward, he has great height on the wing and with his thick build he can overpower defenders. Warren is a good enough athlete who is adept and navigating through traffic and finishing at the rim. He handles the ball well and is nearly impossible to stop from getting to the cup when he catches the ball on the wing. Warren has a nice mid-range game and can hit the pull-up or a floater. He can also connect on shots from beyond the arc, though he is inconsistent in that area. Warren is not overly quick and could slim down just a bit as well as improve on the defensive end.

Warren, a native of North Carolina who will attend Brewster Academy for his senior season, listed Georgetown, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville.
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 4 NOTEBOOK: WILD, WILD WEST IN VEGAS

By Raphielle Johnson

By the end of the last college basketball season it was best to simply expect the unexpected. The same could be said for this weekend in Las Vegas, which has produced an unexpected champion in the Kansas City 76ers. The 76ers won the Las Vegas Fab 48 by beating Team Breakdown (Florida) in Monday night’s title game.

While the stands weren’t filled to brim as they were last summer (Oakland Soldiers tend to bring out the crowds), there were a few college programs represented in the coaches area with 2013 wing Ishmail Wainright the primary focus.

Ben Howland (UCLA) and Steve Lavin (St. John’s) were both there to watch Wainwright, who considers Earl Watson (who has connections to both as he played at UCLA under Lavin) to be an older brother and mentor. Other programs represented include Western Illinois, George Mason, Kansas, Missouri, UC Irvine, South Florida, Cal Poly, Nebraska, UM-KC and Creighton.

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REEBOK BREAKOUT CHALLENGE: THURSDAY RECRUITING ROUNDUP

By Matt Whitfield

The return to the summer basketball camp scene by Reebok has been well received. The competition and talent level is certainly solid at the Gallagher Athletic Center on the campus of Philadelphia University. NBE took in the action for the most part of the day Thursday and was able to touch base with many of the players to learn the latest on their recruitments. While the camp had a strong group of Mid-Major+ prospects, there was more than a fair share of players who will land at higher levels in college. Below is a rundown of who we caught up with yesterday.

Rysheed Jordan (Robert Vaux HS/Players Teaching Players)

There was a lot of hype centering Jordan entering the camp and many scouts, reporters and college coaches were anxious to get a look at him. He did not disappoint as the 6-foot-3, Class of 2013 point guard has all the look of a sure fire high major recruit. He has definitely noticed the increased attention of late.

“I think I’m blowing up,” said Jordan of the recent influx of recruiting attention. “I’m easing my way up.”
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2012 BIG MAN GAVIN WARE HAS THREE MAIN SUITORS

The pool of available big men in the Class of 2012 already seems to be thinning out quickly. One target likely to draw a great amount of interest on the spring and summer AAU circuit is Starkville (MS) High School big man Gavin Ware. The 6-foot-8, 252-pound center has been out of action since just after the Christmas holiday because of a knee injury, but he is looking forward to getting back into competition next month when the AAU season gets going.

“Now my doctor has me in therapy working hard to get my knee better,” Ware told NBE last week. “I should be ready by the beginning of April.”

Ware looked like he would be on his way to a big season with his impressive performance against Brandon (MS) High School and their Class of 2011 Georgetown signee Tyler Adams. Ware scored 17 points, in just the first three quarters in a 57-37 win.

“My most favorite highlight dates back to when I played 6’10″ senior Tyler Adams, I had 17 points and I held him to a season low 4 points,” Ware told NBE.

Unfortunately Ware did not get to build much on that performance as he suffered a hyper-extended knee injury shortly after. Once weighing over 300 pounds, Ware has worked hard to get into better shape and make himself into a top prospect in the Class of 2012. His plans this spring and summer are to hit the AAU tour with the Southern Phenoms out of Meridian (MS) and earn their way in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and top events.

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NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE: DAY THREE

by JEFF BORZELLO

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A long weekend of basketball culminated Sunday with another six games between the top prep schools in the country. It started off with an easy Brewster Academy (N.H.) win over a hard-working but fatigued Princeton Day Academy (Md.) club. After that came a battle between Maine Central Institute and Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.), where MCI pulled away in the second half. Kiski (Pa.) and La Lumiere (Ind.) was an interesting match-up on paper due to the frontcourts of both teams, but Kiski emerged victorious. NIA Prep and New Hampton had a back-and-forth battle that featured big leads and subsequent comebacks, but in the end, NIA Prep was too athletic and balanced. Tilton (N.H.) came out in a big way against Wilbraham & Monson (Mass.), blowing them out from the opening tap. The final game of the event kept everyone interested, with Blair Academy (N.J.) holding on to beat St. Andrew’s (R.I.). Here’s a look at some noteworthy players from the final day, starting with a player we will see in the BIG EAST next month:

Enosch Wolf, 2010, Wilbraham & Monson: Wolf will join Connecticut at the end of the fall semester, which comes in a couple of weeks. The German native is more versatile than one might think, showing off an ability to handle the basketball and step out to knock down outside shots. The 7-foot-1 lefty is very mobile and can run the floor. His stroke from the free-throw line is solid and he defends well. Moreover, Wolf is an effective rebounder – something the Huskies are lacking this year.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual membership to read more detailed scouting reports and the latest recruiting notes gathered on Day Three of the National Prep Showcase. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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ORLANDO AAU UPDATE: PART II

While Ray Mernagh has an early wake-up call and a long day of travel tomorrow to reach sunny Orlando for the end of the 17-U AAU Showcase and the Nationals to follow, Alex Schwartz continues to keep us up to date in the meantime.

With the 17-U Super Showcase getting in full swing Saturday, some more familiar names are in this update. Recruiting updates are found on elite 2011 PF/C Johnny O’Bryant who has a final list of nine schools under consideration, 2011 PG Angel Rodriguez has some impressive offers and a leader out of the Big 12 while productive PF George Fant updates his growing list of schools today. You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from Orlando as we also run down the performances of Nick Faust, Trey Burke, Julian Royal, Jacob Lawson and O’Bryant as well. All of which is covered below in detail. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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KING CITY CLASSIC EVALS & UPDATES (PART C)

by JEFF BORZELLO

CLEVELAND – After a fairly lackluster experience at the LeBron James Skills Academy – aside from the hype of having James there, of course – the 75 or so players from that camp traveled about 40 minutes north to Cleveland State University for two days of tournament-style games. The players, broken into eight teams, competed in two games each before entering the playoffs. It was far easier to evaluate the prospects in the game-setting than it was in the drills and the controlled scrimmages.

In our King City Classic Update (Part A) we took a look at Big East commits such as Wayne Blackshear, Tyrone Johnson, Michael Carter-Williams and James Price and their performances when we were watching. In King Citty Classic Update (Part B) NBE updated notes on mega-prospect Anthony Davis as he discussed his three finalists, talked with LaQuinton Ross about offers and visits and spent time with Myles Davis as he discusses the new offer from ‘Nova and the impact of friend Tyrone Johnson committing to the Wildcats recently. Desmond Hubert, Myles Mack and Ben McLemore also chat about their recruiting. Now we move into part C below and touch base with players such as Rodney Hood, Kedren Johnson, Bernard Silluvan, Cedric McAfee, Jahii Carson, LJ Rose, J-Mychal Reese, Trey McDonald and more…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from Cleveland and the King City Classic. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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LEBRON JAMES SKILLS ACADEMY RECRUITING NOTES: PART I

by JEFF BORZELLO

AKRON, Ohio – While most of the top college coaches and AAU teams were in Indianapolis to start the July live period, 75 of the best high school players in the classes of 2011 and 2012 – and one from the class of 2013 – convened at the University of Akron for the LeBron James Skills Academy. It was the culmination of four separate skills academies over the past weeks: those of Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Amar’e Stoudemire. It was a true camp setting, with dozens of drills, but there was one noticeable difference: the King himself, LeBron James, showed up to play pick-up with the players. That was arguably the highlight of the event, as there was not too much to glean from the campers based on various passing and dribbling drills. However, there was plenty of recruiting notes and updates to pass along as NBE caught up with players such as Jabarie Hinds, Ricardo Ledo, Ricardo Gathers, JaKarr Sampson, Branden Dawson, Trevor Lacey, Nick Faust and many more for the absolute latest in their recruiting situations in detail as they talk leaders, visits, offers and more.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more recruiting updates below from the Lebron James Skills Academy and all of our July ‘live’ period news and notes. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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GIBBONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS DAY TWO RECAP

BY JEFF BORZELLO

CHAPEL HILL, N.C./DURHAM, N.C. — Duke and North Carolina are usually the main attractions down in the Triangle of Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Durham, but that was not the case this weekend with the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in town. 64 U-17 teams, 32 U-16 teams and 32 U-15 squads, spread out over 19 courts and 8 locations, it was a recruitnik’s dream. There was still plenty of talent on the rosters despite the EYBL taking place in Los Angeles, and here’s a look at some of the top players on Saturday…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read our full coverage from Saturday at the Bob Gibbons’ Tournament of Champions, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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JOHNNY O’BRYANT WORKING ON GAME; TALKS RECRUITING

Big man from Mississippi has etched his place as an elite 2011 prospect with a long list of elite suitors

BY JEFF BORZELLO

Opinions vary on the consistency or ideal position of Johnny O’Bryant, but one thing is certain – he is one of the premier big men in the class of 2011, and has as much potential as anyone.

The 6-foot-9 O’Bryant, from East Side High School (Miss.), has been showing flashes of that ceiling during the past couple of years on the AAU circuit, garnering plenty of notoriety and college interest.

“I think I can [play with anyone in the country],” O’Bryant said. “I don’t think I have to prove anything to anyone; I just come out and try to play hard, and try to get a win for my AAU team.”

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on O’Bryant and his thoughts on his recruitment, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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