Huge news for Michigan basketball today as the #4 player in our 2012 rankings, Mitch McGary, has decided to commit to the Wolverines. Heading into his announcement today on ESPN U, McGary listed Michigan, Florida, and Duke as his final three. Ultimately he chose Coach Beilein’s Michigan Wolverines.
McGary’s commitment gives Coach Beilein a very strong 2012 class, McGary will be joining Nick Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III who are both top 100 guys themselves. Continue reading
As the saying goes, the rich get richer. That certainly holds true for Coach Miller and his Arizona Wildcats, as they have landed another top 2012 recruit, 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski. Arizona beat out Bill Self and Kansas for the #11 recruit in our 2012 rankings.
“The real surprise in this to me is that Kansas invested so much time in Kaleb” said ESPN analyst Dave Telep. “For Arizona to get him, to beat out Kansas for a guy like this, it’s a huge commitment.”
The Wildcats 2012 class now includes Gabe York, Kaleb Tarczewski, Grant Jerrett, and Brandon Ashley, all four players are in our top 50 players of the 2012 class. Coach Miller has put together an absolutely loaded class.
Ashley, a 6-foot-8, 215 athletic forward from Findlay Prep, is our #6 rated recruit, while Jerrett, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound banger, comes in at #18, and York at #41.
“The real interesting part in this to me is how Arizona can go both coasts,” Telep said. “They’re bi-coastal right now. I don’t ever know if they’ve ever been like that before. Even when they were playing for championships and final fours I don’t know if their reach was as big as it is right now. They are back to being a national recruiting power.”
With Jerrett, Ashley, and York, the Wildcats already had the No. 1 2012 recruiting class according to ESPN. Now with Tarczewski, Arizona’s class is undoubtedly the best in the country.
Preseason Pac-12 Player of the Year Jared Cunningham
Last season Arizona was able to capture the regular season Pac-12 crown due in large part to the play of Derrick Williams. He has since departed for the NBA but ‘Zona still has a talented team that will be led by Solomon Hill and Kyle Fogg.
However the team with the most returning talent, which may be surprising to some, is California. Four of the top-10 scorers in the league from last season are returning this year, and three belong to Cal. This looks to be a pretty big advantage for the Bears but they still have some flaws. I look for it to be a very close race among Cal, UCLA, ‘Zona, and Washington.
Overall this seems to be a down year for both team and individual talent in the Pac-12 as there are no clear-cut favorites or individual stars but it should be an exciting race to the title. So lets take a look at the top players to watch and predict the standings. Continue reading
Preseason Big East Player of the Year Ashton Gibbs
Last season Pitt was at the head of the class during the regular season and looked poised for a deep run in the NCAA tournament. However it was UConn who had a trick up their sleeve winning five games in five days to win the Big East Tournament. (as the 9 seed) They then proceeded to continue their white-hot streak into the NCAA Tournament, on the back of Kemba Walker, winning the National Title over Butler.
This year it looks to be a two-horse race for the regular season crown between UConn and Syracuse. UConn looks poised for a repeat as they return all of their core players except their leader Kemba Walker. That loss will hurt but they are also gaining one of the best freshmen in the country in Andre Drummond. That being said there are always a couple of teams that will surprise so lets take a look at the conference. Continue reading
Yesterday we looked at five freshmen that will be key contributors this upcoming season, today we will look at the sophomore class. Everyone knows all the big names from last year such as: Jared Sullinger and Harrison Barnes so I will shed some light on some lesser known guys. Continue reading
Ever since the NBA enacted the rule to ban players straight out of high school we have seen more and more freshman having major impacts. Kevin Durant was the one that really set the bar, winning the Wooden Award in his first and only season on campus in Austin. Others that have been very impressive have been Michael Beasley, John Wall, Derrick Rose, and the list goes on. So who are some players to keep an eye on this year? Continue reading
Last year was a special season for the UConn Huskies, culminating with a third national title in the past 15 years. Going into the season everyone knew they had a special player in Kemba Walker, but it was the young players like Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb who made UConn a complete team.
Nobody expected the young Huskies to win the title at the beginning of the year. But as the season went on and the young players started to develop; they gained more and more momentum, and respect.
Entering the Big East Tournament UConn was the 9th seed and weren’t considered a legit title contender by any means. However that changed quickly after they blazed through five games in five days, winning the tournament final against the 3rd seeded Louisville Cardinals. Walker put on dazzling display after dazzling display, but also had great contributions from the freshman duo Lamb and Napier. Continue reading
Kyle Anderson, a 6’8″ guard from St. Anthony (New Jersey), has committed to play at UCLA. Anderson is the #4 player in our 2012 rankings and has been rising up everyone’s rankings due in large part to his ability to play multiple positions.
Anderson has elite guard skills but also has the height and length to play SF and even some PF if needed. His combination of size and skill has college coaches drooling. He is the type of player that can step-in and be a contributor from day one.
Anderson, rated as the #2 recruit by Rivals.com, #2 by Scout.com, and #5 by ESPN.com was also being recruited by Florida, Georgetown, St. John’s and Seton Hall.
“I chose UCLA cause I feel they can help me improve my defense and we will have a good chance of winning a national championship,” Anderson said.
Anderson joins UCLA commits 6-1 guard Dominic Artis of Findlay College Prep (NV) and 6-5 forward Jordan Adams of Oak Hill Academy (VA).
“Coach Howland says that I will be fighting for the point guard spot, as long as I’m on the court I’ll be good” he said.
Anderson led St. Anthony High School to a unblemished 33-0 record last season, winning a State Championship, New Jersey Tournament of Champions title, and a mythical national championship.
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Wichita Heights (KS) senior power forward Perry Ellis, our 35th overall player in the 2012 class, has decided to attend Kansas. He chose the Jayhawks over Wichita State, Kansas State and Kentucky
Ellis is a very talented player that will really help Kansas’ front court depth. He is more of a traditional post player with an array of moves. He doesn’t have elite athleticism but has more skill than most big men in the class. Overall he’s a very good get for Kansas and Coach Self.
Ellis said Kansas was where he felt the most comfortable. ”I love being around my family and Kansas was not too far and not too close,” Ellis said. “I’m excited about my choice. You see what (Bill Self) has done with his players, for example the twins (Marcus and Markieff Morris). You can see how he improved them.”
Kansas was one of the first schools to recruit Ellis and that was crucial to Kansas landing him. ”That was real important,” Ellis said. “I thought (as a freshman) that I was pretty good, but that was pretty humbling. It was a good feeling to have him be there for my first game.”
Ellis is the top recruit that Kansas has landed in the 2012 class. He’s listed as the #33 player by Scout.com, #37 player by ESPN.com, and the #24 player by Rivals.com.
“This is an important recruit for Kansas,” Scout.com recruiting analyst Evan Daniels said. “They had Zach Peters already in the 2012 class, but they had missed on some big-time guys as of late. This is one they’ve been recruiting for a long time.”
Ellis led Wichita Heights to a third consecutive state title last season while averaging 22.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
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Follow Hemingway of the Hardwood at @hoopshemingway
