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.
One of the top big men in the 2012 class, DaJaun Coleman of Jamesville-DeWitt (NY), has decided to stay home and play for Syracuse. Coleman is the #13 player in our 2012 rankings and is a true low-post player.
His post up ability and strength are in the top tier of the class. He is a bit short at only 6’8″ and could also lose a few pounds, but overall he is one of the best bigs in the class. He will be the perfect fit for the middle of Coach Boeheim’s legendary 2-3 zone.
Coleman led Jamesville-DeWitt to the 2011 New York State Class A championship. It was the third straight state title for the Red Rams during Coleman’s prep career. As a junior he averaged 24.5 points and 14 rebounds and received the Post-Standard’s 2011 Player of the Year award.
The Scout.com has Coleman at #11 and ESPN has him ranked at #14 in the class of 2012.
Coleman just took an official visit to Syracuse this past weekend. He had visited the University of Kentucky one week earlier, taking in the Wildcats’ Big Blue Madness event. He was scheduled to visit Ohio State this weekend but due to the press conference today that went out the window.
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This is according to his uncle, Derrick Artis, who had this to say “He felt like he rushed into his commitment,” Artis said. “Still loves UCLA and they are the top of his list, but he wants to make sure he is making the right decision.” ”We just want to make sure we’re making the right decision. We never really let the recruiting process happen, so we just want to make sure we dot our I’s and cross our T’s.”
Ever since UCLA received a commitment from Kyle Anderson, a player who can play PG as well as about every other position, there have been rumors of an Artis decommit. It still remains to be seen exactly how Coach Howland will use Anderson but it’s obvious that Artis is worried about sitting behind the top-5 recruit.
Prior to giving a verbal to UCLA Artis was considering California, Florida St., and Oregon, among others, before choosing the Bruins. Although his uncle still lists UCLA as the lead candidate, I take this with a grain of salt, rarely do players decommit from a school to later sign with the same school. So if I’m a betting man, and I am, my money is on Artis going somewhere else where he doesn’t have to worry about sitting behind Kyle Anderson. My gut says Artis will end up at Oregon, but we will see.
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One of the top guards in the 2012 class, Rodney Purvis, has chose to stay home and attend North Carolina State. Purvis is the #9 recruit in our 2012 rankings, and has a ton of upside. His decision comes as somewhat of a surprise considering most people felt that UCONN was the favorite to land him.
This is an extremely huge get for the ‘Pack, this will help put NC ST back on the map, after recent struggles. The 6’4″ combo guard is exactly what they needed, and this sign will certainly help future recruiting.
Purvis’ road to get here has been dramatic to say the least. He exploded on the national scene in the 8th grade and has been one of the most talked about players since.
He attends Upper Room Christian Academy (NC) which used to be only a elementary and middle school, but decided to also become a high school in order to keep Purvis. You know you are a special talent when they are creating high schools for you. He was also originally a member of the 2013 class, but reclassified to join the 2012 class.
Purvis first committed to Louisville last December, but later backed off of that and reopened his recruitment. Leading up to his decision today, he was considering Ohio State, Memphis, North Carolina Central, UCONN, and NC State. But it was North Carolina State who landed the elite guard’s services.
Purvis will be counted on to contribute from day one, he has all the tools to come in and lead a team from the jump. The comparison to Dwayne Wade is a popular one and has a lot of merit. Purvis is built almost identically and possesses a skill set very similar to DWade’s. When it’s all said and done Purvis could very well be the best player out of this class, but only time will tell.
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 Ohio State’s incoming freshman class took a big hit today with the announcement that 6’8″ forward LaQuinton Ross has been ruled ineligible. However this doesn’t come as a surprise because this has been speculated for some time now, but today it became official.
The NCAA declared that Ross is a non-qualifier, resulting in the standout small forward being unable to attend Ohio State for at least the fall semester. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ross has returned home to Mississippi to take a class and attempt to improve his ACT score in hopes of becoming eligible to join the Buckeyes at the start of the spring semester in January. 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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Few players helped their stock this summer more than Flint, Michigan’s JaVontae Hawkins. Hawkins, a 6’5” shooting guard, has continued to rise up the 2012 rankings due in large part to his performances this summer with his AAU team, the Michigan Mustangs. Hawkins is one of the most complete SGs in the class, and holds offers from a laundry list of top schools. He is one of the better athletes in the class but also is very skilled.
After spending his first three years of high school in his hometown of Flint, Michigan Hawkins decided to transfer to Huntington Prep (Huntington, WV) for his senior season. After losing two brothers in a matter of 3 years due to shootings, he has strived to make it out of Flint and to be a success. Although it is certainly something that nobody would chose to go through, it has made him a more driven and stronger person. I recently caught up with JaVontae to get the latest on his recruitment and his decision to attend Huntington Prep. Continue reading
Ashley, a 6’8″, 215-pound forward, and the #7 player in our 2012 rankings has decided to commit to Sean Miller and the Arizona Wildcats. Continue reading
