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Quick Hit Thoughts on PC Recruiting

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Quick hit thoughts on Providence recruiting…

1. One word that comes to mind more than any during the height of recruiting season is hype. Many of us covering college recruiting are quick to brand players “the next (insert former NBA all star or NCAA All American)”, or build would-be recruiting classes out of the lists of the most highly-ranked players a team is chasing. The downside? Overblown expectations. We saw it in Providence a year ago with small pockets of fans questioning if Kris Dunn was overrated as a McDonald’s All American because he wasn’t immediately putting up monsters numbers on the heels of major surgery that had him out of commission for six months.

When labeling players “the next”, what gets lost along the way is where the original was at a similar point in his development. Dunn was compared to Rajon Rondo by some prior to coming to Providence. What was Rondo as a freshman at Kentucky? An 8 point, 3.5 assist, 2.9 rebound guy in 25 minutes.

Dunn took off late last year

Dunn took off late last year

Dunn had a comparable freshman year with 5.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 27 minutes, and by the time the end of the year rolled around there were few questioning his upside. He was absolutely terrific against St. John’s (12 rebounds) and in a first round NIT win over Charlotte (14/9/6) he was the best player on the floor.

2. Speaking of setting the bar high, I read one report that compared Fairfield Prep center Pascal Chukwu to Dikembo Mutombo – the 2nd overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft, eight time all star and four time Defense Player of the Year in the NBA.

Chukwu has a high ceiling, but it might be helpful to remember that Mutombo was a 3 point, 3 rebound guy in his first season at Georgetown. Providence, of course, is heavily involved with the big man.

Would Friar fans be disappointed if Chukwu committed here and had a similar impact as Karim Shabazz? The offensively-limited 2001 Friars made the tournament behind defense – namely, pestering point guard John Linehan with Shabazz anchoring the back-end.

3. “I’ve always dreamed of going to Syracuse, and I’ve always dreamed of playing in the NBA, and this is how I always envisioned it would happen,” Kaleb Joseph told ESPN’s Dave Telep after committing to the Orange this weekend.

Seems simple enough. In hindsight, Ed Cooley and staff did everything they could do to lure Joseph, and they came close in finishing in his final three, but this was an uphill battle made impossible when Syracuse convinced Joseph that he would see playing time behind, and alongside, now-freshman point guard Tyler Ennis.

4. Ben Bentil is visiting Providence in September. Bentil saw his stock dip a bit this past season, but after a strong AAU run he’s clearly on the radar of several high majors. He’ll also make trips to Miami (9/12) and Georgetown, and has already visited Temple according to Zagsblog.

Georgetown is thought to be in strong position for him, but like with Joseph at Syracuse, this one may come down to who else commits to the Hoyas. John Thompson III already has Brewster Academy PF Isaac Copeland coming, and they’re in pursuit of a number of forwards, including Paul White out of Chicago.

Miami has yet to land a power forward or center for 2014, but a lot of top 100 bigs are interested.

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