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15 in 40: Recruiting Watchlist

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In the third edition of FriarBasketball.com’s annual “15 in 40″ series, Craig Leighton provides an update on PC’s recruiting prospects for the 2015, 2916, and 2017 classes.

The “15 in 40″ series is a collection of 15 story lines in the 40 days leading up to the 2014-15 season. 

’15 Foundation in Place

The Friars are off to a solid start for 2015 as they already have three ESPN four star players committed. Alex Owens, Drew Edwards, and Ryan Fazekas ensure that the Friars will have another solid recruiting class. Look for PC to add at least one more guard, possibly two. Below are capsule summaries of three of the highest rated guards that the Friar coaching staff is still recruiting:

Justin Robinson, 6’1 PG, St. James School (VA) Robinson is the highest rated point guard that the Friars are still recruiting and he spent this past weekend on his official visit to Providence. He has a final four list of Virginia Tech, Maryland, UNLV, and the Friars. Justin is a solid floor general with a nice outside shot and high basketball IQ. He also gets after it on the defensive end. Expect Robinson to make a decision close to the start of the early signing period in November, as he is going to take official visits to all of his final choices.

LeGerald Vick, 6’5 SG, Douglas High School (TN) LeGerald is an under the radar shooting guard out of Memphis who is getting a lot of high major attention. He is an explosive athlete with a high motor who has a very good outside shot. Other schools involved with Vick include Arkansas, Cincinnati, and Florida State. He is taking an official visit to Providence next weekend. Don’t be shocked if he commits shortly afterwards as he is very high on the Friars.

Davon Dillard, 6’5 SG-SF, La Porte High School (IN) Davon is currently ranked 94th in the country by ESPN (17th best small forward in country for the 2015 class). Purdue, California, Creighton, Iowa, and Pittsburgh are some of the other schools interested in Dillard. A great athlete, Davon is probably more of a small forward at this point in his career.

High Potential in 2016

PC is already seriously involved with several top players in the country in the 2016 class. The Friars will probably have two or three scholarships available for this class, although more could open up through transfers and players leaving early. Listed below are capsule summaries of just a few of the top players that the Friars are recruiting in the class of 2016. This is by no means an all inclusive list.

Jordy Tshimanga, 6’10 C, The MacDuffie School (MA) Jordy held his own last month in a head to head matchup with future Friar Alex Owens at the Providence College Elite Camp. He is a classic wide-bodied big man and has good instincts for the game to go along with soft hands and a decent shooting touch. He cannot be moved out of the low post and is a good positional defender and shot blocker. Look for the Friars to get very seriously involved with Jordy over the next couple of seasons.

Braxton Blackwell, 6’8 SF, Christ Presbyterian (TN) Ed Cooley has been recruiting Braxton ever since he first went down to Tennessee to recruit Blackwell’s teammate, Jalen Lindsey, a couple of years ago. Braxton has all the tools to be a truly elite player and is currently ranked by ESPN an the 30th best player in the class of 2016. The Friar staff continues to recruit him hard even though all of the blue blood schools are now becoming actively involved in Blackwell’s recruitment. Ed Cooley and Bob Simon went down to Tennessee to visit Braxton last week during an open gym.

Josh Langford, 6’6 SG, Madison Academy (AL) Josh is currently rannked as the 13th best player in the 2016 class by ESPN. He may be potentially the best scorer in the class of 2016 and cannot be stopped when he takes it to the basket. If he improves his outside shooting he will be an elite talent at the next level. Josh has expressed an interest in PC and the Friar staff recently went to see him at his high school’s open gym in Alabama.

Bruce Brown, 6’3 SG, Vermont Academy Bruce had a very productive summer playing for BABC on the EYBL circuit. As a result, he has moved up in the rankings to 55th in the country in the ESPN 2016 Super 60. Brown is an athletic shooting guard who excels at taking the ball to the basket. Bruce is playing in the NEPSAC at Vermont Academy so the Friar staff will have plenty of opportunities to develop a relationship with Bowen over the next couple of years.

Rawle Alkins, 6’4 SF, Christ the King (NY) Currently the 35th ranked player in the class of 2016 by ESPN, Rawle is one of the best athletes in high school basketball and cannot be stopped when driving to the basket. As his peers catch up physically Rawle will have to develop more basketball skills including a consistent outside shot and court awareness. The Friars have offered and would love to bring this Brooklyn native into the Friar program.

The 2017 Class

2017 could be a huge year for Friar recruiting as the talent available locally in New England in 2017 is off the charts. There could be as many as 10 or more ESPN Top 100 prospects coming from New England by the time the 2017 class graduates. Getting a couple of these players to stay local and play for the Friars would be another major step in turning PC into a national program. Listed below are capsule summaries of just a few of these players.

Javon Taylor, 6’3 PG, Beaver Country Day (MA) Javon surprised a few people when he committed to the Friars during the PC Elite Camp last month. In order to take a commitment from a player so early you can be assured that the PC coaching staff really loves Javon’s long term potential. Right now Taylor has a combination of size, length, ball-handling, and court vision that is very uncommon at this early stage of his development.

Tomas Murphy, 6’8 PF, Northfield Mount Hermon A native Rhode Islander, Tomas is the youngest of the three basketball playing Murphy brothers. He is currently ranked 24th in the country in the 2017 class by ESPN. Tomas has super soft hands, great dexterity, and feathery touch around the rim. Florida could wind up being the team to beat for his services even though the Murphy family has a very good relationship with Ed Cooley.

Jermaine Samuels, 6’6 SF, The Rivers School (MA) Jermaine is a a highly talented young player with the physical tools and natural instincts that make him one of the top scorers in the class of 2017. Currently ranked as the 20th best player in the class of 2017 by ESPN, he could wind up being one of the top 10 players in the class by his senior year. It is very important that the Friars continue to develop a good relationship with Jermaine over the next couple of years.

Other names to watch in this loaded 2017 class in New England include:

  • Tremont Waters, 5;9 PG, South Kent (CT)
  • Kimani Lawrence, 6;6 SF, Cushing Academy (MA)
  • Jerome Derosiers, 6’6 SF, Northfield Mount Hermon
  • Jarrod Simmons, 6’6 PF, Cushing Academy (MA)
  • Hassahn French, 6’6 PF, Commonwealth Academy
  • Justin Mazulla, 6’2 SG, Bishop Hendricken (RI)
  • Makai Ashton-Langford, 6’1 PG, Cushing Academy
  • Jordan Hardwick, 6’7 PF, Commonwealth Academy

 

Email Craig: Craig.Leighton@friarbasketball.com

Follow Craig: @CraigL78

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