Friar Basketball
Home / Recruiting News / Recruiting Journal: Jan. 21

Recruiting Journal: Jan. 21

Temple Gibbs

Topics covered in this Recruiting Journal include a first look at 2017 Providence verbal Javon Taylor, thoughts from watching and interviewing a variety of top 100 players for CoxHub at last weekend’s HoopHall Classic, and an update on PC’s class of 2015.

HoopHall Saturday

The HoopHall Classic is heaven for recruiting junkies, with an absolutely loaded field of high school stars. I was in attendance on Saturday and spoke with 15 or so of the best prospects for CoxHub.

The top performance of Saturday belonged to UNLV commit Derrick Jones from Archbishop Carroll in Pennsylvania. Jones is ranked #27 nationally in ESPN’s recently updated top 100 of 2015 and tore apart then-#18 Simeon out of Chicago. The 6’7 lefty scored 17 of his 31 points in a decisive first quarter and finished the day with 31 points and 15 rebounds — attacking the offensive glass and paint against a bigger, deeper Simeon team featuring Illinois commit DJ Williams (#62 in 2015), Ed Morrow (#51/Nebraska) and top 2016 wing Zach Norvell. What made the upset more impressive was that Carroll was without 6’9 Temple commit Ernest Aflakpui, the former PC recruit who tore his ACL in practice in December and is out for the season.

Off camera Jones and I spoke of his battles with former Friar Brandon Austin. Austin and Jones faced off in the state championship two years ago when Jones was a sophomore, with Austin’s Imhotep team coming out on top for their third straight state championship. Jones is a much more physical player now, in the mold of fellow Philly wing Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and he looks set for stardom at UNLV. Jones is a freakish athlete (see video below) with an endless motor.

Roselle Catholic’s (NJ) stay in USA Today‘s top 25 ended after their showdown with DeMatha (MD). Roselle features Kentucky commit Isaiah Briscoe, and they entered the game ranked #2 nationally, but they were befuddled by a DeMatha team that was led by Markelle Fultz, a 6’5 junior who was on junior varsity just a season ago, but shared that he is already seeing interest from Georgetown, UConn, Kentucky and a number of other high major programs.

This one was over by halftime, as Roselle’s coach was ejected prior to the end of the first half and DeMatha ran way with it, 69-45. Former URI recruit and eventual South Carolina pledge Chris Silva was quiet for Roselle.

Rawle Alkins has been mentioned with the Friars in the past, but landing the now-top 30 2016 recruit is going to be a sizable challenge for Providence. The safer Tri-State area bet looks to be Temple Gibbs. Alkins struggled in Christ the King’s (NY) loss to Pittsburgh commit Mustapha Heron and Sacred Heart of Connecticut. Alkins has a college-ready body, but could not finish on Saturday.

Trenton Catholic (NJ) and Kinston High School (NC — Herb Hill’s high school) both feature top 20 2015 players in Malachi Richardson (Syracuse) and Brandon Ingram. Ingram looks to be at least 6’8 with tremendous range on his jump shot and the ability to handle and pass the ball. Kevin Durant-light. He’s a priority recruit for Kentucky and visited there in the fall, while Richardson will certainly help Syracuse put the ball in the basket — something they’ve had trouble doing this season. He’s an outstanding jump shooter. The two battled each other to a virtual standstill on Saturday.

Villanova commit Jalen Brunson has been on an absolute tear in January. His Stevenson High School group faced a sizable challenge against #1 Findlay Prep, a team featuring the best scoring guard in 2015 in Allonzo Trier (Arizona), top 60 Auburn bound big man Horace Spencer, the #30 junior in Justin Jackson (UNLV), and Derryck Thornton, a 2016 point guard that Rick Pitino is trying to convince to reclassify and run the show at Louisville next season if his guards decide to head to the NBA.

Findlay cruised against their undersized opponent, but Brunson has all of the makings of not just an All Big East Team player, but the Big East Player of the Year sooner rather than later. Known as a playmaking point guard, Brunson is just as lethal scoring with his hesitation dribble and terrific range beyond the 3-point arc. For my money, Brunson is a better point guard prospect than Briscoe. He’s going to be a star at Villanova.

BCD Struggles

My first viewing of Javon Taylor and Beaver Country Day School came at a bad time. They faced off against Hoosac (featuring Providence native and Bryant commit Marcel Pettway) at the Ballas TV Invitational and fell behind 18-0 before mounting a second half comeback that saw them cut the lead to single digits. They eventually fell 62-52.

Taylor was relatively quiet in this one, and BCD is now 6-4 on the season.

It will be interesting to see how Taylor grows both physically and skill-wise. He’s the son of a coach and both of his older brothers are D1 players — one standing 6’6 and the other 6’9.

ESPN’s Updated 2015

ESPN updated their 2015 rankings and there are no Friars on the list. Providence’s class has also dropped out of their top 40 class ranking as well.

Not to fret, Friar fans. All three of PC’s recruits: 6’8 Alex Owens, 6’8 Ryan Fazekas, and 6’3 Drew Edwards are given an “80” rating by ESPN, which puts them all on the cusp of a top 100 ranking. The players ranked #91-100 per ESPN were all given a rating of “81.”

Gibbs One to Watch

As mentioned above, Temple Gibbs of Seton Hall Prep is a 2016 recruit to keep an eye on. While the Friars often get mentioned on lists of top 40-50 players, there is legitimate interest from Gibbs, a 6’2 point guard ranked 39th nationally by ESPN.

Gibbs once again spoke highly of Ed Cooley in a Rivals article from this week, noting “I think Providence has a good program. Coach Cooley is showing that he can win with the talent he has. They had a good year last year, and they are on their way to doing it again this year. That’s one of the schools I’m really high on. I like the coaching staff and I could definitely see myself playing in that type of system.”

Twitter: Kevin_Farrahar

 

You must be logged in to post a comment Login