The Northeast Hoops Festival was played last weekend in Hanover, MA. ESPN’s Adam Finkelstein recapped the event and mentioned a few PC recruits that were there. On 2015 Cheick Diallo: “[the] combination of sheer size and talent is obviously staggering, but equally impressive is the…motor..as..[he] play[s] tremendously hard on both ends of the floor.” On 2015 Jarred Reuter: “This was as good as Brewster Academy and New England Playaz big man Jarred Reuter has looked in quite some time. He logged major minutes to showcase his improved conditioning, was as assertive as he’s ever been going to the rim and seems to be figuring out how to best utilize his wide and powerful frame to create space and cause mismatch problems.” On 2017 Makai Ashton-Langford: “recently reclassified Makai Ashton-Langford (Mass Rivals) solidified [himself] as [one] of the best point guard prospects the Northeast region has in the 2017 class.” On 2017 Tomas Murphy: “ew England Playaz forward Tomas Murphy wasn’t necessarily at his best after missing time during the high school season with injury, but there wasn’t another ninth-grader who made as many plays that translate to the next level, as he combined jump hooks over both shoulders with rhythm 3s.”
The So-Cal Hoop Review was played last weekend. ESPN’s Joel Francisco mentions some of the elite players in the field. PC recruit 2015 Bennie Boatwright is mentioned under the “Best Shooters” category by Francisco:
Bennie Boatwright 2015, PF, 6-8, 210 pounds
Boatwright is a gawky 4 who is still growing and could reach 6-10. His jump shot is smooth and his range is around 25 feet. He isn’t overly bouncy or quick and he struggles handling the ball against pressure. In addition, he needs to learn to affect the game more consistently in rebounding and defense.
Paschal Chukwu will be playing in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional game today at 4:30pm at the Barclays Center. To see the full roster of players in this game, click here. There are a good amount of future Big East players that will play so if you are in the area, it might be worthwhile to skip out of work and head to the Barclays Center for this one.
Kyron Cartwright is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent with PC today.. The Spring signing period began on April 16th and goes through May 21st.
Devonte Graham has named his final 5 and PC made the cut. He has scheduled 3 visits already and he hasn’t been clear on whether he will take all 5 visits. It looks like NC State will be tough to beat but I’ll never count Ed Cooley out. The visits that are planned so far are to Kansas (April 18-19), N.C. State (April 20-21) and Virginia (April 25-26).
PC received some good recruiting news minutes after the final buzzer sounded in Dallas on the 2013-2014 season Monday night – Kyron Cartwright announced he was going to be a Friar next season. His commitment adds more depth to the point guard position for PC next season. Kris Dunn was the only point guard on the roster and coming off a second shoulder surgery it was crucial for Ed Cooley to have some insurance. To read more about Cartwright’s commitment and some quotes from him, click the links below.
More interesting recruiting news came about on Tuesday this week when coveted 2014 point guard Devonte’ Graham announced on Twitter that he got a release from his National Letter of Intent to App State by new coach, Jim Fox. Graham is now officially one of the best available players left on the board in 2014 after having a break out year under Jason Smith at Brewster Academy. A number of high majors are involved and have already spoken to Graham since his release. Thursday night had Cooley joined by Nebraska’s Tim Miles and Virginia’s Tony Bennett at Brewster for a workout. Friday it will be Kansas’ Bill Self along with coaches from Cincinnati, Florida and Virginia Tech. Graham would be a great fit at PC because of his shooting and playmaking abilities but the competition is obviously stiff. Ed Cooley and Providence has a legit chance with Graham and will likely be one of the teams on his final list before deciding.
This means the floodgates will open for the young man who is the best point guard available for the Class of 2014. The competition will be stiff for the Friars but Ed Cooley is a fixture at Brewster already as he is recruiting 2015 Donovan Mitchell and he and Brewster coach Jason Smith have a good relationship. Cooley will be joined by Virginia’s Tony Bennett and Nebraska’s Tim Miles on Thursday when the trio of high major head men will finally be able to interact with Graham now that he is released. Kansas’ Bill Self will be at Brewster on Friday. The reason coaches aren’t already at Brewster is because the current recruiting calendar has us on the tail end of a dead period which means no on campus or off campus in person contact. The dead period ends at 12pm Thursday.
12:01pm April 10th begins the Devonte’ Graham period for a host of schools.
“I liked it; I liked the coaching staff and the players a lot.”
“They made a good impression on me right away.”
“I liked the campus. It’s not too big and not too small. The people there are really nice and it’s a good environment. They’ve very supportive.”
“They see me coming in during the summer and getting better,” he said. “I probably won’t play much at the beginning of the season but once I get used to it and gain experience I’ll be playing a lot more.”
“I think I bring a competitive nature, one they already have,” Cartwright said. “I’ll be really good in transition. I’m really happy”
Kyron Cartwright spent the weekend of March 28th-30th in Providence on an official visit and gave Ed Cooley his pledge after returning to the West Coast and thinking it over. Cartwright was granted his release from Loyola Marymount after head coach, Max Good was let go.
Cartwright is a 5’11 165 lb left handed lead guard from Compton, CA who will join the Friars 2014 recruiting class and add much needed depth to the point guard position. With the graduation of Bryce Cotton, the only point guard on the roster for 2014-2015 was going to be Kris Dunn coming off a 2nd surgery on his right shoulder so it was no surprise that Ed Cooley indicated they would be looking to add 2 guards for next season. Cartwright will not be eligible to sign a National Letter of Intent because he had previously signed one with Loyola Marymount. He will likely sign some kind of athletic aid agreement with Providence.
2015 C Trevor Manuel and his Oak Hill Academy team will play for the DICK’s Sporting Goods HS National Championship today at 12pm at Madison Square Garden. Oak Hill will play Montverde Academy who beat Jalen Lindsey’s Huntington Prep squad last night in the semifinals.
Manuel is the 50th ranked player in the Class of 2015 according to ESPN and 54th ranked by Rivals.com. The Lansing, MI product has offers from Eastern Michigan, Michigan State, NC State, Providence and Wake Forest.
Strengths:
Trevor is an extremely skilled and long forward who is more of a 4-man now but with definite small forward potential. He can handle it, pass it and shoot it. He has the ability to play the 3, 4 or 5 right now. He’s only going to get better.
Weaknesses:
Despite all the talent, Trevor tends to disappear at times during games. He needs to increase his motor and be more assertive and aggressive on the floor.
Bottom Line:
Overall Trevor has some of the most upside of anyone in the 2015 class. As he learns to take over games and get his motor going full time he will become special. He’ll have his pick of colleges.
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