Category Archives: Recruiting News

Recruiting News

#pcbb Recruit Profile: Mamadou Diarra 2015 PF

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A new name on the recruiting trail for Friar fans is 6’9 Mamadou Diarra (2015 PF). He recently transferred to Putnam Science Academy in CT. PSA is a New England prep program on the rise. They previously sported PC recruit Dayshon Smith who is a freshman at Dayton this season. Prior to arriving at PSA, Diarra played at Believe Prep in SC, a school with some PC ties. Believe Prep has a couple 2015 PC recruits in Jared Wilson-Frame and Trae Jefferson and it is also where God Shammgod’s son played a post-grad year before moving on to Division II Fairmont State.

Diarra took an unofficial visit to Providence on Tuesday and took in the double OT thriller against Villanova at the Dunk.

According to Associate Head Coach at PSA, Josh Scraba, Diarra “is an explosive athlete that plays above the rim. [He’s an] active shot blocker and a very good rebounder [and has] good touch with range stretching to 15 feet. [He] prides himself on the defensive end and is very physical.” Diarra reportedly has a 7’2 wingspan.

On the AAU circuit, Diarra plays for Jay David and the NYC Jayhawks. Coach Jay also had high praise of Diarra describing him as “very athletic and long…he has a high ceiling.” Coach Jay also mentioned that he has “a serious feel for the ball. [He] chases rebounds outside of his area.” He finished by saying “he’s a great kid with a great head on his shoulders.” That sounds like the kind of guy Cooley would love.

Currently, Diarra has no official offers but he does have interest from Providence, Boston University, Quinnipiac, Manhattan and George Mason. Depending on how things go this season and next in terms of his recruiting, Diarra may opt to take a post-grad year but if he is able to harness his potential and polish his game this Spring and Summer, the offers may come pouring in for someone with his athletic ability, size, motor and high ceiling. This appears to be a classic case of Ed Cooley and his staff getting in on the ground floor of a kid who may very well be on high major radars in 6 months. The kid just needs to play more basketball and is getting that chance at PSA. The NYC Jayhawks also plan on playing in events with good exposure for their players including the Pittsburgh Jam Fest in April. Diarra appears on the verge of turning the interest into offers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=914ltiuzckY&feature=youtu.be

Recruiting News

Brewster vs. Tilton 4pm Today

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For those recruiting fanatics out there: Devonte Graham (2014), Donovan Mitchell (2015) and Brewster Academy take on Tilton today at 4pm. Link to watch the game live below.

Click Here to Watch Brewster vs. Tilton

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 2/14/14

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Recruiting News

2014 PG Recruit: Austin Tilghman #pcbb

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It seems like lately the Friars have seemingly had depth at the beginning of the season only to have that depth evaporate rapidly before their eyes. Last year it was Kris Dunn needing surgery then Vincent Council slipping on a silly court decal (since outlawed by the NCAA, thankfully). This year it was again Kris Dunn needing surgery and then the Austin/Bullock situation that led to both players being suspended for the entire school year and ultimately Brandon Austin deciding to move on to Oregon.

The “iron 6” has been pretty fun to watch in stretches this season but it appears they have been running on E the last few times out. Having some depth at the guard position would be very helpful right about now. It seems that Ed Cooley and his staff are doing their best to make sure there will be plenty of guard depth on next year’s roster.

One name that has surfaced over the last month or so is 2014 PG recruit, Austin Tilghman. Austin is a native of Middletown, DE and is a former high school and current AAU teammate of 2014 PC commit, Ben Bentil. One interesting note that I was not aware of before speaking with Austin is that he and Bentil are much more than teammates. Bentil lives with Tilghman. Bentil calls Austin’s mother, “Mom” and his father, “Dad”.

Bentil and Tilghman are brothers.
Continue reading 2014 PG Recruit: Austin Tilghman #pcbb →

Recruiting News

How Are The Recruits Playing? Tarin Smith #pcbb

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Tarin Smith scored 14 points in the win.

Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Long Island Lutheran 4 20 9 13 46
St. Anthony 6 10 17 17 50

St. Anthony improved to 14-4 on the season.

Recruiting News

How Are The Recruits Playing? Paschal Chukwu #pcbb

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Pascal Chukwu scored 20 points in the win.

Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Fairfield Prep 19 25 17 17 78
Xavier 13 15 8 27 63

Fairfield Prep improved to 17-0 on the season.

Recruiting News

ESPN Recruiting Nation – Roundtable: Non-top 50 impact players #pcbb

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Interesting piece on those members of the 2014 class that are currently outside the top 50 in the rankings that will have an impact immediately next season at their respective schools. Contributions in the article are from ESPN’s Recruiting Nation staff of Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein, Joel Francisco, Reggie Rankin and John Stovall:

Freshmen have been the talk of this college basketball season, and while the likes ofAndrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, and Julius Randle have all been as good as advertised, there have certainly been plenty of surprises as well.

Tyler Ennis rose up the rankings to the No. 20 spot in the final ESPN 100 of 2013, but few could have predicted that he would this good this early for Syracuse.

Then there are those like Texas’ Isaiah Taylor, Kansas State’s Marcus Foster, and Villanova’s Josh Hart, freshmen who have exceeded the prevailing expectations at the time of their signings and have made an immediate impact.

In some cases, these contributions can be more predictable than others, such as when there is an immediate opportunity or a particularly good fit with the program’s style of play. With that in mind, we asked our team of RecruitingNation experts to look ahead and identify one current ESPN 100 prospect outside of the top 50 who they believe can make a notable immediate contribution.

Reggie Rankin: I think center Paschal Chukwu (Westport, Conn./Fairfield College Prep), a Providence signee, will be a player outside of the top 50 that will make an immediate impact next season as a college freshman. The No. 61 player brings Friars coach Ed Cooley an immediate rim protector on the defensive end of the floor with his length. The 7-foot-1 Chukwu’s mobility and shot-block timing on or away from the ball is a thing of beauty. He is also a very active and productive rebounder. His defense is clearly ahead of his offense, but Chukwu will develop his already soft touch once he arrives on the Providence campus. Adding strength should be at the top of his to-do list in addition to his offensive development, but make no mistake about it: Chukwu will make opponents think twice about challenging him at the rim.

http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/ncbrecruiting/on-the-trail/post?id=8533