Tag Archives: 2014

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/9/14

Leave a comment

This weekend is another in which college coaches are not allowed to be on the road evaluating players but there will still be a lot of high major talent playing. The most notable tournament of the weekend will be the Nike EYBL Session #2 in Dallas. There are other tournaments with PC recruits this weekend including the Hoop Group Providence Jamfest and the Wallace Prather Memorial Classic which is hosted by the Atlanta Celtics who feature two 2016 PC recruits in Braxton Blackwell and Joshua Langford. Here are all of the events this weekend courtesy of CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello:

May 9-11

May 10-11

Other big news for this weekend is that the Friars will have a 2014 PG recruit on campus. Larry Austin, the former Tennessee commit, visited Xavier last weekend and will take in Friartown this weekend. Craig Belhumeur at FriarBasketball.com spoke to LA’s high school coach, Blake Turner, who told him that a visit to Cal, where former Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin was just hired, is still in the cards at a later date. Another source told me that Austin may also visit Kansas State but Turner told me that visit is “possible, but not 100% confirmed.” You just never know with 18 year olds but Larry, his coaches and his family have been methodical since he got his release from the Volunteers so my gut tells me he will consider all options carefully and I believe it’s likely he takes all of his scheduled visits before deciding. For those that have been asking for some video on Larry Austin, enjoy below:

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/9/14 →

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/2/14

1 Comment

Last weekend was a massively important weekend for recruits and coaches alike because it was the only live evaluation period that coaches can attend until the 3 that are in July. For some players, they were the ones that needed to make an impression and get noticed by a coach. For other players, it was more about a coach making an impression and being noticed in the stands by that player. Unfortunately the timing of the end of the season banquet in Providence kept head coach, Ed Cooley off the road last weekend but his assistants were out in full force spread all across the country. To that end, I’ve added a new feature to this site. You can find the link at on the left side of the top menu. It’s called “Where is Ed Cooley and the staff?” and it has a map of the USA with markers to indicate a coach being on the road somewhere. Check it out and give me your feedback. As for where the assistants were during the only live period of April: Andre LaFleur was out in Sacramento for the EYBL Session #1, Bob Simon was in Dallas for the Adidas Gauntlet and Brian Blaney was in Pittsburgh for the Hoop Group Jamfest. Here is a list of events that will be happening this upcoming weekend even. Even though coaches can’t be there, the media and scouting services still can so there will be plenty of updates next Friday. List courtesy of Jeff Borzello at CBSSports.com:

Before I get into last weekend’s AAU action, there is some more immediate recruiting going on for the class of 2014.

  • 2014 PG Larry Austin will visit Xavier this weekend but Providence is strongly in the mix and Austin will take an official visit next weekend to Friartown.

  • Wednesday, 2014 PG Devonte’ Graham cut his list down to 2 schools, Kansas and NC State. On Friday he committed to Kansas.

https://twitter.com/im_dat_kid_dtae/status/461534464498487296

  • On Thursday, 2014 PG Shelton Mitchell got his release from his NLI with Wake Forest. His former lead recruiter was Jeff Battle who is a good friend of Ed Cooley’s I would expect to see PC mentioned with Mitchell.

  • Also on Thursday, it was announced that Kansas PG Naadir Tharpe would be seeking to transfer closer to home because of some medical issues with his daughter.

  • Last Friday Jared Terrell getting his release from his NLI with Oklahoma State became official. The 2014 SG is said to want to be closer to home and the 3 schools expected to be involved were Boston College, Providence and URI. Rumors are that Terrell will visit PC and BC next week and make a decision. My guess is Boston College gets him because of Preston Murphy taking an assistant position with the Eagles on new coach, Jim Christian’s staff.

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/2/14 →

Recruiting News

BREAKING: 2014 PG Devonte Graham Cuts List to Two

1 Comment

Devonte’ Graham’s situation became a bit of a national story when former Appalachian State coach, Jason Capel, refused to release Graham from his National Letter of Intent. Graham enrolled at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire instead of the college in North Carolina. The main reason that was rumored as why Capel refused to release Graham is because he believed NC State had tampered with Graham after he signed with App State. Capel got axed after a disappointing 9-21 season and new coach, Jim Fox gave Graham his full release on April 9th. After listing a final 5 of Kansas, NC State, Providence, Virginia and Virginia Tech, Graham visited Kansas, NC State and Virginia. He didn’t commit to any of those three and it was rumored that he and his mom were trying to set up visits with PC and Virginia Tech but that now seems to be a mute point. Graham tweeted this earlier:

https://twitter.com/im_dat_kid_dtae/status/461534464498487296

It now appears even more likely that NC State, the place where tampering was rumored to have occurred, will be his destination. It will become a total lock if Myles Turner announces he is going to Kansas at 4pm today because the Jayhawks only have 1 open scholarship and they want Turner more than Graham. I don’t think NC State will be a surprise to most people involved as rumors of them being a lock started soon after he was granted his release. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a commitment announcement in the next day or two depending on what Myles Turner says today. This also puts to rest the rumors of a Graham/Terrell package deal to Providence.

Follow me on Twitter: @pcbb1917

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/25/14

1 Comment
  • This is a huge weekend for recruiting as it is the only weekend in April that college coaches can attend events and there are a number of high profile events for them to attend. The Nike EYBL, widely considered the top AAU league in the country, has Session #1 this weekend in Sacramento. Because of the recruiting calendar, coaches won’t be able to attend Sessions 2-4 so the next time coaches are allowed to watch the EYBL is the Peach Jam in mid July. This means that if your team is playing in the EYBL, you better be playing and playing well this weekend in Sacramento or you might just fall between the cracks until July. There are also a number of other events and PC recruits are playing at many of them. Here is a list provided by CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello:
    1. Nike EYBL Session #1 (Sacramento, CA)
    2. Adidas Gauntlet #1 (Dallas, TX)
    3. UA Pittsburgh Jam Fest (Pittsburgh, PA)
    4. UA Jayhawk Invitational (Olathe, KS)
    5. Gulf Coast Hoop Fest (Biloxi, MS)
    6. All-America Availables JUCO Showcase (Dallas, TX)
    7. Double Pump Hoop Fest (Anaheim, CA)
    8. Pangos Spring Spectacular (Las Vegas, NV)
    9. Kingwood Classic (Spring, TX)
    10. Las Vegas Tip Off Classic (Las Vegas, NV)
    11. Southern Exposure Showcase (North Augusta, SC)
    12. Adidas Spring Classic (Indianapolis, IN)
    13. Nor Cal Spring Showcase (Sacramento, CA)
    14. Nike Spring Showdown (Romeoville, IL)
  • ICYMI – Rivals.com released their final Top 150 for the Class Of 2014 yesterday. 3 of PC’s 4 commits are on the list: #61 Paschal Chukwu, #69 Jalen Lindsey and #89 Ben Bentil. When I asked Eric Bossi for his thoughts on those 3, he said the following:

In brief Chukwu is a long term stock. Love his mobility and ability to rebound and protect the rim. Has to get stronger. Lindsey has all of the physical tools that you could want. But, the motor and production have got to be more consistent. Bentil, would blossom and likely outplay his ranking if he accepts being an energy guy, a grinder and dude who saves possessions on the glass.


But, I would imagine Providence fans have to feel pretty good about the level of talent that is coming into the program.

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/25/14 →

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/18/14

1 Comment
  • 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).

https://twitter.com/im_dat_kid_dtae/status/456243835048587265

 

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/18/14 →

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/11/14

Leave a comment
  • 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.

2014 PG Kyron Cartwright Commits to Providence

Quotes from New 2014 PC Commit Kyron Cartwright

  • 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.

https://twitter.com/im_dat_kid_dtae/status/453971383832559616

Continue reading #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/11/14 →

Recruiting News

BREAKING: 2014 PG Kyron Cartwright Commits to Providence #pcbb

2 Comments

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.

Continue reading BREAKING: 2014 PG Kyron Cartwright Commits to Providence #pcbb →