Tag Archives: Jamfest

Recruiting News

#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/16/14

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Another weekend of competition where coaches cannot observe but that hasn’t stopped them from offering a lot of players. You’ll see below the guys that PC has offered lately. Nike EYBL continues action for the 2nd weekend in a row with Session #3 in Hampton, VA on route to the Peach Jam in mid-July. The Adidas Gauntlet picks up where it left off in the April live period with session #2 in Indianapolis this weekend. PC is heavily involved with many elite players that are playing in both the Nike EYBL and the Adidas Gauntlet. Those two AAU circuits are widely considered to be the two best in terms of talent and organization. Here are all of the events this weekend courtesy of CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello:

May 16-18

May 17-18

  • Other big news from last weekend is that the Friars never got Larry Austin on campus due to a death in his family. He then committed to Chris Mack and Xavier on Saturday so that’s another 2014 guard off the Friars Big Board.

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Links of the Day

#pcbb Links of the Day 5/13/14

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  • FriarBasketball.com – Craig Leighton – Live from RIC: The Providence Jamfest
  • ESPN – Adam Finkelstein – Class of 2014’s best shot-blockers

    • 3. Paschal Chukwu, Providence

    Chukwu is going to have the biggest adjustment of any player on this list when it comes to the level of competition, but his ability to block and changes shots at the rim will be his most immediate impact at Providence. He’s very aggressive patrolling the paint from the weak side, but he also utilizes his shot-blocking prowess to make up for his current lack of strength when defending the ball on the block. While he’s going to need to get stronger, he has an ability to utilize his size and length in order to recover with a block — even when pushed farther under the rim than he would ideally like.

  • West Coast Convo – Josh Horton – Former Friar Gerard Coleman to Transfer from Gonzaga
  • USCHO.com – With Connecticut joining the fray, Hockey East revamps its playoff format

    • Recruiting News

    #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/9/14

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    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:

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    Recruiting News

    #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/2/14

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    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.

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    Recruiting News

    #pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/25/14

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    • 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.

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