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:
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.
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).
The regional game of the Jordan Brand Classic will be held at the Barclay’s Center on Friday, April 18th at 4:30pm. The rosters for each team include some former PC targets like Abdul-Malik Abu (NC State), Terry Larrier (VCU), Marial Shayok (Marquette) and Jared Terrell (Oklahoma State).