McDonald's Nuggets: 2021 class; Kowacie Reeves; more
Dan McDonald is back with his weekend primer, McDonald's Nuggets. This week's edition addresses the fascinating 2021 class, the recruitment of Kowacie Reeves and the Commit of the Week.
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GREEN CHOOSES G LEAGUE: Reaction from coaches, players | Analysis of decision | Sources tell Rivals contract is worth $500,000 | Reaction from Yahoo Sports
2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
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WHAT’S ON MY MIND: The 2021 class will be fascinating to follow
I’ve been covering hoops recruiting for 11 years now, and I’ve never been as curious about how the upcoming year will play out as I am with the 2021 class – for three reasons.
Let’s start with what’s currently going in our country and around the world. The 2021 class is already being hurt by the lack of live periods in April. At this point, who knows what will happen with the two weekends in June, when coaches can be out for high school events run by the states, as well as the July recruiting weekends? More than ever, those weekends are really important. Coaches now spend so much time during the season and in the spring recruiting for the upcoming season with all the roster movement in the sport. Most head coaches have not spent a ton of time going out to evaluate prospects in the 2021 class to this point, so this really hurts prospects who were hoping to see their recruitment take off during the next few months when coaches finally prioritize them.
It’s looking more and more like the one-time free transfer rule will be passing for the 2021-22 season. In other words, student-athletes will likely be able to transfer without sitting out a season like they would have to under the current rules without a waiver or graduating first. How does this relate to the 2021 class? Coaches now need to balance whether they take a high school senior during the Early Signing Period or wait until the spring to see who ends up in the transfer portal. The upside of the transfer route is not only do you get an older player with experience, but the player is now locked in because he used his one transfer. That high school senior could sign with the school but be out after year for whatever reason. Because of the lack of live periods and the new transfer rule likely coming in, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if we see a much lower number of prospects in the Rivals150 sign during the Early Signing Period in November.
And lastly, it looks like the NBA is going to be more aggressive in trying to sign top high school talent to its G League program. How does this change the way coaches recruit top players? Do coaches start to back off certain five-star prospects, particularly the very top prospects? Or is it business as usual?
The next 12 months in basketball recruiting are going to absolutely fascinating.
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RECRUITING NOTE: Kowacie Reeves is down to six. A decision soon?
Four-star shooting guard Kowacie Reeves announced a top six earlier this week, and there were no surprises. Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Stanford and Tennessee made the cut for the Georgia native in the 2021 class.
My most educated guess as of today is that the Gators are in the best shape to receive his commitment. Mike White was the first coach to offer him a scholarship, and his staff has been the most consistent from the beginning. Stanford is the biggest threat here. Academics are a big deal in the Reeves family and his official visit to Palo Alto put the Cardinal squarely in the mix here. Distance will be the biggest hurdle for Jerod Haase’s Stanford program to overcome.
If there is a wildcard in the mix, Georgia Tech has come on really strong in the past six months. Reeves was in McCamish Pavilion to see the Yellow Jackets knock off Louisville, and that only helped Josh Pastner’s chances – but it’s still an uphill battle. Tennessee had an official visit set up in March, but a family emergency caused him to cancel and it doesn’t appear the Volunteers are a real player here any longer.
Expect a decision within the next month.
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COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Ziaire Williams to Stanford
Ziaire Williams surprised a lot of people earlier this week by choosing Stanford over the perceived favorites Arizona and USC. That was by far Jerod Haase’s biggest recruiting win since taking over the program. The long, athletic 6-foot-8 wing gives the Cardinal a real chance to make a move up the Pac-12 standings next year.
What will be interesting to follow is how long Williams stays in college. Typically, a five-star prospect ranked where he is takes off for the NBA after a year, but prospects like Williams don’t generally choose a school as tough academically as Stanford. Maybe Haase gets a second year out of his big recruiting prize.