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McDonald's Nuggets: Bruce Pearl raids Georgia, USC's surge, more

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl
Auburn coach Bruce Pearl (Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports)

This week’s Nuggets covers the impact of the extended dead period, Bruce Pearl making a move on another Georgia prospect, USC’s big week and huge late additions for Alabama and Rutgers.


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2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position

2022 Rankings: Top 75

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WHAT’S ON MY MIND: Impact of COVID-19 Dead Period

On Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA announced it has extended the current recruiting dead period through the end of May. From a basketball standpoint, this is a really big deal that has made it tricky for programs still looking to piece together next season’s roster.

The dead period means no prospects can take visits, official or unofficial, and no coaches can go on the road to evaluate players or do home visits. Coaches can still call, text, e-mail, direct message, FaceTime, Skype and reach out to players in any other way they want. Because of the extended dead period, we have seen and will continue to see unsigned seniors and college transfers make decisions without stepping foot on the school’s campus and without ever meeting the coaching staff in person. That can lead to all sorts of issues.

When the dead period ends, it’s going to be absolute madness. For schools with scholarships still open, it’s going to be a combination of trying to finalize a roster for the upcoming season and trying to figure out which prospects to recruit in the 2021 class.

The 2021 class will certainly feel the impact from this dead period as well. There were several prospects who not only could have used the next couple months to get their name on college recruiting boards, but it’s also a time when these prospects could be going on visits to help toward an eventual decision.

For prospects who have already collected tons of scholarship offers, this isn’t going to be a huge problem in the long run. For those that needed live periods this summer to earn scholarship offers, I hope they are doing whatever they can to stay in shape and tighten up their games because they might only get a couple weekends in July at most to impress coaches prior to their senior season.

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RECRUITING NOTE: Bruce Pearl going back into Georgia?

Dylan Cardwell
Dylan Cardwell (Jon Lopez/Nike @NikeEYB)

Bruce Pearl has made a living in his time at Tennessee and now at Auburn taking really talented players out of Georgia. The Tigers inked five-star point guard Sharife Cooper during the early signing period and it appears they are going to make a move for his McEachern High School and AOT teammate Dylan Cardwell after Auburn missed on Clifford Omoruyi earlier this week.

Along with Cooper, Pearl and his staff signed Isaac Okoro out of the same high school and travel program. He has strong ties to the programs and Cardwell has family ties to Auburn. I’d go as far as to call them the team to beat going forward, which is why I put in a FutureCast pick for the Tigers. Cardwell took visits to Georgia, Miami, Tennessee and Vanderbilt back during football season.

SHARE YOU THOUGHTS WITH AUBURN FANS AT AUBURNSPORTS.COM

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TEAM OF THE WEEK: Momentum on USC’s side

Malik Thomas
Malik Thomas (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

No program has had a more impressive recruiting run lately than USC. In the past few weeks, the Trojans first added a commitment from three-star center Boubacar Coulibaly to fill a need in the frontcourt. With scholarships still to fill, Andy Enfield’s staff didn’t stop there.

Earlier this week, Wofford transfer big man Chevez Goodwin chose the Trojans and bolsters an already impressive frontcourt. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game this season. To replace the transfer of Kyle Sturdivant, USC added Santa Clara transfer point guard Tahj Eaddy to push for playing time with Ethan Anderson. Isaiah White, a 6-foot-7 wing who averaged 14.5 points per game at Utah Valley this year, will also be joining the Trojans.

USC also jumped out to a nice start in the 2021 class. Reese Dixon-Waters, a four-star point guard ranked No. 45 overall in the 2021 Rivals150, started it off and was joined last week four-star combo guard Malik Thomas, who ranks No. 87 overall.

And lastly, The Trojans remain in the mix to add a pair of five-stars still in the 2020 class. Over the past month or so, USC has started to become the favorite to land five-star small forward Ziaire Williams, who is also considering Arizona. On Wednesday, five-star shooting guard Josh Christopher revised his top five to now include the Trojans along with Arizona State, Michigan, Missouri and UCLA. Michigan has been considered the favorite, but it’s an interesting development to see him tweak his list.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT TROJANSPORTS.COM

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COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Tough call between Alabama and Rutgers

Josh Primo
Josh Primo (Courtesy of FIBA)

Alabama added a big commitment earlier this week from four-star shooting guard Josh Primo out of Toronto. That news is significant for the Crimson Tide with both Kira Lewis and John Petty declaring for the NBA Draft, although both are keeping their options open to return. Nonetheless, Primo is a big recruiting win for Nate Oats. While not necessarily a true point guard, look for him to help replace a lot of the production Alabama could potentially lose with Lewis going pro.

Rutgers has been steadily improving under head Steve Pikiell and was headed toward possibly earning an NCAA Tournament invite this season before the coronavirus pandemic struck. The next step for his program was to show it could win a high-level recruiting battle.

The Scarlet Knights did just that by beating out Arizona State and Auburn among several others for four-star center Clifford Omoruyi earlier this week. It’s a huge win off the court, but it will pay big dividends on the court as well. Omoruyi looks to break the rim every single time he gets the ball in the paint and he’s a true rim protector. He’s an interior enforcer and will make a big impact for Rutgers.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH ALABAMA FANS AT BAMAINSIDER.COM

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH RUTGERS FANS AT THEKNIGHTREPORT.COM

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