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Brown tops list of undecided Rivals150 prospects

The first day of the early signing period is here and the majority of players
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ranked inside of the 2015 Rivals150 have made their decisions and will put pen
to paper over the next week. However, as of Wednesday morning, 25 of the top 150
have yet to make their decision. Of that group, half of them -- led by the
nation's second ranked player Jaylen Brown -- rank amongst the top 19
players in the country.
Who will decide early? Who will wait? Here's a look at where each of the
undecided players in the Rivals150 recruitment stands as the early signing
period starts.
SF
Jaylen Brown (No. 2): The five-star wing has made it clear that he will
wait until the spring to make his choice. Kansas, Kentucky and
UCLA have all received official visits and are generally considered the
three favorites. Georgia Tech and Georgia are also in the mix
with programs like Michigan and North Carolina trying to make
some headway.
SG
Malik Newman (No. 3): The top shooting guard in the country, Newman is
another big timer who is expected to wait. He's been on the campuses of
Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and
Texas A&M. The only finalist who has yet to receive a visit is Kansas and they
should get one during the winter. His recruitment has been a tough one to call,
but latest whispers have UK in good shape.
C
Skal Labissiere (No. 4): A big time interior player who has face-up
skills, Labissiere will make his decision on Thursday. He visited
Baylor, Georgetown, Kentucky, Memphis,
North Carolina and Tennessee. Memphis was considered the team to beat
for a while but this one looks like it has shifted towards Kentucky.
C
Diamond Stone (No. 5): The skilled five-star big man had
announced that he would decide on Nov. 21 -- which is two days after the early
signing period ends -- but that is now up in the air. Connecticut,
Maryland, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin. OSU could be
a darkhorse here but it would be a surprise if Stone doesn't pick either UConn
or the home state Badgers.
PF
Cheick Diallo (No. 6): Although he has used all of his official visits,
the high energy big man is going to wait until the spring to make his choice.
His final four are Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky and St. John's but this
one is currently too close to call anybody a leader or favorite.
PF
Ivan Rabb (No. 7): The athletic big man from California is
also waiting until the spring. He has only visited Kentucky officially while
Arizona, California, Kansas and UCLA are also involved. There
has been a surge by Cal under new coach Cuonzo Martin but Rabb is
another who looks to be pretty wide open at this point.
PG
Isaiah Briscoe (No. 9): Like Labissiere, the nation's best
point guard will be announcing his final destination on Thursday. A physical
scorer, Briscoe is down to UConn, Kentucky and St. John's. The Huskies appear to
be out and for now it looks like St. John's could hold a slight edge over the
Wildcats.
C
Stephen Zimmerman (No. 10): Yet another big time big man who
currently has no plans to sign early, Zimmerman has taken official visits to Arizona,
Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA while stopping by hometown UNLV unofficially.
He had planned to perhaps take a fifth official visit to North Carolina in te spring but will instead be back to see UNLV officially this weekend. Will he still need to wait until the spring to decide? Could UNLV end up holding serve against the blue bloods? Things are getting very interesting with Zimmerman.
SG
Antonio Blakeney (No. 13): Once committed to
Louisville, the five-star scorer has visited Kentucky, LSU and
Missouri since re-opening his recruitment. Blakeney told Rivals.com on
Monday that he will not sign early and that he will likely use the one visit he
has left. North Carolina and N.C. State are among the schools jockeying
for that final visit and latest buzz is that LSU and Mizzou may be ever so
slightly out in front of the pack.
PF
Carlton Bragg (No. 14): Bragg has only taken one official
visit, to Kansas, and he has been to Kentucky unofficially. Plans are in the
works to visit UCLA and Illinois but for now it looks like the Wildcats
and Jayhawks may be a little in front of the Illini and Bruins.
C
Caleb Swanigan (No. 16): About the only thing for sure with
Swanigan is that he won't be making an early decision. Other than that, his
recruitment looks to be about as clear as mud. Arizona, Duke and Kentucky have
gotten recent visits while Cal, Michigan State and Purdue are
among the others in the race.
SF
Brandon Ingram (No. 18): The thin scorer had initially planned
to announce his choice on signing day. Instead, he'll visit both Duke and N.C.
State unofficially this weekend before deciding if he is ready to sign or needs
to wait. Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA got visits as well but it
looks like he will stay in state with the Tar Heels chances perhaps fading a
bit.
SG
Tyler Dorsey (No. 19): Despite the fact that he has taken all
five of his visits, Dorsey looks unlikely to make a decision in time for the
early signing period. However, it wouldn't be a surprise if he picked from the
places he has visited -- Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Kansas
and Oregon -- in early winter after he gets a chance to see each team
play some early games.
C
Thomas Bryant (No. 36): The big man has visited
Syracuse, Missouri and Indiana officially thus far but plans
to wait. The Orange have been considered the team that everybody else will have
to beat.
PF
Ted Kapita (No. 37): One of the summer of 2014's biggest
breakout players, the physical and athletic four man's recruitment has been
quiet. He did take visits to Memphis and Arkansas and could choose from between
those two within the next few weeks. If that doesn't happen, look for him to
wait all the way until the spring to decide so that he can fit in a few more
visits.
SG
Brandon Sampson (No. 40): For now, the plan is for Sampson to
wait to make his choice. He has been to the campuses of Cal, LSU, St. John's and
USC and his choice figures to come from among those programs. He could
pull a surprise early commitment and if he does St. John's or LSU could benefit.
SF
Derrick Jones (No. 42): Recently, Jones released a final five
that includes Auburn, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and UNLV. More than
likely, the Tigers, Huskies and Rebels are fighting this one out. Jones is set to announce his decision Thursday on ESPN.
PG
Damontrae Jefferson, (No. 54): Jefferson is one of those polarizing
prospects. Those who love him will go to bat because of his talent while his
detractors wonder if his flashy, high risk, high reward style can be implemented
into the college game. As of right now, his recruitment is totally quiet as he
focuses on academics.
SF
Tevin Mack (No. 77): One of the most interesting recruitment the past
few weeks has been that of Mack's. The high scoring wing appears to be genuinely
torn between South Carolina, VCU, Georgia, Clemson and Connecticut. He is scheduled to announce Thursday at his high school.
PG
Marcus LoVett (No. 91): After playing his first three years of
high school ball in California, LoVett has moved to Chicago and his play in the
fall has created a buzz. Programs like Illinois, Kansas, DePaul,
Tennessee and more have shown interest and given how few point guards are left,
his recruitment should expand this winter.
SG
K.J. Walton (No. 101): Walton will wait until the spring and
is working to get everything in place for his recruitment. Purdue, Indiana,
Butler and Xavier have been keeping regular tabs on him.
PF
Shawntrez Davis (No. 111): Oklahoma State is one that has been involved of
late and West Virginia's name has been getting tossed around. He's an
athletic and tough big who will surely see more attention after people get a
better feel for his situation this winter.
PF
Jordan Murphy (No. 112): Earlier this week Murphy told
Rivals.com that he is pretty much down to VCU and UNLV. He has visited both and
now it is just a matter of making a decision.
SF
Melvin Frazier (No. 122): Of anybody in the Rivals150, the
athletic swingman's recruitment is probably the quietest. At the moment, it
doesn't appear that there is particularly strong mutual interest between Frazier
and any major programs.
SF
Davon Dillard (No. 132): A native of Indiana, Dillard is in New York for
his senior season and his recruitment won't really start to take shape for a few
months. Cal, Virginia Tech, Providence and others have shown some
initial interest but Dillard is pretty much wide open at this point.
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