Fastbreak Friday

College campuses are alive and well this weekend thanks in large part to some great football games and a number official visitors on campuses across the country. In this week's edition of Fastbreak Friday, we look at the busy weekend ahead for Georgia Tech as Thaddeus Young makes a trip to Atlanta and the big-timers making their way to Spokane, Wash.

Jackets hosting key high-major targets

With five-star guard Javaris Crittenton already locked up for the class of 2006, Paul Hewitt and his staff are hoping to secure more talent around the nation's top point guard. Leading the way is Memphis native Thaddeus Young, the nation's No. 3 ranked player in the class of 2006.

Coming in from Cali is Alex Stepheson, the No. 57 ranked player in the senior class. He's an aggressive block forward that could be just what the doctor ordered inside the paint for the Jackets. He's also looking at Connecticut, North Carolina and Wake Forest.

Making an unofficial visit this weekend are Atlanta natives Lance Storrs and Jeremy Price. The Columbia High School teammates have been on campus before. The duo are amongst the top ten players in the state of Georgia.

Ohio State is THE place to be

The big battle of the weekend is in Columbus, Ohio as the Buckeyes of The Ohio State University take on the Texas Longhorns. Over 100,000 fans will pack it in to see the game and amongst the crowd is the foundation of the OSU basketball program.

Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook and David Lighty. The "Thad Four" are taking full advantage of their recruitment and cashing in on some hot real estate inside the Horseshoe. Can you blame them?

Joining the party is five-star 2007 prospect Kosta Koufos and talented juniors Dallas Lauderdale, a heavy 2007 lean, and super shooter Jon Diebler.

Mid-major no more

Mark Few and his staff are now recruiting like a team that deserves to be in the top ten polls. After having great success with players that most high-majors looked past, the Zags are getting big-time players onto campus.

Making his first official visit of the fall is Colorado guard Matt Bouldin. The versatile guard is a perfect fit for the Zags if he decides to go to there. Heck, he's even got the hair to fit in right away. Don't be surprised if Gonzaga jumps to the top of his list.

Also in town for the visit is California big man Deon Thompson. Just how significant is his visit? He's tripping to Kentucky and North Carolina, too. The big man blew up over the summer but Gonzaga was one of the first schools to be involved with the No. 69 ranked player in the class of 2006.

Oregon sharpshooter Phillip Nelson will also be in town for an official visit. He's one of the top perimeter scorers in the country and some have compared him to current Zag Adam Morrison. While the comparison may be a off some, Nelson is one of the most coveted wing forwards in the country right now.

Busy weekend for SEC

Three members of the Rivals150 will invade the SEC this weekend. Georgia guard Jodie Meeks will stop by the University of Alabama for his first trip of the fall. The Tide were one of the first schools to get involved with the four-star prospect.

Arkansas is pumped to have point guard Willie Kemp on campus again. The last time he was there, he was named as the tourney MVP at the Real Deal on the Hill. The Hogs are a serious contender for his signature.

Tubby Smith has had success with players from California. Chuck Hayes hails from the Golden State and UK landed it's first commitment in 2006 from Modesto, too, in Michael Porter. Can the Cats do it again with point guard Derrick Jasper? He'll be in Lexington for the weekend.

Nashville, Tenn., native Verice Cloyd has a visit to LSU planned but with Hurricane Katrina ruling the goings on in Louisiana, the trip may be up in the air.

Big Ten having a big weekend, too

Raymar Morgan is one of the most coveted forwards in the country and Michigan is happy to have him on campus for his first official trip. Can the Wolverines do enough on the visit to pull Morgan away from his Michigan State lean?

As big as Morgan's visit is, having Chris Wright on campus might be even bigger. The class of 2007 prospect will be making an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor this weekend. He's one of the elite athletes in the country.

Minnesota landed Bryce Webster last week and now they are hoping he can work as a recruiter when Casey Crawford joins him on an official visit.

Penn State will host Philadelphia big man Jason Love and four-star prospect Matt Hill will be at Purdue.

Tulsa hosting key targets

For new Tulsa head coach Doug Wojick, this is the biggest weekend for the Golden Hurricane program since he's been there. The Conference USA program is bringing in summer star Jerome Randle, the 5-foot-8, 150-pound point guard from Chicago and Jamal McLean, a late-blooming forward from Virginia.

Randle may be small but he proved that he might be the best undersized point guard to come out of the prep ranks since Andrew Lavender, who ironically also left Big Ten country for Oklahoma. He has since transferred to Xavier.

McLean would be a huge get for Tulsa, if he were to pick the Golden Hurricane. Playing with the loaded Boo Williams Summer League team, McLean didn't have a lot of chances to show off his skills all July but at the AAU National in Orlando, he came alive and impressed a number of programs including Boston College and Pitt.

Trio of 2007 studs seeing Maryland

Donte Green, Braxton Dupree and Austin Freeman will all be in College Park for unofficial visits. The trio are all ranked amongst the top 50 prospects in the class of 2007.

Dupree is making his second visit in as many weeks to the ACC school. Green was supposed to be at NC State last weekend but had to cancel his plans. Freeman is one of the top scoring guards in his class.

Other visits of note

Four-star prospect Quincy Pondexter will check out the University of Washington. California forward Ryan Anderson is stopping by Pacific. Air Force is hosting Texas forward Bobby Fenske while California sleeper Landry Fields is tripping to New Mexico.

Memphis forward Jeremy Williams is the guest of the University of Colorado, keeping the Buffs' Memphis connection rolling. Also in Boulder is Texan George Odufuwa.

Washington wing guard Ernest Williams will visit Dayton while Oregon native Ian Anderson is scheduled to make the cross-country trip to Charlotte for the weekend. Jeff Green is headed to Fordham.