Fastbreak Friday: Busy weekend for visits
It may be the biggest recruiting weekend in the history of one Pac-10 school, and another West Coast program tries to land a once-committed player.
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Florida State gets a crack at a five-star standout, and a host of other schools try to wow prospects.
Who is visiting where this weekend?
Rivals.com looks at the busy weekend in this week's version of Fastbreak Friday.
ACC
VISITORS OF THE WEEKEND
Move over Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell and Denzel Washington. You won't be the only stars on the sideline Saturday night when your beloved USC Trojans take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the college football game of the year. There were be at least a dozen big-time basketball players in town for the game.
Five five-star prospects, two players within the top-50 senior rankings and a total of eight players that are ranked in the Rivals150 that will be on USC's campus this weekend.
Five-star prospects Renardo Sidney of Artesia (Calif.) High School, Kenny Boynton of American Heritage (Fla.) High School, Josh Smith of Covington (Wash.) Kentwood, Jeremy Tyler of San Diego (Calif.) and Anthony Brown of Huntington Beach (Calif.) Ocean View are expected to take in the game.
They aren't the only young hoops stars in L.A. for the weekend, either.
Top 2009 targets Tyler Honeycutt of Sylmar (Calif.) High School and Noel Johnson of Fayette County (Ga.) High School, Shaunessy Smith of Noxubee County (Miss.) and Derrick Williams of La Mirada (Calif.) are scheduled to visit the Pac-10 school, too.
Underclassmen Gary Franklin of the famed Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., and Kyle Caudill of Brea Olinda High School in Orange County will be on campus for "unofficial" visits.
Two plus two equals four, right? You don't have to be a Duke undergrad to figure that out. The basketball staff is hoping a pair of commits – 2009's Mason Plumlee of North Carolina's Christ School and 2010's Andre Dawkins of Virginia's Atlantic Shores Christian – can help win over a pair of talented underclassmen.
D.C. Assault teammates Joshua Hairston of Courtland High in Spotsylvania, Va., and Tyler Thornton of Gonzaga Prep in Washington, D.C., will make a much anticipated visit to Durham. There have been whispers for quite some time that the two could commit to the Blue Devils shortly after their visits.
It is a huge weekend at Florida State because the program's most coveted prospect is in Tallahassee for the first time. Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde guard Michael Snaer, a five-star prospect, will be in town to see the Seminoles. FSU has been in the mix for some time now, and are very high on his list. Also in town to see FSU is power forward Terrance Shannon of Mary Persons High School in Georgia.
Virginia Tech is gearing up for a giant weekend. A number of prospects will be in Blacksburg. Commits Manny Atkins of Tucker (Ga.) High School and Jarell Eddie of Concord (N.C.) Cannon School will see their future school and mingle with a number of talented players who will be on campus for unofficial visits. Eric Atkins, a 5-foot-11 guard from St. Joseph's High School in Maryland, will see the sights for the weekend. John Manning, one of the Virginia's most promising prospects from the class of 2011, will also be in town. He's a 6-foot-11 center from Chantilly High School.
North Carolinians Anthony Gill, a 2011 forward from Charlotte Christian; Bishop Daniels, a 2011 guard from Word of God; Dezmine Wells, also a 2011 prospect from Word of God; and Emanuel Chapman, a 6-foot guard from Enloe High School will make unofficial visits to see the Tar Heels this weekend.
Maryland gets a chance to wow Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln power forward James Padgett this weekend. The 6-foot-7 senior plans to be in College Park to visit the campus.
Clemson plays host to one of its top 2010 targets in Atlanta (Ga.) Westlake power forward Marcus Thornton, a Rivals150 junior.
BIG 12
With Hurricane Ike rolling through the Gulf of Mexico, a number of prospects had to change their plans. The biggest cancellation is Avery Bradley of Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep. The five-star guard was scheduled to visit Texas, but nixed those plans because of the hurricane. He will reschedule the trip.
Texas Tech will play host to Houston (Texas) Wheatley combo guard Mike Davis, one of the better sleepers in the Lone Star State.
Forward J.J. Richardson of Missouri City (Texas) Hightower will travel north to see Oklahoma State's campus for an official visit.
BIG EAST
It is a huge weekend in South Bend, Indiana - in large part because Michigan is coming to town for football. However, Ryan Kelly's appearance for an official visit is the highest priority for the Irish basketball program. The 6-foot-9 forward from the Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, N.C., is the highest player on Notre Dame's hoops recruiting board in 2009. Also scheduled to visit is Michigan star Trey Zeigler, a 2010 prospect from Mount Pleasant High School.
Providence will get a chance to win over Garfield Heights (Ohio) point guard Carl Jones, a three-star prospect from the class of 2009.
Jordan Sibert, one of the top players in Cincinnati, made an unofficial visit to the hometown UC Bearcats on Friday. The class of 2010 prospect from Princeton High School is one of the most sought after shooting guards in his class.
Providence will welcome Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern power forward Kadeem Batts to town for his official visit. Also in town will be 2009 commitment Antoine Allen of Notre Dame Prep (Mass.).
BIG TEN
It is a big weekend at Illinois. The program has its "Night of Legends" alumni game. Former program stars Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Kendall Gill, Frank Williams, Brian Cook, Kenny Battle and others are scheduled to be in town for the game.
Also scheduled in town are commitments Joseph Bertrand (2009), Jereme Richmond (2010), Crandall Head (2010) and Meyers Leonard (2010). Class of 2010 prospect Austin Younker of Canton (Ga.) Creekview, class of 2011 prospect Hayden Hoerdemann of Bloomington Central Catholic (Ill.) and class of 2011 prospect Andrew Jordan of Peoria (Ill.) Woodruff High School will also be in town for unofficial visits.
Iowa will play host to Texas point guard Nick Russell this weekend. The Grace Prep prospect is one of the top players on the Hawkeyes' recruiting board in 2009. (We mistakenly reported he visited last weekend, but he didn't make the trip.)
Also expected to make it into town is 2009 commitment Eric May and 2010 commitment Chanse Creekmur.
Class of 2011 prospects Quevyn Winters of Milwaukee (Wisc.) Washington and Darrell Longstreet of Kenosha (Wisc.) St. Joseph's are scheduled to visit Iowa unofficially.
PAC-10
Once committed to Arizona, Tacoma (Wash.) Bellarmine Prep point guard Abdul Gaddy will return to Tucson this weekend for an official visit. Is this the most important recruiting weekend for the Wildcats this season? No question. Point Guard U will certainly roll out the red carpet for the one-time pledge, and the Wildcats hope to win him over one more time.
Keegan Hornbuckle, who was recently offered a scholarship by the Wildcats, is also expected in Tucson. The Campbell Hall (Calif.) prospect will also spend time in Tempe to see the Arizona State program.
Up in Seattle, hometown product Clarence Trent, a Gig Harbor native now at Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, will officially visit Washington.
SEC
Two weeks ago, Hurricane Gustav pushed back a number of players' scheduled visits to LSU. Now, some of those players will get a chance to see Trent Johnson's program. Metairie Park (La.) Country Day forward Eddie Ludwig will take an official visit to LSU. He is quite familiar with the school because his sister is a student there.
Also making his way to campus for an official visit is Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach guard Aaron Dotson, a top 100 prospect. In-state juniors Matt Derenbecker, a teammate of Ludwig's at Metairie Park (La.) Country Day, and Langston Galloway of Christian Life Academy in Baton Rouge are scheduled to be on campus for unofficial visits.
South Carolina is gearing up for a huge football game against the Georgia Bulldogs, and the weekend is one of the most important for Darrin Horn and the Gamecocks basketball program. Floridians Keith Clanton and Ramon Galloway will officially visit South Carolina. A host of underclassmen will also be in town for the game, too.
Mississippi State is raiding Alabama. A pair of talented underclassmen, Trevor Lacey of Huntsville Butler and Reggie Ragland, a freshman from Huntsville Bob Jones, will be in Starkville for unofficial visits.
AROUND THE NATION
It is a huge weekend at Xavier as Kevin Parrom of South Kent (Conn.) and Chris Braswell of Hargrave Military (Va.) will both be in town for official visits. Jordan Sibert also made an unofficial visit this week to the Atlantic 10 powerhouse.
Derrick Kellogg will have his first big recruiting weekend since taking over the UMass program. Freddie Riley of Hargrave Military (Va.) will officially visit the Atlantic 10 school. The Florida native will be joined by Raphiael Putney of Woodbridge (Va.) High School for the weekend.
It is down to Stanford and BYU for Lone Peak (Utah) star Tyler Haws. The Rivals150 prospect will visit BYU officially this weekend and could end his recruitment in the near future.
Rivals150 prospect Anthony Stover of Windward Academy in Los Angeles will travel to middle America to get a better look at Creighton.
Stephenson (Ga.) guard Adrian Coleman will travel west on Interstate 20 to visit UAB's campus officially.
A pair of Northeastern big men will travel to the Charlotte, N.C., to see Davidson's campus. Centers Tom Knight of Dirigo High School in Dixfield, Maine, and Jake Cohen of Berwyn (Pa.) Conestoga are officially visiting Bob McKillop's program.
New Ohio coach John Groce has an important visitor on campus as 6-foot-7 forward Jonathan Smith of Grove City (Ohio) High School will make an official visit to the MAC school.
Kent State will play host to Chicago (Ill.) Seton Academy point guard D.J. Cooper.
Class of 2011 point guard Stevie Taylor of Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln High School will visit Akron.
Cordova (Tenn.) Christian Brothers guard Drew Barham will visit Southern Illinois.
A few Ivy League schools are expecting visitors this weekend. Ian Hummer, a grinder from Gonzaga Prep in Washington D.C., will visit Princeton. Harvard will play host to Dallas (Texas) Episcopal power forward Jeff Georgatos.
Siena has a pair of Philadelphia guards in town. Seniors Denzel Yard of Franklin Learning Center and Parrish Grant of Imhotep Charter will visit officially.
Longview (Wash.) Mark Morris forward Eric Hutchison will visit Montana.
North Eugene (Ore.) big man Joe Kammerer will visit Idaho.
Brewster Academy (N.H.) prospect Luke Apfeld will visit Vermont.
Northfield (Minn.) forward Emmanuel Addo will visit Albany.
Josh Sparks of Savannah (Ga.) Christian will travel to Lafayette for an official visit.
Justin Young is a basketball recruiting senior writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at jyoung@rivals.com.
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