Fastbreak Friday: Huge weekend for visits
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The list of basketball prospects taking official visits this weekend is long – very long.
Our college football game of the week - Virginia Tech at LSU - will have a pair of top 60 prospects on the sidelines.
We break it all down in this week's version of Fastbreak Friday.
Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La. It is a thing of legend in college football circles, and all eyes will be on the game at LSU this weekend. Virginia Tech comes to town for a matchup featuring top-10 programs.
A pair of important basketball prospects will also be at the game. Five-star forward J'Mison Morgan of South Oak Cliff (Texas) High School is scheduled to be in attendance. The trip marks the first time the 6-foot-10 standout has hit the road for an official visit.
Also making the trip is Georgia wing Wesley Witherspoon, who still maintains his desire to sign in the spring. The 6-foot-8, four-star prospect will make his only planned visit to date this weekend.
Wake Forest will honor former basketball coach Skip Prosser this weekend when the Demon Deacons take on Nebraska. The trio of class of 2008 recruits that committed to Prosser before his death this summer are expected to be on hand for the ceremonies.
In-state center Ty Walker is making the short trip over from Wilmington. Joining him are fellow five-star prospects Al-Farouq Aminu and Tony Woods of Georgia.
Class of 2009 prospects Dominic Cheek - a five-star player from New Jersey - and C.J. Harris are expected to be on campus as well. Harris won't have far to go because he lives in Winston-Salem.
• Duke is preparing for a big recruiting weekend. Class of 2008 five-star guard Elliot Williams is making his way from Memphis to Durham.
• Missouri center John Brandenburg is making his final visit of the fall when he travels to Charlottesville, Va., to see the Cavaliers. Also expected on campus this weekend is five-star 2009 forward Deshawn Painter.
• Florida State is jumping in on the five-star prospects, too. In-state targets Eloy Vargas and Kenny Boynton are taking unofficial visits to Tallahassee. Georgia guard Pierre Jordan is also expected to be in town.
• Clemson is set to play host to three-star wing Jared Swopshire. The 6-foot-8 wing is playing at IMG Academy in Florida, calls St. Louis home.
Key class of 2008 target Patrick Jackson from New York City is making a trip down to Rutgers. He'll be joined by five-star junior Dexter Strickland, who will be on hand for an unofficial visit.
• St. John's is playing host to local product Sylven Landesberg, who lives just 15 minutes away from campus.
• Kyle Kuric, a summer riser, is making a visit to Louisville.
• Rutgers has a rare Friday night game and making his way to the Big East school for the action is top 40 prospect Mookie Jones, one of the top targets for the Scarlet Knights in 2008.
Texas has to be excited about who is on campus this weekend. One the most dynamic players in the nation - Oklahoma product Xavier Henry. The shooting guard is the No. 2-ranked player in the class of 2009.
• Up the road at Baylor, the Bears are keying in on Houston big man Anthony Jones. The slim 6-foot-10 forward is down to Baylor and Texas A&M. Arkansas point guard Fred Gulley, a class of 2009 prospect, will be in Waco for an unofficial visit.
• Oklahoma State is ready to welcome four-star guard J'Covan Brown to Stillwater. Brown, a south Texas native, is the second best available shooting guard in the nation.
• Texas A&M is looking to the future this weekend as class of 2009 prospects Reger Dowell of North Dallas High School and Ray Turner of Jones High School in Houston. The future is bright at Houston's Atascocita High School. Four of the school's 2011 players - Jamal Branch, LeRoy Taylor, Everett Pleasant and Alex Cooper are all visiting the Aggies.
• The Oklahoma Sooners will play host to 2009 commitment Kyle Hardrick and his AAU teammate Daniel Orton this weekend for OU's football game with Miami.
• North Carolina big man Victor Davila is taking an official visit to Iowa State.
• Kansas is welcoming junior college forward Mario Little, a former AAU teammate of point guard Sherron Collins.
Iowa is taking full advantage of the busy visit season. Commitments Anthony Tucker and Matt Gatens will be in town to see their future college home. They will also become part of the recruiting staff this weekend. Class of 2008 target Clinton Mann will be in town for an official visit, while class of 2009 prospect Jordan Prosser will join the fun.
• Tubby Smith and his staff have an important weekend ahead of them. Georgia center Ralph Sampson III and South Dakota big man Colton Iverson will be visiting the Minnesota campus officially.
• Illinois is looking well into the future this weekend. Class of 2009 prospects (and AAU teammates) Diamond Taylor and Joseph Bertrand will be on campus, along with class of 2010 prospect Anthony Johnson.
• Michigan State wins the all-name award for the weekend as sophomore Jonathan Horford and Patrick Lucas-Perry, a freshman, will be in East Lansing. Horford is the younger brother of former Florida forward Al Horford. Lucas-Perry is the younger brother of Arizona freshman Laval Lucas-Perry.
• Michigan has an important visitor on campus as California wing Klay Thompson is headed to Ann Arbor for his official visit. Also in town in class of 2009 prospect Drew Valentine.
• Indiana is courting class of 2009 in-state prospect Derek Elston.
• Ohio State will be entertaining Bill Edwards and Desmar Jackson. A number of class of 2010 prospects will also be on campus for the Buckeyes underclassmen day. Allen Payne, Kenny Knight, Adreian Payne, Cameron Wright and Griffin McKenzie (all class of 2010 prospects) will see Columbus up close and personal.
• Purdue commitment Ryne Smith is taking his official visit.
Chicago prospects are invading Eugene, Oregon this weekend. Matthew Humphrey and Michael Dunigan, both early commits for the Ducks, will certainly be working on AAU teammate Josh Crittle from the Windy City. Crittle has long maintained Marquette is his leader.
• Five-star class of 2009 wing Hollis Thompson will be on the UCLA campus for an unofficial visit.
Apparently, there is a party going on in Knoxville, Tenn. The invitation list is long, and the RSVPs are strong for the weekend. The Vols have a number of top prospects on campus.
Tennessee has been looking for a point guard in the class of 2008, and key target Terrell Holloway is expected for an official visit this weekend. He's one of the top uncommitted floor generals left in the class.
Rivals100 juniors Leslie McDonald, Jon Hood and Ferrakohn Hall will also be in Knoxville. Joining the fun is class of 2010 prospect Casey Prather and class of 2009 prospects Drew Kelly, Gentry Hines and Johnnie Williams.
• Just down the highway at Vanderbilt, two of the top targets for the Commodores will be in Nashville. Georgia guard Tanner Smith and Steve Tchiengang, a new resident of Florida, will be in Music City for the weekend.
• The Peach State is well represented on campuses. Dunwoody forward Delwan Graham is making a visit to Ole Miss. Class of 2009 guard Lorenzo Brown is visiting Florida, and Georgia is playing host to four-star forward Kammeon Holsey.
Gonzaga is showing its strength as a national recruiting power in the class of 2008. The West Coast Conference school already has a pledge from Iowa native Grant Gibbs. The Heartland is sending Oklahoma native Rotnei Clarke to Spokane for an official visit for the weekend.
• Colorado State will be busy. Toby Veal is making the cross-country visit all the way from his Savannah, Ga., home. Minnesota forward Andrew Brommer will see the sights and sounds with his parents. Class of 2008 Jesse Carr will make his official visit.
• New Mexico is hosting Houston area guard Phillip McDonald.
• Lithuanian shooting guard Deividas Dulkys is making his way down to San Diego State.
• Utah center Justin Hamilton is making a trip to Pepperdine.
• Utah native Nick Thompson is seeing the University of Pacific.
• Florida natives Evan Ravenel and Shaquille Johnson are heading to Tulane.
• East Carolina will host Darrius Garrett, a Georgia center.
• Staying in the Peach State, Atlanta center Darius Morrow is headed to the Big Apple to see Fordham up close.
• Savannah, Ga., point guard James Fields will be joined by Florida forward Kevin Foster at Marshall.
• North Dakota State is playing host to summer riser Austin Dufault.
• Dayton is bringing in Luke Fabrizius out of Chicago. Also in town are committments Paul Williams, Chris Johnson and Josh Benson.
• Tyler Storm is visiting Northern Illinois.
• Class of 2009 shooter Nik Garcia is checking out Southern Illinois.
• Mike Maczko of Baltimore's John Carroll School has a busy weekend, seeing four schools in two days. NJIT, Princeton, Quinnipac and Central Connecticut State will all host him.
• Class of 2009 Rivals100 forward James Still is checking out Western Michigan.
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