Florida Man: Notes from the road; FutureCast for a blueblood
The first live recruiting weekend of 2021 has come and gone, as college coaches were allowed to hit the road for the first time since the pandemic took hold last spring. This week in Florida Man, national recruiting director Rob Cassidy empties his notebook on the weekend that was on the road and logs a FutureCast for a blueblood.
*****
MORE: Commitment breakdown as Dior Johnson chooses Oregon
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
*****
FUTURECAST OF THE WEEK: Seth Timble to North Carolina
Michigan seemed like the frontrunner to four-star point guard Seth Trimble for a healthy chunk of time. Things tend to change quickly in recruiting, however, so when Rivals.com ranked the contenders to land the Rivals150 prospect’s commitment earlier this week it was North Carolina, not the Wolverines, that topped the list. Thus my long-standing FutureCast for Trimble was flipped.
The tide here started to turn around the time Michigan accepted a commitment from fellow point guard Dug McDaniel on June 17. Not long after, Trimble put a bow on a North Carolina visit that he took with his brother and former Tar Heel J.P. Tokoto at his side by announcing he’d made his decision and planned to announce it on June 23. I don’t want to rule Michigan out completely here because the bond between Trimble and the Michigan staff is significant, but I think UNC fans should be optimistic about Wednesday’s announcement, to say the least.
*****
MR. OPPORTUNISTIC: Denzel Aberdeen
Part of the beauty of live period events is watching a prospect use his teammates’ reputations to create his own name with college coaches, and unranked point guard Denzel Aberdeen did just that in Georgia over the weekend.
Aberdeen impressed Rivals analyst Dan McDonald at the GHSA Team Camp but, more importantly, wowed college coaches gathered to check in on his more established teammates Riley Kugel and Ernest Udeh. Aberdeen exited the weekend with a handful of major scholarship offers of his own, including ones from Ole Miss, Illinois and VCU, and he has managed to place himself on the radars of countless other programs.
*****
ON A UNIQUE PATH: DaJuan Wagner Jr.
The more interesting discussion points of my Friday conversation with the class of 2023’s top prospect DaJuan Wagner Jr. were that he’s in contact with schools such as Kentucky, Arkansas, Duke and Villanova. All of that stuff can be found here.
One of the things not mentioned in the update, however, is how … unique his situation has become. Wagner is acutely aware that the prevailing thought among college coaches is that he will either turn pro or play for John Calipari, for whom his father played at Memphis. He’s also aware that it has affected his recruitment, making it less crowded than that of a traditional top-ranked prospect. Wagner spends most interviews stressing that he’s open to most colleges, and it’s easy to feel bad for the kid, who seems to be missing out on much of the process. At the same time, the situation is prime for a school that may not typically have a chance with a top overall prospect to get heavily involved, even if he eventually follows one of the paths most expect him to choose.
*****
DEEP SLEEPER: Isaiah Hynson
Plenty of coverage on the big names and emerging stars from last weekend’s Philly Live event can be found here, but I wanted to find a way to mention a little-known sophomore-to-be that made some small, but noticeable, waves at the event.
Class of 2024 guard Isaiah Hynson is all of 6-foot-3 and comes with incredible upper-body strength, a tight handle and a solid jumper that he can knock down from distance or mid-range. He’s not nearly as polished as some other prospects his age, isn’t on many radars and has never played major grassroots basketball outside the state of Delaware. Still, the Salesianum (Del.) High School standout managed to catch eyes and impress with 11 points and an unofficial seven rebounds in a Friday contest I attended to watch Rivals150 member James Johns Jr.
Though a bit raw, Hynson has years to develop polish and certainly has the tools to play Division I basketball down the road should that take place.