Laurent adds Rutgers offer
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There's been quite a bit of discussion lately regarding Dr. Phillips (Fla.) High
School small forward Jonathan Laurent and the level of
Rutgers' interest. The 6-foot-6¸ 200-pounder contacted Rivals.com on
Thursday and said "Rutgers offered."
The Rutgers coaching staff began ramping up their pursuit of Laurent in the
fall, making multiple school visits, an in-home visit with his family and coming
out to at least one of his high school games.
"Coach Jordan and coach Shoes (Rutgers assistant Greg Vetrone) have
come down and met my family," Laurent said. "They talked about the program, what
they like about me, what type of expectations they have for me. How they would
love for me and Corey Sanders to team up. They want to set up a visit
to see what dates are good to come up there."
Sanders, who attends school not too far from Laurent, signed with Rutgers in the
early period in November.
"Me and Corey have a pretty good relationship," said Laurent. "We've always been
cool. We played together in a camp back in June. We teamed up and played pretty
well together, I liked playing with him a lot. He's a high energy point guard.
We talk a lot about Rutgers."
For some time the Virgin Island native has been in steady contact with
but during the last week of February Laurent received a call from
Maryland assistant coach Cliff Warren.
"We didn't really talk for too long," Laurent said. "They're just heard about
me. They have a senior wing starting who will graduate. I think they want to
come down and watch me work out at school but I'm not too sure about anything
yet."
Like most recruits, Laurent spends time watching the schools on his list on TV.
Although Maryland just recently reached out, he was familiar with the Terps.
"Yes, I've seen Maryland play a couple of times this season," Laurent said.
"They have some good wings and Melo Trimble of course. He's a really,
really good point guard."
Alabama has also made several trips to Florida to see Laurent.
"I like Alabama," Laurent said. "I feel like I could go there and have an
impact. Me and coach Pettway talk a lot. I talk to coach Grant a lot, we have a
real good relationship. They want me to come in and work hard. They haven't
promised anything. I don't want to hear a coach tell me that I'll come in and
start and promise me everything. They've told me that if I come there and work
hard I can earn a role on the team and get my playing time."
The three-star prospect said that recruiting pitch has been fairly consistent
with all of the schools he's hearing from the most.
"Georgia Tech and Georgia are saying pretty much the same thing. They're being
straight up with me. I've only been promised playing time if I come in and do
what I have to do."
Scheduling official visits is the next item on Laurent's list and we would not
be surprised if Rutgers and Alabama received the first two visits.
Russ Wood is a basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and Inside the Gators. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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