Thursday means another mail call for Rivals national recruiting director Rob Cassidy. This week, he fields questions about a number of national prospects with ties to programs such as Kansas, UConn, Indiana, Ohio State, Arizona and North Carolina.
More: Breaking down five of the biggest September visits
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Things are still shaking out on the Niko Bundalo front, but I’d put UConn in a group with Ohio State, Michigan State and North Carolina as most likely to land his commitment. I simply don’t see Texas, Pitt or Xavier as realistic threats to sign the four-star. Things change in recruiting, and those programs obviously have some semblance of a chance of making a late push based on their standing as finalists, but each has an uphill battle on its hands.
The tricky part begins when you try to place the aforementioned group of four programs in some sort of pecking order. Kansas is a wildcard of sorts, as the Jayhawks being inserted as a late addition to Bundalo’s final list certainly sounds some alarms, but it’s fair to wonder what KU’s pursuit of Eric Reibe may mean for the situation. Programs don’t tend to push their way onto lists of finalists after the initial announcement unless both sides are pretty serious, but Bill Self seems unlikely to land both Reibe and Bundalo. I don’t have nearly enough information to pick a true leader at the moment.
The picture will really start to clear after Bundalo's official visit to Ohio State on Sept. 21, as the Buckeyes are in great position and could pull away a bit if things on that trip go well and a deal is close to finalized. If not, UConn, Michigan State and North Carolina could see the door open a bit wider for them.
As for Reibe, the options are beginning to dwindle. He recently canceled visits to Kentucky and North Carolina while moving up his trip to Indiana. Reading the tea leaves, I'd think Kansas leads now but that could change following his visit to Indiana.
There are obviously moving parts here, but one thing is clear: Braylon Mullins is starting to feel more and more like a must-get for Indiana. Mike Woodson desperately needs a high-profile recruiting victory, and those don’t come more gift wrapped than a top-30 prospect from a part of the state that Indiana has historically experienced great success recruiting.
Woodson and his staff were an early entrant into Mullins’ recruitment and built a relationship well before he became a major national prospect. Losing him now would bring a massive perception blow. There’s no sugar coating that. As for handicapping the race, I’ll give it a try with categories.
SERIOUS THREATS: Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina
UCLA, Duke, Arizona and North Carolina are the players for Nic Khamenia, and it’s fair to wonder how the recruitments of Cameon Boozer and Koa Peat muddy the waters for the Blue Devils. Duke isn’t particularly likely to land Peat at this juncture, but will be in the hunt for Boozer until the very end … whenever that is.
If Boozer decides to attend Miami over his famous father’s alma mater, Jon Scheyer will turn up the heat on Khamenia. If not, the four-star power forward’s Oct. 3 visit to UCLA – the final trip on his schedule – could become absolutely massive, seeing as the Bruins are very much a heavyweight in this fight.
Arizona is de facto probably the leader in the clubhouse for now, having already hosted Khamenia for an official visit, but that could change quickly as he tours Duke, North Carolina and UCLA in the coming weeks.
In short, it’s too soon to make a real prediction, but the Bruins and Wildcats are worth watching very closely.
