Marshall County Hoop Fest: Jackson sets visits
BENTON, Ky. -- Headlined by five-star wings Miles Bridges and
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Joshua Langford, Michigan State already has one of the nation's top
three recruiting classes for 2016. The Spartans are hoping to add the nation's
No. 1 senior Josh Jackson to the mix as well and all three were among
those in action on Saturday at the Marshall County Hoop Fest.
Jackson sets first two visits
On Saturday night, Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep didn't need 2016's No. 1 player
Josh Jackson to be a dominant scorer. A night after scoring 34 points,
grabbing 19 rebounds and dishing out eight assists in an epic showdown with
Miles Bridges, Jackson played the role of ball handler and playmaker
for others. Jackson scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six
assists while leading his team to a 70-53 win over Dallas (Texas) Advanced Prep
Institute.
Jackson's play was versatile and as usual electric in the open floor, but that's
the norm for him. The real news is that he's starting to make some moves with
his recruitment. Jackson said that he's planned his first two visits for
hand to watch -- in December and January.
There should be more visits set in the future and Michigan State
remains very involved and Jackson says that Bridges is on him hard to return to
mentions for being involved.
I was impressed with...
How could I be anything less than impressed by Miles Bridges and his thoroughly
dominant 34 points and 10 rebound effort. Currently ranked No. 11 in the
country, Bridges made a pretty convincing case to be moved up even further in
the loaded 2016 class.
Athletically, very few can match Bridges and he's every bit as strong as he is
explosive off the floor. However, it's the expanded all around game he's showing
that really caught my attention. He finished with both hands on drives through
contact, looked very comfortable shooting the ball and has improved his ball
handling.
The all-around game of five-star junior wing John Petty continues to grow. Though he wasn't overly aggressive looking for his own offense while scoring 17 points in a win, Petty was aggressive on the glass and did a nice job setting up teammates as he grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out three assists. Petty said that Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Kentucky are among those looming large in his recruitment.
I was surprised by...
A four-star prospect who currently ranks No. 98 in the class of 2018,
Lindell Wiggington scored 16 points in Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill's win over
Thon Maker and the Athlete's Institute. A likely point guard on the
college level, what struck me about Wiggington is how good a job he's done
moving off the ball and forcing his way into the Oak Hill starting lineup. He is
a very good shooter, has a tremendous feel for the game and his willingness to
be a team guy isn't lost on this evaluator. Wiggington mentioned offers from
State and he feels one is coming soon from Missouri while Arizona State is also involved.
Other thoughts...
He
was dogged by foul trouble early, but Michigan State-bound shooting guard
Joshua Langford backed up his top 20 national status. The 6-foot-5
senior at Madison (Ala.) Academy still has his muscular build, but he's leaned
up a bit and because of it he showed some improved fluidity and explosiveness
(especially on second jumps) in traffic. He had to work for it, but ended up
with 32 points, nine rebounds and three assists in a loss to Lexington (Ky.)
Dunbar.
For
Dunbar, junior combo guard Taveion Hollingsworth was outstanding. For a
while, it looked like the 6-foot-1 scorer would go for at least 40 points but
the 33 he ended up with to go along with six rebounds and two assists was
impressive enough. Long and slim, he's very quick off the bounce, gets to the
rim and is a very competent shooter from deep. He said that he's waiting on his
first offer but Northern Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky, Western Kentucky,
UNC-Greensboro and Morehead State.
He
hasn't set any visits just yet, but from the sounds of it five-star senior
Thon Maker will be looking to set some up in the near future. Should he
do that, Arizona State, Kansas and Indiana look to be in the best
position to receive trips. Maker had 18 points and 17 rebounds in a Saturday
loss where he looked terrific when attacking the rim and running the floor but
also struggled at times spending too much time dribbling and hunting deep jump
shots.
A
6-foot-7 small forward who currently ranks No. 137 in the class of 2017,
Trace Young has a high ceiling for improvement. A Kentucky native who
plays at Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, Young is a fluid athlete and can stroke the
ball from deep. If he adds some nastiness to his game he could really take off
but either way he is a legit high major prospect. Young mentioned offers from
Western Kentucky while Louisville (who had two assistants watch),
The
beneficiary of many of Josh Jackson's passes was freshman guard Pierre Cockrell. A 5-foot-11 shooter from Tacoma, Cockrell made all six of his
attempts from three-point range. He also hit a nice driving shot and dished out
four assists in his intro to the recruiting world.
Samford
head coach Scott Padgett had to enjoy returning to his home state and watching
signee Justin Hopkins of Huntsville (Ala.) J.O. Johnson. A powerful
6-foot-4 wing, Hopkins converted on all 11 of his field goal attempts while
scoring 28 points and grabbing five rebounds. He's athletic, tough and can
clearly finish near the rim.
Three-star
shooting guard Bryan Trimble has developed nicely at Bel Aire (Kan.)
Sunrise Christian. A senior, Trimble told me that he's planning to stay at
Sunrise for a year of prep school, a move that will put him into the 2017 class.
Physically strong, Trimble was aggressive to the rack, hit some jumpers from
deep and helped out on the glass in a 16 point and four rebound effort. Trimble
said that UMKC is his first offer while others like Missouri, Wichita
State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and more are starting to show
interest.
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