McDonald's Nuggets: Evolving recruiting world, Memphis, more
RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
Dan McDonald is back with his weekend primer, McDonald's Nuggets. This week’s edition offers up an observation about the evolving world of basketball recruiting, a prediction about Memphis, a recruiting note on a hot graduate transfer - and more.
MORE: Wednesday Leftovers | 3-Point Play
WHAT’S ON MY MIND: College basketball recruiting has changed quickly
I’ve been covering basketball recruiting for Rivals.com for almost 10 years. For the first, let’s say, eight years, the recruiting game didn’t really change much. The prospects ranked at the very top held out to the late signing period to see what happened with draft defections at the top programs. The next tier of prospects mostly committed between August and November of their senior year, with some getting decisions out of the way earlier. Coaching changes would shuffle it up a little bit, but not a ton. In rare cases, programs took a transfer or a graduate transfer to fill a spot late.
In the past two years, it feels like the entire process has changed. Instead of programs building out a roster, it feels more like free agency and putting a team together on a yearly basis. If your school isn’t involved in the transfer game, you’re being left behind. This time of year, I used to get calls from college coaches asking what rising juniors and seniors they should be checking out during the upcoming live periods. Now I’m taking more calls from coaches still piecing together this year’s roster with available seniors or transfers than I am with prospects in the 2020 or 2021 class.
This isn’t meant to be a criticism of the current state of college basketball. It’s just crazy to me how quickly the sport we all love has changed.
PREDICTION: Memphis could finish really strong
Aside from Jaden McDaniels, Memphis remains a real player for three other prospects available in the top 50 of the 2019 Rivals150. The Tigers have some real momentum lately with Precious Achiuwa (No. 15 overall). Trendon Watford (No. 17) has been heavily linked to Memphis for a while now, but Alabama’s new staff isn’t letting up and LSU is still in the mix. Lester Quinones (No. 44) has been considered a Memphis lean for a while now, but Indiana and Michigan still have visits in line with him before a May 10 commitment is announced.
Lastly, I should also mention there is chatter about Jalen Green and RJ Hampton moving up into the 2019 class, and Memphis is a player for both of them.
RECRUITING NOTE: Keeling down to two
Christian Keeling, a graduate transfer from Charleston Southern, has been one of the hottest transfer targets in the country. He originally trimmed his list down to five, with Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State and Purdue remaining.
Clemson, Georgia Tech and North Carolina all received official visits, and now Keeling is ready to make his decision on May 12. He’s done with official visits after some talk of him potentially taking a trip to NC State. Georgia Tech is out after receiving a commitment from Bubba Parham from VMI. Clemson and North Carolina remain on the list, and the likely destination from what I’m hearing is North Carolina.
COMMITMENT(S) OF THE WEEK: Big week on Tobacco Road
Both Duke and North Carolina are in the process of closing strong, as the programs try to reload for title runs next season. North Carolina doubled up on Monday as the Tar Heels started the morning with a commitment from Cole Anthony and closed the evening out with a commitment from former Virginia Tech signee Anthony Harris. Roy Williams could also bolster his backcourt even more with a commitment from Keeling, as mentioned above.
Duke also added two commitments from Matthew Hurt and Cassius Stanley. Coach K and his staff had stayed in the mix for Hurt throughout his recruitment, but it wasn’t until the past couple months that people started to think Duke would win out over Kansas and the other schools involved. The Blue Devils were a little late to the party for Stanley, but were able to quickly win him over and get him locked up.
