In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald once again discusses the top five commitments in a busy week of commitments and addresses how the prospects will make an impact at the next level.
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RELATED: Emoni Bates chooses Memphis
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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STARTING FIVE: Top five commitments this week
It was another busy week of commitments on the basketball recruiting front, and there was no bigger addition this week than Memphis convincing Emoni Bates (1) to join the Tigers for the upcoming season to play alongside his close friend Jalen Duren. Like many of the top prospects in high school right now, Bates had the option to explore going the professional route with some lucrative offers, but he decided to take advantage of the new NIL rules in college and go that route. The plan is for Bates to play a lot of point guard at Memphis this season in a role similar to what his head coach Penny Hardaway did back in his career. The addition of Bates will make the Tigers all kinds of fun to watch this season.
Most weeks Jalen Hood-Schifino (2) choosing Indiana would qualify as the top commitment of the week as it’s a huge addition for the Hoosiers under new coach Mike Woodson. Indiana edged out Tennessee to secure the No. 19 overall prospect in the 2022 class. The 6-foot-6 guard brings a lot of versatility with him as he has the strength, athleticism and skill level to play all three positions in the backcourt. He has a lot of winning traits that should help Woodson and his staff get the Hoosiers back toward the top of the Big Ten.
VCU had a major recruiting victory this week by locking in a commitment from Alphonzo Billups (3). The Rivals150 small forward had plenty of high-major options but decided playing for Mike Rhoades was the right call for him. At 6-foot-7, Billups possesses a ton of athleticism and perimeter skills. He has all-conference potential in Atlantic 10.
The Team Final travel program has been good to Penn State in recent years, and that continued this week as the point guard of the Peach Jam champions Jameel Brown (4) ended his recruitment in favor of the Nittany Lions. The former Purdue commit, who chose the Boilermakers in large part because of new Penn State coach Micah Shrewsberry, is the third commitment for the Nittany Lions in what is a really nice first recruiting class for Shrewsberry.
Duke Brennan (5) chose Arizona State earlier this week. He gives Bobby Hurley’s program an interior presence. The three-star center currently checks in at 6-foot-10 with a 250-pound frame, and he embraces the physicality of playing in the paint, collecting rebounds and protecting the rim. Brennan is a competent scorer in the paint, and he could develop into a nice player for the Sun Devils.
