Meyers Mailbag: Could Louisville lose another
Jerry MeyerClick Here to view this Link. is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. He tackles your questions in his weekly mailbag feature.
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Louisville just lost one 2012 recruit. Can the Cardinals hold onto elite scoring guard Rodney Purvis?
Will the reclassification of Alex Murphy to 2011 affect the DeAndre Daniels' decision?
And what position is top 10 prospect Jarnell Stokes best suited for at the college level?
These questions and more are addressed by National Recruiting Analyst Jerry Meyer in this week's mailbag.
Louisville to lose another?
Jerry, Do you think Rick Pitino and his new staff can hold on to Rodney Purvis, with the departure of Tim Fuller to Missouri?
- Grant from Lodi
Coach Tim Fuller was the connection between Louisville and Purvis. Despite Fuller's departure to Missouri, Purvis is still committed to Louisville.
The strength of the commitment, however, is in question. Once speculation that Purvis would reopen his recruitment hit a crescendo, Purvis released this statement on April 15:
"At this time I'm focused on getting better. There is not a lot to discuss in terms of my college decision. I just want to win games this weekend. If I'm thinking about college right now that would be selfish and unfair to my teammates."
Purvis didn't decommit from Louisville, but he didn't exactly reaffirm his commitment to Louisville either. So the question is left open, and Coach Pitino and his staff has their work cut out to retain one of the top scoring guards in the country as a Louisville recruit.
Duke and Daniels
Jerry, always a great job on the trail. With Alex Murphy joining Duke's 2011 class, what chance do they have of landing DeAndre Daniels who plays basically the same position?
- Lawrence from Spartanburg
The message I am getting from Daniels and also from sources around his recruitment is that it will not affect his decision even though early playing time is a high priority for Daniels. The working assumption from Daniels' camp is that Murphy will redshirt his first year at Duke.
I would also add that Daniels is much more ready to play next year in the ACC than Murphy is.
So Kansas and Texas fans are still left hoping that they can sign Daniels. Duke is the assumed leader at this point, but there have been number of changes in Daniels' tumultuous recruitment.
Washington's chances
- Jack from Novato
Washington has an excellent shot at landing both Parker and Gordon. The thought of the Huskies putting both of these elite forwards on the court together should be a very scary one for the rest of the Pac-10.
A couple of weeks ago at the Nike EYBL event in Hampton, Virginia, Gordon spoke glowingly about Washington and was not hesitant at all to proclaim the Huskies as his leader.
He has a strong relationship with the coaching staff, playing in the Pac-10 is attractive to him and the style of play at Washington fits Gordon perfectly.
A high level athlete, Gordon is at his best in a wide-open attack where he has both the opportunity to handle the basketball as well as be a finisher. Gordon is the type of talent who could succeed in any system, but a full court, fast-breaking system will accentuate the best aspects of his game.
Parker would excel in Washington's system as well. He actually visited Washington last weekend. A strong connection exist between Parker and Lorenzo Romar, beginning with Parker's dad being teammates with Romar on the Golden State Warriors.
Another factor in Washington's recruitment of Parker is that Parker's older brother Chris Parker is a candidate to join the Washington coaching staff. Presently he is a junior college coach in the area.
As a prospect, Parker is becoming a more explosive athlete, but he isn't at the level Gordon is at. Parker is, however, more of a scorer than Gordon.
The bottom line is that these two prospects would be a formidable tandem together. They are both elite talents and their games compliment each other.
Top 25 class?
Has Donnie Jones reeled in a top 25 recruiting class for 2011?
- Marticus from Memphis
If Coach Jones has reeled in four-star prospect Kevin Ware, then he has reeled in a top 25 class. But it is looking like the Ware recruitment is far from over despite his commitment to UCF earlier this week.
His commitment came as a surprise as he was scheduled to visit Louisville this coming weekend after playing in the adidas Derby Classic and then in early May visit Georgia. In fact on Monday morning these were the plans as state by his father Wesley Junior to Rivals.com only to have Ware commit to UCF later that day.
Now there is widespread speculation that Ware is wavering on his commitment and is still considering other schools. The Ware camp is not commenting on the situation which is only making the speculation grow.
If Ware does sign with UCF, the Knights will have two four-star prospects in the class with Ware and Michael Chandler to go along with three solid three-star prospects giving them a top 25 caliber recruiting class.
Primary position
It sounds like Jarnell Stokes has been one of the top performers out of the 2012 class this spring. What position do you see him playing at the college level?
- Michael from Knoxville
Stokes, who runs with the Memphis YOMCA, has been one of the most productive players on the spring circuit. If he isn't putting up a double-double then there must be a problem.
He is so tough to contain because he can beat you with both a physical game and a finesse game. He is both an explosive athlete and a skilled player.
Stokes primary position in college will be at the four, but he has the strength and athleticism to slide to the five. And offensively, he could conceivably play some three, but it is a stretch to project him as a player who can defend the small forward.
Regardless of position, Stokes is a highly talented and versatile big man who is comfortable making plays anywhere on the court. Unlike a lot of other big men, however, who have perimeter skills, Stokes is not a drifter on the outskirts of the action looking for a jump shot. Like 2011 Louisville signee Chane Behanan, Stokes takes his game to the basket and punishes less physical opponents.
Jerry Meyer is a national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Click here to send him a question or comment for his mailbag.
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