Meyers Mailbag: Whos looking good in 2012
Advertisement
Previous mailbags
Got a question? Click here to send it to Meyer's Mailbag
It is way too early to forecast national team recruiting rankings for the class of 2012, but the Big Ten is looking strong at this early point.
Specifically, how is it looking for North Carolina in 2012?
And is Kansas ready to make a push in 2011?
These topics and more are addressed by National Recruiting Analyst Jerry Meyer in this week's mailbag.
Top 2012 class?
Which team or teams look to be in good position to land the top class in 2012 at this early stage?
- Trevor from Indianapolis
It's way too early to answer this question. Only three prospects in the top 50 for 2012 have committed at this point. Pittsburgh has the No. 4-ranked prospect in Khem Birch and No. 46-ranked Steven Adams. Baylor has a commitment from the third 2012 top 50 prospect Isaiah Austin, the No. 2-ranked prospect.
Outside of the three committed prospects from the top 50, 16 other prospects in the 2012 Rivals150 have committed. Two Big Ten schools - Michigan State and Purdue - have three of these commitments each. Michigan State has the No. 57, 77 and 95-ranked prospects committed. Purdue has the No. 86, 100 and 129-ranked prospects committed.
Also out of the Big Ten, Indiana has two ranked commitments. Florida, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Kansas, Miami, West Virginia, Michigan and Butler have one ranked commitment each.
Position for Carey
Why is Michael Carey listed as a small forward, but when I saw him in your database in the summer he was listed as a point guard?
- Noel from the Bronx
Originally from the Bahamas, Carey is presently at Sugar Land (Texas) Trent International School. The 6-foot-5 perimeter player out of the class of 2012 already has offers from the likes of Arkansas, Baylor, Marquette, Nebraska and USC. A host of other schools are showing interest.
This spring Carey was billed as a point guard and ran the point guard for his travel team. As the summer wore on, the ball spent less time in his hands and much more time in the hands of D'Angelo Harrison.
Carey is a physical athlete who can get to the rim going right, but I'm just not convinced he has the skill level and feel for the game necessary for a high major point guard. Now, there are certainly people out there who would differ with me, and I'm sure all the schools that are recruiting him are telling him they want him as a point guard. That is the nature of the recruiting game.
Perhaps Carey will develop and be a point guard at the next level, but at this point I project him to be a physical wing slasher at the next level.
Tar Heel targets
Hey Jerry, I wanted to know how is the 2012 class looking for the Tar Heels? Are we really in the run for players like Andre Drummond, DaJuan Coleman, and Shabazz Muhammad? Who is favoring UNC right now?
- Jerry from Fort Wayne
North Carolina doesn't have any 2012 commitments yet, but the Tar Heels are in the running for the three prospects you mention. You can also throw Cameron Ridley and J.P. Tokoto in there as North Carolina recruiting targets.
Muhammad, an elite wing is considered a North Carolina lean. Five-star post players Drummond and Coleman are projected to stay close to him by most who are handicapping their recruitments. Connecticut is considered the favorite for Drummond while Syracuse is considered the leader for Coleman.
Ridley's recruitment is in a little earlier stage than fellow five-star post players Drummond and Coleman, but North Carolina will have its work cut out to lure Ridley out of Texas.
And with Tokoto, North Carolina is certainly firmly in the mix, but so are a host of other schools, including Duke.
If North Carolina's recruiting were to play out along these projections, there will be more offers extended by the Tar Heels.
Numbers game
How does St. John's handle 9 or 10 seniors on this year's roster for next year's recruiting? Do you try to give out all of your scholarships to fill out the roster? Do you use JUCO players? I hope that they do not tie up their scholarships on this year's recruits.
- Bob from Port St. Lucie
St. John's will not waste scholarships, but they will try to scoop up as many quality prospects as they can in the 2011 class. To help balance the numbers out, some of those prospects will be junior college prospects.
Four-star high school seniors Maurice Harkless and Jakarr Sampson have already committed. Another four-star D'Angelo Harrison is expected to commit to St. John's before his weekend visit is over.
Out of the Rivals150, other St. John's recruiting targets are five-star prospect Norvel Pelle, four-star prospects Quinn Cook, Amir Garrett and Dominique Pointer and three-star prospect Tyler Harris.
The top junior college target is guard Nurideen Lindsey.
Kansas class
What is the deal with Kansas in 2011? Every team seems to be getting players to commit and we don't have a single player. Will that change with all of the recruits coming for Late Night at the Phog?
- Dustin from Kansas
Well, Kansas did land a point guard in four-star prospect Naadir Tharpe since you submitted your question. Then this weekend 2011 targets LeBryan Nash, Ben McLemore and Angelo Chol will be in attendance.
McLemore has been considered a strong Kansas lean, and I would still consider it that way. Chol has Kansas in his top three schools as does Nash.
It has been the recent history of Kansas recruiting to come with a hard charge late in the game. I expect that pattern to continue this year.
Jerry Meyer is a national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Click here to send him a question or comment for his mailbag.
[rl]