LEWISVILLE, N.C. - The first day of the Phenom Hoops Showcase on the campus of Forsyth Country Day was a good one. A pair of
Mississippi State four-star signees looked good and four-star wing
DeShawn Corprew announced that he's back on the open market.
I had been planning to write about how Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education small forward
Deshawn Corprew was the biggest steal of the early recruiting period. Instead, I'm here to talk about how the four-star small forward who ranks No. 112 overall in 2016 has opened up his recruitment and won't be signing with Arkansas Little-Rock. Corprew is a powerful 6-foot-5 wing who is a beast attacking the rim. He was good for 26 and 10 in a win. Prior to his commitment others such as
Kansas State,
Florida State,
Texas and more had been involved. He'll be one of the most heavily recruited senior wings in the country this year.
One of the biggest early storylines of the signing period has been
Mississippi State. Friday, two of its four-star signees,
Mario Kegler and
Eli Wright, absolutely turned it out. Ranked No. 29 overall, Kegler was the man for Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill as the burly 6-foot-7 forward made six threes and finished with 25 points and five rebounds. His performance was expected (though the three-point shooting was a bonus).
On the other hand, Wright's 28-point, six-rebound, three-assist, four-steal effort for 22 Feet Academy was one where he looked to outplay his own lofty status of No. 94 in the class of 2016. A southpaw with athleticism and a terrific first step, Wright made a living attacking the rim and he was also dangerous shooting from beyond the three-point line. The least celebrated of the Bulldogs' sixth-ranked recruiting class, Wright looked like a steal on Friday.
In just the second day of the game, class of 2017 point guard
Michael Okauru proved to be one of the day's better performers. An athletic driver with good 6-foot-3 size, Okauru looked good in the open floor and made some confident pull-up jumpers. He mixed in a few threes and had a great night with 26 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Okauru said that his only offer is from
Rutgers but he has visited
Virginia and
Xavier, and holds interest from
East Carolina,
Richmond and
Wake Forest among others.
One half of
Tennessee's 2016 recruiting class took the floor during the day as three-star power forwards
Grant Williams and
John Fulkerson both played. They each suffered losses, but showed out for their teams. The 6-foot-6 Williams is an intense competitor around the rim who has sneaky athleticism and great hands. He had 26 points and nine rebounds for Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Country Day in its loss to Oak Hill and ended the day by signing his letter of intent with Tennessee.
A 6-foot-7 lefty for Arden (N.C.) Christ School, Fulkerson prefers to catch on the perimeter, turn and drive to the basket. He is very athletic off of one foot, has a good-looking shot and he will compete. He needs to get stronger but both he and Williams have intangibles, athleticism and look like guys that could develop into valuable upperclassmen.
After solid game against Oak Hill,
#Tennessee bound PF Grant Williams made his signing official
#phenomshowcase pic.twitter.com/wFEA414Nsa- Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops)
November 14, 2015 Mountain Mission wing
Harold BarutiClick Other thoughts …Here to view this Link. is going to make some noise this winter. A 6-foot-5 three-star small forward, Baruti is a high level athlete who slashes to the rim, has a workable jumper and plays with an extreme motor. He listed offers from
SMUClick Other thoughts …Here to view this Link. and UNC-Wilmington to go with interest from Florida,
GeorgiaClick Other thoughts …Here to view this Link. and
Western KentuckyClick Other thoughts …Here to view this Link.. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.