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Rivals Roundtable: Early 2018 commits; ACC legends; 2019 risers

Marvin Bagley
Marvin Bagley (Jon Lopez/Nike)

It is time to invite our three national Rivals college basketball recruiting experts to discuss some issues floating around their world. In today’s roundtable, Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Krysten Peek discuss the top players of 2018, replacing legends and risers in the 2019 class.

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1. Of the top five prospects in the Rivals150 for 2018, who commits first, and to where?

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There isn't anybody currently ranked in the top five who jumps out at me as ready to make a decision. Marvin Bagley III at least has a top six of Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and USC but I just don't see him deciding soon. California was sitting really well with Jordan Brown before Cuonzo Martin left for Missouri and it may have been on their way towards grabbing an early commitment. If Wyking Jones can make another push, Cal could be in position to get an early commit out of Brown because the gifted power forward just doesn't seem to be caught up in the hype of being recruited and he strikes me as the kind of kid who would be happy to get things out of the way early. — Eric Bossi

This one is a bit a difficult to get a read on but since Marvin Bagley III, the top ranked prospect in the 2018 class, is already down to a final six, I will have to grow with the elite big man. Down to USC, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA and Arizona, Sean Miller remains hot on the recruiting front and lands the native of the state as Bagley pops to the Wildcats before the month of September rolls around. — Corey Evans

A lot of players like to cut down a list anywhere from eight to 10 schools, schedule a top five official visits list and then announce. When I talked to Cam Reddish a couple weeks ago, he said he probably wouldn't even go through the trouble of making a list and slowly cutting it down. He had in-home visits with Duke, Villanova, and Kentucky, so those three schools are making him a priority right now. I'm going to say Reddish will be the first to commit in 2018, it will be early in the fall and he's heading to Duke. — Krysten Peek

2. Which ACC legend retires first: Jim Boeheim (age 72), Roy Williams (66), Rick Pitino (64) or Mike Krzyzewski (70), and who is his replacement?

The answer to this should have been Boeheim, because he had said that he was going to retire and Syracuse had a good plan in place. Instead, he's indicated his desire to coach longer and Mike Hopkins left for Washington to replace Lorenzo Romar. Coach K and Williams seem to be in a duel to see who can outlast who, so I will go with Pitino. Of those four coaches, Pitino comes off as the least likely to be a coaching "lifer" and I think he'd like some time to relax down the road. Who replaces him at Louisville? There doesn't seem to be an easy pick based on ties to the program or anything like that. So, let's see how Kevin Keatts does at N.C. State. If he gets things rolling in Raleigh, he's likely to be high on the list of potential Pitino replacements in the hypothetical world we've created. — Bossi

Two months ago, Boeheim would have been the easy response but after stating that he plans to remain at the helm in Syracuse for the next five years and the idea of Pitino retiring before then would be surprising, it boils down to the two bluebloods in North Carolina. Jeff Capel has been groomed for the past five years to take over at Duke and while the idea of Shaka Smart replacing Williams at UNC has been floated. Coach K ends up becoming the first ACC coaching legend to retire with his former player and now assistant coach taking over for him. — Evans

I'm going to go with Boeheim and I have no idea who would replace him since Hopkins left for Washington. Maybe it could be assistant coach Adrian Autry, who has been on Boeheim's staff since 1996, but I also can't count out Hopkins since Boeheim has said he wants to coach for the next five seasons and that's plenty of time for Hopkins to return to Syracuse. — Peek

3. Who is the most improved 2019 player you've seen this spring and where does his recruitment stand?

I'm going to go with Armando Bacot. Maybe it's because I hadn't really had much of a chance to get an in-depth look at his game in the past, but he seems vastly improved to me. We already moved him into the national top 35 coming out of the winter, but I don't think that was near high enough. He's got tremendous size, touch, skill and instinct for a young post player and is one who I feel we need to think very hard about elevating to five-star status when we next update the rankings around the latter part of June. Bacot also seems to be a high academic guy and with him being local, I have to figure Virginia is going to make a strong run at him. Bacot recently saw Maryland, Virginia Tech has done some good early work and Kansas could end up an attractive option. — Bossi

No one has improved, when it comes from a physical standpoint, or from the development of his skillset, than Joey Baker in the 2019 class. A 6-foot-7 small forward that is a dynamic weapon in the frontcourt, the top-50 recruit has taken the next step with his game this spring. He visited South Carolina over the weekend as some of the elite are beginning to get involved. While he grew up a Kansas fan, this one comes down to North Carolina and Duke with one of the local bluebloods winning out. — Evans

Point guard Ashton Hagans is starting to see some interest from top programs. Kansas, USC, and Baylor all offered last week with Kentucky, UConn and North Carolina showing interest. He's averaging 12.5 points per game on a loaded Game Elite team on the Adidas circuit and had 22 points and 11 assists in a close win to keep his team 7-1. The fact that Kansas has gotten in early is a good move, but expect a lot of high majors to be involved towards the end of his recruitment. — Peek

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