The July live period is mere days away, as the 2021 grassroots season will culminate in the coming weeks. That makes it a perfect time to check in with Rivals analysts Rob Cassidy, Dan McDonald and Jamie Shaw to check the temperature on how they feel about a handful of recruiting-related topics.
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Cassidy's Takeaways: Day 1 of the Summer Hoops Festival
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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1. Which prospect are you most looking forward to seeing on the big stage this July?
Cassidy: I’m excited to see Omaha Biliew at Peach Jam. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the No. 2 prospect in 2023 play and now that he’s decided to transfer to Florida Montverde Academy he’ll be under an even brighter spotlight than before. Biliew has a rare skill set and is a blast to watch on the floor because of his versatility and the way he defends. He’ll be one of the first prospects I seek out when I get to the event.
McDonald: I’ve yet to get a live evaluation of five-star shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe, but have seen him on live streams and highlight reels and he looks mighty impressive. I can’t wait to see what his athleticism looks like in person later this month at the Peach Jam. He looks like an elite guard prospect that will have some of the top schools in the country following him, and potentially even G-League and Overtime scouts.
Shaw: Anthony Black. Black was the one we got the most feedback on after our last rankings. I have not seen him live, but I have certainly seen the feedback put out on social media about him. On film he looks like he has a smooth floor game and nice positional size. The live viewings give a good sense of body language, pop, and overall competitive nature. With everything I have heard, he is one I am most excited to see as I feel a live viewing will tell the full story.
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2. Five-star Dariq Whitehead is set to announce on Aug. 1. Where do you think he'll land?
Cassidy: I’ve had a FutureCast in for Duke for some time and I’m not motivated to change it. After speaking with Whitehead at the Summer Hoops Festival over the weekend, I got the vibe that Florida State is the only threat to steal his pledge from the Blue Devils, as Kansas seems to be in a distant third. Whitehead’s official visit to Duke allowed him to become more comfortable with head coach in waiting Jon Scheyer and may have sealed the deal.
McDonald: This has been trending Duke’s way ever since they hosted him on an official visit in early June and offered a scholarship. When Duke gets momentum in the recruitment of a five-star prospect, it usually ends up going in their favor. A commitment from Dariq Whitehead would be a huge start for the Blue Devils in the recruiting class that will be the first to play for Jon Scheyer as head coach.
Shaw: Duke. In recruiting, where there is smoke there is fire. There has been a lot of smoke around Duke since their offer for Whitehead went public on June 9, and he took his official visit to Durham on June 11. Prior to Duke getting involved, Florida State was the prevailing thought, and when Leonard Hamilton zeros in on a player he is tough to beat. While not counting out the Seminoles, at the end of the day, I think Duke holds on.
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3. Which prospect are you much higher on now than you were six months ago?
Cassidy: I’ll go with Lee Dort. The Vanderbilt commit has developed much better touch around the rim and looked more motivated than ever at the Pangos All-American Festival last month. Dort has long been a strong, menacing presence on the defensive end and the glass, but now the big man has added a diverse set of low post moves to his repertoire. Dort impacts the game in a number of ways and continues to become a more well-rounded prospect.
McDonald: I’d definitely go with London Johnson here. He’s been a highly recruited prospect for a year now, but for whatever reason, when I watched him play, he never played that well. That changed in a big way this spring with Game Elite and continued in June playing with Norcross in the GHSA team camps. He’s improved his strength, athleticism and overall conditioning to an elite level and he’s a super talented scorer. He’s a great decision-maker as well. I thought he was a borderline high-major prospect during the high school season. Now I think he’s a borderline five-star prospect.
Shaw: Ernest Udeh. Six months ago I had not heard of Udeh, he had no buzz. My first viewing of Udeh came during the first week of April, and instantly you saw his hands, his ability to run the floor, his touch around the basket, and it was obvious he was a Power Five prospect. A follow up viewing of Udeh came in May during the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions where Udeh took over the weekend. We doubled down on Udeh and shortly thereafter, he entered the Rivals150. While, in this industry, you would much rather be right on a prospect than be the first to push the prospect, however it is nice when you are both. Twenty-plus offers later it looks like we made the right move in betting on Udeh.
