Rivals Roundtable: Most surprising decisions in 2021 class
There's been plenty of recent news in the world of college hoops and recruiting, and in this week's roundtable our analysts weigh in on some of those topics.
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EVANS SEVEN: Top players who could be on verge of committing
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position
2022 Rankings: Top 75
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1. Which of 2021's early decisions caught you the most off-guard?
Bossi: Five-star Kendall Brown picking Baylor came as a major surprise to myself and most in the recruiting world. A potential favorite for the 2021 National Championship, the Bears and Scott Drew remained mostly under the radar while working on Brown. A high-flying 6-foot-7 wing who is versatile on both ends of the floor, Brown chose Baylor without making an official visit and is part of a very strong 2021 group headed to Waco.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH BAYLOR FANS AT SICEMSPORTS.COM
Evans: I’m not going to say I knew that Paolo Banchero would pick Duke but I did get a sense that if he was going to stick to what he had always been saying pertaining to what was most important to his college decision, that it would lead him to Durham. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t surprised by the timing of his commitment. I heard some chatter that his decision would be coming sooner compared with what others had believed. Coach K and his guys got themselves an absolute STUD.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH DUKE FANS AT DEVILSILLUSTRATED.COM
McDonald: I’d go back to Max Christie picking Michigan State. I always thought he would end up at Duke based on everything I had heard, which made sense given the success the Blue Devils have had recruiting the Chicago area and how often you would see the Duke staff tracking him last summer. But late in the process for him, the Spartans came on strong and did a terrific job to get him done. He’s a really good prospect and should be perfect fit for Tom Izzo.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH MICHIGAN STATE FANS AT SPARTANMAG.COM
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2. There have been several transfers by high-profile prospects to prep schools over the last month or so. Are we just scratching the surface due to COVID-19 uncertainty?
Bossi: I don’t see the transfer trend slowing down anytime soon and for many reasons. Kids want to play. Those who haven’t gotten the offers they are looking for want more exposure, some want to improve rankings and most of all they want to play against better talent to prepare for the college game. Not only are we going to see more transfers, we are going to see many of the rising stars in the game starting to focus on building personal brands in anticipation of Name, Image and Likeness rules being changed to benefit them.
Evans: For sure! I even discussed it this past week in my Three-Point Play and the more postponements by various high school state federations, the greater number of transfers we will see into prep programs that do not have a governing body. These prep programs are going to load up and can credibly say that we are going to play this amount of games and if you stay where you are now, your chances of actually playing in games aren't good. Just like in college, the split between the have and have nots is growing wider and wider because of the pandemic at hand.
McDonald: It just depends on each state. Some states, as we’ve seen with football and other fall sports, are doing everything they can to play, while others haven’t been as aggressive with it. I’m curious to see how the prep school season works out because it seems like it’d be hard for them to travel all over to play like they normally do. Maybe it turns into a season full of “bubble” events for them.
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3. Of those who landed commits over the last week, who was the biggest winner?
Bossi: I’m going to go with Texas here. Shaka Smart and his staff have to sign a big class in 2021 and a great start was made even better on Friday when they landed four-star shooting guard Tamar Bates. The native of Kansas City is exactly the type of wing scorer that Texas needs on next year’s roster. Perhaps even more importantly, he’s the type of competitor and locker room leader that can help get things in the right direction in Austin. I won’t be at all surprised if Bates develops into an All-Big 12 player before he finishes his time as a Longhorn.
MORE ON BATES: Bossi's analysis of Texas decision
Evans: Difficult not to say UNLV. Zaon Collins could be just the tipping point to a tremendous class in Vegas. The four-star guard is great friends with another UNLV target, Arthur Kaluma. Collins is the type that others will want to play with in college thanks to his playmaking skills. TJ Otzelberger landed a guard that he can rely on when he has to take his team to Logan, San Diego and Albuquerque, which is why Collins’ commitment could go down as the turning point of how things have fared over the past five or so years at UNLV.
McDonald: It has to be UNLV convincing Zaon Collins to stay and be the point guard of the future for the Runnin’ Rebels. That’s an absolutely huge recruiting win for Otzelberger to fend off Arizona, Arizona State and USC. He’s a really good floor general who can also set the tone defensively as an on-ball defender. He’s the type of recruit that could help attract other high-end talent to join him in Vegas.