Rivals Roundtable: Promising prospects, rising programs, Baylor
Each week, national recruiting analysts Rob Cassidy, Dan McDonald and Russ Wood tackle several topics about college basketball and hoops recruiting. In this installment of the roundtable, the trio discusses Baylor’s hopes of an undefeated season, recent performances by underclassmen and which program may raise the level at which it recruits in the coming years.
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Rival Views: Which 2021 prospect's recruitment is hardest to predict?
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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1. Discuss a recent performance by a 2022 or 2023 prospect that got you excited about their future.
Rob Cassidy: I knew little about Carl Cherenfant when I showed up at the Montverde Invitational over the weekend but I left with him firmly on my adarf as a 2023 prospect to watch. The Calvary Christian guard is all of 6-foot-4 and managed to stand out against a senior-heavy Sunrise Christian team stacked with high-major talent. He finished the game with 15 points and five rebounds. And while he needs to become a better shooter and add size, all of that should come in time. He sure has the look of a top-100 player in the class. Cherenfant recently picked up an offer from LSU. Western Kentucky has also made things official.
Russ Wood: I’ve long been a fan of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Calvary Christian Academy 2022 forward Taylor Hendricks but after watching the four-star power forward’s 23-point performance against Montverde Academy Thursday night I am very excited about his future. He scored on all three levels, showed nice touch at the rim, played with good energy and battled on defense.
Dan McDonald: I watched Scoot Henderson go for 53 points in a game last month and it was every bit as impressive as it sounds. The five-star guard literally did everything in that performance. There were highlight reel dunks. There were three-pointers from deep, He showed off some of his creative finishing ability. He also dished out a few assists and hit the boards. He absolutely lived up to his five-star status in the 2022 class.
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Which program do you think may raise the level at which it typically recruits in the years ahead?
Cassidy: It really seems like Nate Oats has something cooking at Alabama, so I’ll go with the Tide. There’s a long-debated topic about whether not being a “football school” negatively impacts basketball recruiting, but I’m not a huge believer in that. If Oats and company hold on to win the SEC title, I think we’ll see the success compound. The second-year coach has the connections and the personality to sell the Crimson Tide program to elite players in a way that hasn’t been possible in the past. Once he has the on-court success to go along with it, the perception of the program could transform in a hurry.
Wood: I think Rutgers can do this if head coach Steve Pikiell is able to keep his staff together and keep some of the top talent in New Jersey home and grab a four-star prospect from the Tri-State area or elsewhere. In 2019 they landed a nice piece in Paul Mulcahy. In 2020 they added four-star forward Clifford Omoruyi. In 2021 they snagged four-star Jaden Jones from St. Louis Christian Academy – Jones has since enrolled early – and Jalen Miller who performed well in The St. James NIBC Invitational.
McDonald: Alabama feels like a good choice here. Nate Oats has recruited really well going back to his time at Buffalo and it’s carried over at Alabama already. While it might not rival what Nick Saban is doing on the football side, I think you could see the Crimson Tide take it to another level this year after the success on the court this season. Oats has a terrific staff around him and his teams play a fun brand of basketball getting up and down the court and shooting a lot of three-pointers.
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How much of a chance do you give Baylor entering the NCAA Tournament undefeated?
Cassidy: I don’t think they’ll pull it off. With Kansas not looking like Kansas of old, the road through the Big 12 is certainly a tad less daunting. Should the league play its conference tournament, however, anything is possible. Three games in three days is a chore for any team regardless of talent. And while the Bears certainly have the roster to pull it off, teams like Oklahoma and Texas are definitely capable of handing Scott Drew and company a loss. Keep in mind, the Bears still have to go to Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas before postseason play even begins. Baylor is, in my opinion, the best team in the country, but I’ll play the odds here and say they drop one (or two).
Wood: I give them a 50-50 chance. Thursday Baylor announced it has postponed its next two games "due to the Big 12 Conference men's basketball interruption guidelines," so we’ll see how the Bears respond after this mini-pause. There is much basketball left to be played. Including road games at West Virginia and Kansas.
McDonald: I’d say 25 percent chance. Baylor is obviously really, really good. However, the Big 12 is deep this year and the Bears still have a tough schedule ahead of them when they come off the pause due to COVID-19 issues. They’ll run into Texas Tech, West Virginia twice, and finish up with Kansas on the road. Then they’ll have to go through those three teams, Texas, Oklahoma and the rest of the league in the conference tournament. It’s not impossible, but I don’t think it’s likely they run the table.