Starting Five: Decision coming for Marvin Bagley III
A decision is coming from the nation's top player, Marvin Bagley III. Bagley doesn't look like he'll be the only five-star big man deciding this week either as 2017's Mitchell Robinson appears close to a transfer decision. More on those topics, and others, in this week's Starting Five.
1. DECISION LOOMS FOR MARVIN BAGLEY III
By the end of the day on Monday, the class of 2018's (for now) top player Marvin Bagley III will have made his college decision.
The super athletic and productive big man will choose among Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and USC around 11 p.m. ET Monday night on ESPN's SportsCenter.
Bagley has put himself in academic position to enroll as a 2017 prospect and it is likely that he'll make that official along with his decision. In the last month he's taken official visits to Arizona, Duke and USC, and he's plenty familiar with UCLA's campus.
Over the last few weeks Duke has received most of the attention and has been considered to be the favorite. However, don't discount the local programs UCLA and USC as they still have more than a puncher's chance to land a potentially season changing addition.
2. IS MITCHELL ROBINSON CLOSE TO A DECISION?
The case of Mitchell Robinson has been one of the more interesting ones to follow over the past few months. After signing with Western Kentucky and spending some time on campus during the summer, the 2017 shot-blocking machine has decided to transfer. From what we're hearing, a decision should be in very soon – perhaps within the next few days – as well.
Given a full release from WKU, Robinson was on the campus of LSU, which also appears to have backed away from the recruitment to an extent. Over the weekend, he completed an official visit to Kansas.
Now the question is going to be whether Robinson is ruled eligible to play immediately at his new school or if he'll have to sit out the year as a transfer. As a potential one-and-done NBA talent, the school that lands him may not ever see the benefit of him hitting the floor. There is also still the slight chance that Robinson could look to play overseas if the NCAA won't grant him immediate eligibility.
Given that he's moving on before ever playing a game – or even completing more than a few summer workouts – we'll go ahead and add Robinson to the recruiting class of whichever school lands him and he could be a huge boost. For now, we'll give Kansas the edge.
3. FIVE-STAR SHITTU TAKES STEP IN RECRUITMENT
There are still more moves to be made, but top 10 senior Simisola Shittu has now taken the first step with his recruitment. On Sunday, the five-star power forward who hails from Canada cut his list of schools to 10.
Making the cut were Arizona, Arizona State, Connecticut, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Up next, Shittu will likely cut his list down to five and look to set official visits. Per sources, that should happen within the next month or so.
In the past, Shittu has told Rivals.com that he is likely to wait until the spring to sign but that's certainly not something that is set in stone. Oregon has always been considered a strong competitor for Shittu and he's familiar with UConn. Kentucky and North Carolina have come on strong since the end of the summer.
4. RIVALS150 WING DIALLO DOWN TO FIVE
One of our favorite players from the summer, 6-foot-6 wing Samba Diallo, who starred for the New York Jayhawks on the adidas Circuit, is down to a final five of Hofstra, Massachusetts, St. Bonaventure, St. Joseph's and VCU.
A native of Senegal, Diallo is a long and athletic wing who still needs more polish but has significant upside. Looking at his final list of five, it's easy to see him developing into a major difference maker for any of his finalists.
The only school on his final list that Diallo has seen to date is UMass and he should be locking in official visit dates sooner than later.
5. SAN DIEGO STATE WITH QUALITY GRAB IN JOEL MENSAH
San Diego State scored an intriguing big man over the weekend when it landed three-star center Joel Mensah.
Mensah is mobile, athletic and protects the rim and rebounds at a level that makes one think that he could turn into a difference maker on the next level.
Weight will need to be added to his frame over the next few years but he is no weakling and projects as a guy who should be able to develop into at least a two- or three-year starter for the Aztecs.