Starting Five: Key weekend decisions and who's next?
The weekend featured some noteworthy decisions including four-star junior Nnanna Njoku picking Villanova on Sunday night. What does Njoku bring to the table, who else made choices and who is up next to decide plus more in this week's edition of the Starting Five.
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1. FOUR-STAR NJOKU GOES WITH NOVA
Villanova and Jay Wright got good news on Sunday night when four-star junior big man Nnanna Njoku picked the Wildcats.
One of the most physically tough post players in the class of 2021, the 6-foot-9 center at Hockessin (Del.) Sanford School, Njoku has made big strides with his game on the offensive end. He's still a power guy, but he's developing a short jumper and improving his footwork. Njoku ranks No. 68 overall in the junior class.
He's an entirely different style of player from star freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, but Njoku will most likely be needed to fill big minutes given that the 2020-21 season could be JRE's last in Philly.
This guy is rugged, he's fun to watch and Villanova did very well for themselves here.
2. ARIZONA FINDS A POINT GUARD OVERSEAS
On Saturday, Sean Miller and Arizona went the International route to score Kerr Kriisa, a point guard, to help replace freshman Nico Mannion who is headed to the NBA Draft.
I have never had the opportunity to see the native of Estonia in person. However, I have spent some time watching video of him and he looks like he has a chance to play big minutes. He'll need to get stronger and he's not a burner by any means, but he has reasonably good size at 6-foot-2 and looks to be a skilled passer. Most importantly, Kriisa looks to be a very dangerous jump shooter with range.
He's the third four-star in Arizona's 2020 recruiting class and the second international player. Canadian wing Ben Mathurin committed during the winter and in-state guard Dalen Terry signed early. They also landed Seattle U guard Terrell Brown as a grad transfer. As a group, they give the Wildcats the No. 17 ranked class in the team rankings.
3. SILVA SETS DECISION FOR TUESDAY
One of the top five point guards in the class of 2021, Isael Silva will announce his college decision on Tuesday.
I feel he's well on his way to being a high level guy in college and that's mostly because of his overall skill level. He can get to the bucket a bit, he passes well, he can shoot and he has good size.
Silva has now set a decision for Tuesday and should be able to help out as soon as he makes it to a college campus. Stanford looks to be the favorite here.
4. ANSELEM OPENS THINGS BACK UP
Late last week, 6-foot-9 center Frank Anselem moved from the class of 2021 to 2020 and also announced that he was down to a final three of Alabama, Georgia and LSU.
On Saturday, the perceived favorite LSU took a commitment from three-star center Josh Gray. Now, perhaps coincidentally, Anselem is back wide open and does not have any finalists or favorites.
Anselem still has lots of room to show what he's capable of on the offensive end but he's got very good size and he's athletic. There's no question that he has high major size and athleticism and with a pretty shallow pool of suitors, look for his options open up quickly.
5. TULSA SCORES WITH UNDER-THE-RADAR FORWARD
As I mentioned up top, there were some key decisions over the weekend. I referenced Josh Gray's commitment to LSU and we also covered Dontrez Styles commitment to North Carolina. However, I also wanted to be sure to mention Tulsa picking up Chicago Heights (Ill.) Bloom Township combo forward Christian Shumate.
At 6-foot-6 he's a long and wiry combo forward who is among the most athletic players in the senior class. He's really bouncy, quick to the rim and plays with a pretty good motor too. He will be a big-time finisher in transition and a versatile defender while he puts on some needed muscle.
I spoke with a lot of coaches about him shortly after the season and Frank Haith and his staff have landed a really good piece for next season and beyond.