Starting Five: Rowan opens things up
It was a relatively quiet weekend on the recruiting front, but there is still plenty to talk about in this week's Starting Five. This week Rivals.com gets things started by taking looks at Maverick Rowan, Jalen Coleman, Jalen Poyser, Chris Silva and Marlon Stewart.
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Rowan reconsiders
For his junior year, four-star shooting guard Maverick Rowan moved from the Pittsburgh area to attend Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons. The No. 46 player in the class of 2016, Rowan made another change on Saturday when he de-committed from the University of Pittsburgh.
If there is one area that the class of 2016 appears to be lacking it is with consistent wing shooters that have good size. Standing a solid 6-foot-5, Rowan has the size, and he can definitely shoot.
However, labeling Rowan as just a shooter is probably short selling him a bit. He understands how to use his size, he moves well away from the ball and he is good enough with fakes and changes of speed to be pretty effective off the dribble. Overall, he is sound and skilled on the offensive end. He still has to get stronger and his defense needs some work, but Rowan is going to be very attractive to schools needing a wing scorer in 2016.
Pitt is still expected to be considered, and schools in the Southeast will surely be looking to get involved, but there is little question that his recruitment will attract a host of high-major programs.
Decision looming for Coleman?
During July, it seemed that four-star shooting guard Jalen Coleman was a virtual lock to end up at Notre Dame.
Irish coach Mike Brey watched Coleman everywhere he went during July's live period. After the summer it seemed like it was simply a matter of time before the No. 37 player in 2015 committed to play for Brey and Notre Dame. But with the recent commitment of four-star Rex Pflueger, the Irish are now set with their shooting guard needs, and they've moved on.
With Notre Dame out, UNLV and Illinois -- who were already making a strong impression on the 6-foot-3 jump shooter --- now look to be dueling for his services. He has already been to Las Vegas for an official visit, and he's currently wrapping one up with the Illini.
Though his recruitment could always shift again, it appears that Coleman is just about ready to make a decision and that it will be either the Rebels or the Illini, especially given that he moved his visit to Illinois up.
UNLV had been building some serious steam over the last month or so, while the Illini have come on strong in the past few weeks. At this point, it appears to be a dead heat between the two and there's a good chance that he has a decision sooner than later.
Poyser generating more attention
Rivals.com will have a more in-depth story on the status of four-star point guard Jalen Poyser later this week, but things have definitely been picking up for him.
A 6-foot-2 point guard at the Athlete's Institute in Canada, Poyser finished out the summer strong with terrific outings at both Adidas Nations and the Nike global challenge. It appears that programs are starting to take notice.
Poyser told Rivals.com that he now holds offers from VCU, California, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Creighton, St. Mary's and UNLV. Additional interest has come in from the likes of Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State and Wake Forest.
He has seen URI and he has a trip planned to see Oklahoma for the weekend of Oct. 3. The No. 83 player in 2015, he is a scorer off the dribble and could end up waiting until the spring to decide.
Silva a good match for Martin
Anybody who has watched Frank Martin coached teams play for any period of time can see that Rivals150 forward Chris Silva is exactly the type of dude that Martin likes to roll with. So getting the 6-foot-8 forward from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic to commit on Friday was big news for Martin and South Carolina.
Long, lean and explosive, Silva is among the most energetic players in the class of 2015. He needs to get stronger, but he already plays with the toughness and edge of a guy who is carrying at least 30 more pounds of muscle. He runs the floor well, attacks the glass and is a very active rebounder.
Skill wise, Silva has some work to do but he is starting to make some short to medium range jumpers. Even if he is a little raw offensively, Silva is the kind of guy who could give the Gamecocks a boost as a freshman because of his no nonsense style of play and high running motor.
Stewart coming off the board today
Back in July, 6-foot-1 combo guard Marlon Stewart was poised to make a splash on the recruiting scene. However, an injury cost him the latter part of July and he didn't get to take the floor with his Team Rose squad and show what he could do.
However, the glimpses schools did see earlier in July and back into April were enough to make the product of Eldridge (Iowa) North Scott a pretty hot target. After already taking a visit to Florida Gulf Coast, Stewart was on campus at Creighton over the weekend and was expected to visit either Dayton or Wichita State this weekend. Instead, Stewart has decided that he doesn't need to take more visits and that he'll have his decision on Monday.
UPDATE: Stewart commits to Creighton
An explosive and strong guard, Stewart is a bouncy finisher around the rim and a dangerous shooter from deep. Given the timing of his visit and decision, Creighton has to feel pretty good with where they stand and he would be an excellent addition to a class that already features top 50 big man Justin Patton. His other finalists are FGCU, Northern Illinois and Bradley.
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