Bryce Drew has put together a nice class at Vanderbilt after adding four-star center Ejike Obinna. Butler also had a successful weekend, adding their second four-star prospect. We break it all down in this week's edition of the Starting Five.
1. VANDERBILT LANDS FOUR-STAR CENTER
In his first year at Vanderbilt, head coach Bryce Drew has landed a nice recruiting haul. Already in possession of commitments from Rivals150 combo guard Maxwell Evans and another athletic combo guard Saben Lee, Drew and his staff added four-star center Ejike Obinna on Sunday.
Not only did the Commodores add a key piece in the bruising 6-foot-9 center, they won a true intra conference recruiting battle coming from behind to knock off Florida on the strength of a strong official visit.
Obinna isn't yet a big-time offensive player, but he's got SEC ready strength and he's a high-level rebounder and very good positional defender. He likes physicality and has big upside as a player that won't turn 18 until after he arrives in Nashville.
Vandy could add one more prospect, but anything from here is gravy.
2. BUTLER LANDS SECOND FOUR-STAR
For the second time in the class of 2017, Butler has landed a four-star prospect. Thanks to the addition of swingman Christian David, the Bulldogs now have a four-man recruiting class that is strong on shooting and perimeter skill.
A native of Canada who is prepping at Saxton's River (Vt.) Vermont Academy, the 6-foot-7 David missed the spring and summer with a torn ACL. However, Rivals.com thought so highly of him during winter play that he was able to retain a No. 88 overall national ranking in the class of 2017.
Because of his size he can play as a stretch four man or a big wing. His ability to shoot and move well for a big wing are his biggest strengths. Obviously, he'll need to return to full strength post injury, but he's a very nice piece for the Bulldogs.
David joins another four-star forward capable of playing either the three or the four in No. 109 overall Kyle Young. The duo team with three-star shooting guard Cooper Neese and versatile three-star small forward Jerald Butler to form a class that will move into the 2017 team rankings at No. 13.
3. XAVIER ADDS NO. 4
Chris Mack has Xavier positioned well for a monster class in 2017. The Musketeers already had a top-10 class featuring commitments from Rivals150 prospects Naji Marshall, Jared Ridder and Elias Harden. They also lead for top-35 guard Paul Scruggs.
With the perimeter looking to be well addressed, adding size is a priority, and with that in mind they are rolling the dice on three-star center Kentrevious Jones from Macon (Ga.) Westside, who committed on Sunday after a weekend visit to Cincinnati.
A true big man who is pushing 300 pounds, the 6-foot-10 Jones had some moments of brilliance in the Under Armour Association playing for the Atlanta Xpress. He's tough to move around the lane, rebounds his area and can be an intimidating enforcer type when he needs to.
Jones will need to get into a bit better shape to play longer stretches of games, but he isn't overweight by any means. He's just a massive kid with a bit of a mean streak whose long term potential Mack fell in love with during the summer.
4. FOUR-STAR POINT GUARDS CLOSING IN ON CHOICES?
A pair of sought after four-star point guards from New England look to be closing in on decisions. 5-foot-10 Tremont Waters has at least one more visit left while 6-foot-1 Wabissa Bede may be in decision-making mode after a weekend trip to Virginia Tech.
Ranked No. 36 overall, Waters has spent the last three weekends on the road visiting Georgetown, Kentucky and Indiana. Up next, he'll head out to Kansas this weekend for what is currently the last official visit he has set. Technically, Yale, Duke and Connecticut are among his final seven, but his choice is expected to come in the relative near future from among those he has visited.
Headed into the visit process, Tom Crean and the Hoosiers were considered the team to beat, but after a hastily scheduled trip to Kentucky two weekends ago, the Wildcats have picked up a ton of buzz and things look to be getting really tight between them and the Hoosiers, with the Jayhawks preparing their pitch.
As for Bede, he's down to a final four of Butler, La Salle, Massachusetts and Virginia Tech. He's now completed visits to Tech and Butler and those two have been considered the frontrunners in his recruitment.
Sunday night, Bede indicated to Rivals.com that he hadn't yet thought about when he will make his decision, but talk from behind the scenes is that he shouldn't need too much longer to make his choice.
5. ODDS AND ENDS
Look for 2017's No. 89 ranked player, forward Jordan Nwora, to wait until the spring to make his decision. A sharp shooting senior at Saxton's River (Vt.) Vermont Academy, Nwora is a deadeye shooter capable of playing the three or the four, and he's been the rage with college coaches of late. Though he's yet to set any official visits or even set a formal list, both California and Georgia Tech look well-positioned to eventually get officials. Louisville's Rick Pitino is doing an in-home on Monday and others involved include Oklahoma State, Florida, Maryland, UCLA, Utah and Texas Tech, just to name a few.
Rivals150 forward Andre Rafus has announced that he will release his college decision this Friday. He has a final four of Seton Hall, Kansas, Georgetown and TCU with most of the recent talk revolving around the Pirates and Hoyas.
A summer teammate of Rafus' on Baltimore based Team Melo, three-star small forward De'Vondre Perry, is down to Kansas State, Temple and Virginia Tech. A physical wing who is a bit of a late-bloomer, Perry is a big upside guy.
Finally, VCU has landed their third commitment from the class of 2017 in Florida face-up four man Sean Mobley. A mobile big who can shoot the three, Mobley committed Sunday night after an official visit. He joins four-star point guard Lavar Batts and Rivals150 big man Marcos Santos-Silva in the Rams' 2017 recruiting class.