In today's Twitter Tuesday, Rivals.com Basketball Analyst Corey Evans waxes poetic on a number of topics, including the ongoing recruitments of J.T. Thor and Karim Mane.
MORE: Top takeaways from Holiday Hoopsgiving
Here is what J.T. Thor said this weekend when asked about the professional path: “It is an option, but I don’t think that I am going that way.”
I believe that Thor will play college ball next year and while my FutureCast selection remains set on Oklahoma State, I am not as confident on that prediction as I was a month ago.
The belief was that if Cade Cunningham chose Oklahoma State, which he did, then Thor’s commitment would follow. That didn’t happen. While it still could, Thor is set to let the recruiting process play out some more. He is heavily intrigued by Kentucky and will visit Lexington in the coming weeks.
Georgia and Kansas are also involved, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few other programs worked their way into the mix. Ultimately, I think Thor ends up Kentucky or Oklahoma State.
One of the top available prospects that is relatively wide open with his recruitment, Mane has an official visit set up to Marquette for Jan. 4, but could potentially visit DePaul later this month. He also visited Maryland earlier this year. Alabama, Memphis, Michigan State and a handful of others remain involved.
I think Mane will attend college next fall instead of entering the NBA Draft, I also would not be surprised if, after signing this spring, he looks for a draft promise and possibly receives it. There are a few NBA franchises that will have multiple second round draft picks in June’s draft. I don’t see anyone taking him in the first round but I wouldn’t be shocked if he received a second-round promise with guarantees included within his contract. Would that be enough to intrigue him to skip college entirely?
Either way, look for Mane to take a handful of official visits in the coming months before signing in April. My guess is that Marquette is the team to beat.
There has been a lot said in recent months about the possibility of a handful of top 2020 prospects opting to go directly to the professional ranks out of high school. Two of those prospects are Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs. They both have the drawing power that various professional leagues would love to have and have skill sets that should translate to the higher levels.
Of the two, Green is the most likely to play professionally, though I still think he will choose Memphis and play college basketball.
Suggs is practically down to the professional path or Gonzaga, though the in-state Minnesota Gophers are also involved. He has discussed the idea of playing overseas but I still believe that he decides against playing professionally for one more year and enrolls at Gonzaga next fall.
Greg Brown, a five-star talent that will be making oodles of money in the NBA in the not-so-distant future, is not going to make his college decision based on the result of a football game. Yes, he had to be impressed by the Auburn fan base and atmosphere, but Brown is going to choose a program based on fit and comfort level, not an exciting football game.
My FutureCast selection remains on Texas for Brown and I am will not willing to change my stance just yet. He will visit Memphis on Jan. 4, and then complete his official visit tour with a trip to Kentucky the week after. North Carolina remains involved but my gut says Brown is Texas’ to lose. Kentucky should never be discounted, Memphis has a lot going for it, and Auburn could intrigue him enough thanks to five-star Sharife Cooper set to enroll
Look for a commitment to be made likely after the season completes and sometime around the spring.
Over the weekend in Atlanta, the Holiday Hoopsgiving further revealed the names of Isaiah Collier and Kanaan Carlyle. The two Peach State natives are not only some of the best freshmen in the area, but also nationally. Already, each has received high-major offers and their lists will only expand. They have the chance to be special as long as they remain on the correct development curve.
The week before, David N’Guessan impressed analysts and coaches alike. St. Joe’s has done a phenomenal job of recruiting him but competition for his signature will only get tougher as DePaul and VCU recently offered, and more will soon follow.
Lastly, I began my journeys last month in Fort Worth and fell in love with what all Keyonte George can do. His progression rate is out of this world to the extent that I see him as potentially the best guard in the 2022 class. He still has some time to go, but the talent, abilities and improving nature of George left the greatest impression on me from November.
