In this week's Twitter Tuesday mailbag, Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst Corey Evans looks at Kentucky’s frontline pursuit, Karim Mane’s recruitment and an early look at Caleb Furst.
Starting Five: Big win for Memphis, Anthony out at North Carolina
No, Kentucky has been out it for a while with Jalen Green. The Wildcats' focus at this point is on the frontcourt, which is why they are so heavily involved with four-star Kai Sotto and top-10 junior Moussa Diabate, who could reclassify.
Greg Brown and Clifford Omoruyi also remain top targets for the Wildcats. Of the two, they have a much better chance with Omoruyi, while Texas remains the team to beat for Brown.
On the Green front, look for his recruitment to go for a little while longer. While he was set on committing on Christmas Day, he changed course a few weeks ago and will continue evaluating his options until the spring.
Memphis remains in the best spot, but Auburn has made up some ground. Oregon and USC are also involved but the overseas path is also on the table. For now, I would say that there is a 50-50 chance that he decides to skip college and signs a professional contract for next year.
The recruitment of Karim Mane remains one of the more difficult ones to read and things didn’t get any easier last week. The five-star guard will be out for up to a month due to a deep bone bruise, which might make it more difficult for Mane to sift through the various avenues that he could take next year.
The Spartans are not just battling Alabama, DePaul, Marquette and Maryland for his services, but also the NBA where he could make the jump directly to the league thanks to his age and the fact that he will be a year removed from his high school graduation come June.
I do believe Michigan State will receive an official visit from him, but the lone visit that he has scheduled for now is for Marquette on Jan. 3. If the Spartans miss out on Mane, there is no one available in the 2020 class that would fill the program's big need at the lead guard spot. Jalen Terry is still open but a remarriage of sorts doesn’t seem at hand.
It is too early to make a list for Caleb Furst but I guess we could throw out a few programs that might stand a good chance whenever a commitment is made. Furst is a bit further ahead with his recruitment compared to many of his 2021 peers as he has already taken two official visits and is expected to take one or two others before the travel season begins.
Purdue and Virginia are definitely in the hunt as each has hosted him on an official visit. The same should be said for Michigan State as the Spartans will be the next program he visits. From there, it would never be smart to discount Indiana with a top-tier in-state prospect, while Notre Dame and Ohio State are just as involved as all of the others.
I don’t expect Furst to make an early commitment. He will likely take his recruitment into the spring and then see where things stand. However, the six programs mentioned should be seen as the strongest of suitors early on.
I really don’t see why not. Memphis is going to get dudes. I know that the Tigers haven’t struck in the 2020 class just yet, but as long as Penny Hardaway as at the helm, top-15 signing classes should be the expectation.
The Tigers shouldn’t be the flag-bearers for the league alone. Houston has done a great job of enrolling some of the very best via the transfer realm and from the high school platform. Losing UConn to the Big East is going to hurt, but it has been nice to see USF win a few recruiting battles, the latest being its best yet with top-60 guard Caleb Murphy; first-year head coach Aaron McKie signing a solid class at Temple this fall; and one should always expect Gregg Marshall to get it done at Wichita State.
Do I see the AAC ranking among the top-five leagues for talent each year? No, they are not going to surpass the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 or the SEC. But it can be the next best and if its league members make the right coaching hires just like Tulane did with Ron Hunter, then the conference’s spot in the pecking order should remain on point.
Programs go on recruiting runs, a trend that the Friars are no stranger to, but this fall has not been kind to Providence.
First, give credit to Ed Cooley and his staff for getting involved much earlier in the process compared to the competition with some of this summer’s top breakthrough performers. At the end of the day, though, they were not able to close.
Cooley has shown that he can develop three-stars into future pros. Just because they missed should not discourage PC fans that success is not ahead.
