Now that the NFL season is behind us, college basketball will take a greater piece of the national public’s eye with March Madness just weeks away. In the meantime, the recruiting world has failed to stop and, in this week’s #TwitterTuesday, we take on such subjects as Jalen Green and his potential landing spots, Paolo Banchero’s recruitment, and Michigan’s chances with Greg Brown.
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Not a chance. Sorry. Jalen Green, while he has not publicly stated that he is down to a specific set of schools, will attend either Auburn, Fresno State, Memphis, Oregon, or USC. I would be surprised that, if all things remain the same from now until decision day, that Green ends up at only Auburn or Memphis, and while he DID publicly say that he would not play overseas next year, that remains an option.
Texas Tech is going to be fine with Nimari Burnett. The five-star is just the latest major win for Chris Beard and his staff on the recruiting trail. Jahmius Ramsey is likely headed to the NBA but Burnett alongside Terrence Shannon should create for one of the more dynamic backcourts in the college game.
Expect for the Red Raiders to add at least two more before they complete their roster for the 2020-2021 campaign. They have their eye on a big man in the mold of Vlad Goldin, and look for the Red Raiders to hit the grad-transfer realm which has been so kind to them in recent offseasons.
Paolo Banchero is about past the idea of reclassifying. He remains set on enrolling in the fall of 2021 but has published a final list of schools that consists of Baylor, Duke, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. He also just completed an official visit to Gonzaga two weeks ago, which was the final visit that he could take during his junior year; he has already been to Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee.
I don’t give Baylor, Georgetown, Memphis or Michigan much of a chance, and while Gonzaga has a shot, they remain in catch-up mode. The question is whether he wants to stay home and play where his parents were star athletes. Mike Hopkins has won his recruiting battles as an assistant and now as a head coach in Seattle, but my bet is that Banchero decides to go elsewhere.
Carolina will have a say but my gut says that it comes down to Duke, Kentucky and Tennessee. Banchero has also established a great relationship with five-star guard Kennedy Chandler where both visited UT during the same weekend in the fall. Duke and Tennessee have the best chance with Chandler, while Kentucky might be the slight leader for Banchero. Could the two play together in college? There is a chance which is why it could be a dead heat with plenty of storylines to follow regarding where the best point guard and best power forward land and if they decide to pick the same university.
Michigan might leave an impression on Greg Brown because it is rather difficult to not leave a program in the mold of Michigan and not be intrigued by what they could offer, but I would be very, very surprised if the Wolverines jump into the leader’s category for him.
Now, that is nothing to slight Juwan Howard and all that he has been able to achieve thus far. Practically no one was giving him much of a chance with Isaiah Todd, and the same could be said for Josh Christopher, though there is much more time to go before a decision is made.
What the Wolverines have going for them are questions surrounding Texas and Shaka Smart. UT was the clear favorite in the fall but that doesn’t seem to the case any longer.
However, Michigan just recently picked up their efforts with Brown and for him to decline not just the local Longhorns, but also Memphis, who might be the leader currently, along with Auburn and Kentucky, would take a whole lot. Michigan is fifth out the five finalists for Brown but I will say, as we have already learned with Howard, never say never with the Wolverines whenever its head coach locks in on a top target.
The draft is not a possibility for Jalen Johnson. The NBA restricts anyone from entering it that is not a full year removed from graduating high school; Johnson is still taking classes towards receiving his diploma in the spring.
He only has two options: the professional realm, or Duke. I have heard nothing but that he will be enrolling at Duke. He began the high school year at IMG Academy and now is back at his local Nicolet High School but is unable to play the remainder of the season due to rules that govern the state.
There was talk during the semester break that Johnson was attempting to enroll at Duke but nothing came of it. For now, expect for the five-star to be on the Durham campus in a few months and potentially be the go-to forward that Coach K seems to always revolve his offense around.
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe will complete his scheduled official visits this week after he visits Georgetown, a trip that is currently ongoing. Just last week, he visited Oklahoma State and earlier in the fall, Seton Hall had him on its campus.
From here, just as Eric Bossi reported last month, it would look as if South Carolina and St. John’s have the best chance at securing one of his two remaining official visits.
A decision is expected in the spring once he completes all of his official visits. Seton Hall would be my prediction for who he chooses but his current visit to Georgetown, along with potential trips to St. John’s and USC, could change a thing or two before he decides.
