RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
STARTING FIVE: LSU reinstates Will Wade, Cincinnati hires John Brannen, Duke making a move
In this week’s Twitter Tuesday, we take a deep dive into the Trendon Watford recruitment, evaluate Buzz Williams’ early work at Texas A&M, discuss leaders for Greg Brown and more.
I do not. Yes, LSU could make another push for Trendon Watford now that Will Wade is back at the helm of the Tigers' basketball program, but many things still need to be clarified before Watford gets to the point at looking at favorably at the Tigers.
What is working in LSU's favor is that it has the bigger role available in the frontcourt than Alabama and Memphis. However, he could also be putting off his commitment so that he gets a greater feel for the roster makeup for each of his finalists, and to see if Duke ends up offering.
While there is plenty of talk and speculation about Watford committing to Memphis later this week, I truly believe that even he does not know where he wants to go just yet. The next few weeks will mean a lot for Watford's recruitment.
Buzz Williams already took a giant step toward making Texas A&M relevant again over the weekend as the Aggies celebrated the commitments of four prospects: Cashius McNeilly, a four-star guard that will reclassify into the 2019 class, junior college standout Quenton Jackson, and former Virginia Tech recruits Andre Gordon and Yavuz Gultekin.
From there, Williams needs to lock down either Chris Harris Jr. or Sahvir Wheeler, each commitments to the prior Texas A&M staff, convince Admon Gilder to reverse his transfer plans and land another junior college or transfer standout in the frontcourt.
Finally, and most important, Williams will need to mine the state of Texas. No, he does not need to land the top of the top, but if he can enroll multiple Rivals150 prospects and continue to work his extensive recruiting network base, it would go a long way to pushing the Aggies up the SEC totem pole and prove once again that there are not many others better at remaking a program than Williams.
No, I do not think Greg Brown to Texas is a done deal, but it's fair to say that the Longhorns are probably the favorite as Brown has been to the Austin campus a number of times and his relationship with Shaka Smart is very strong.
However, Memphis and North Carolina both have a good shot at Brown. There have been whispers circulating about Smart’s longevity in Austin but if he can squelch those concerns, my bet guess would be for Brown to end up at Texas. There is still some time to go before a decision is made as he told Rivals.com that he wants to cut his list to a final seven this summer.
I am not sure that I buy that Auburn will challenge for the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, but the Tigers should finish with a top-25 group again.
It would be a surprise if Auburn didn't land Sharife Cooper. His former travel and high school teammate, Isaac Okoro, will enroll this fall and Cooper will likely follow suit, though Kansas and Kentucky are involved, too.
The Tigers are in the top four for B.J. Boston, though they seem to be trailing Duke, Florida and Kentucky for him. It's not much of a reach to think that Bruce Pearl's program could strike with Rongie Gordon and Jayden Stone. K.D. Johnson, Keon Johnson and Greg Brown are just a few others that look favorably at Auburn.
You would have to think so. Last year, Villanova reaped the rewards of their title, landing top grad-transfer Joe Cremo and Rivals150 and former NC State commit Saddiq Bey. Both were heavily recruited prospects last spring and it seems reasonable to think that Virginia will enjoy their own recruiting wins in the near future.
The Cavaliers added a commitment from three-star Justin McKoy yesterday. In the 2020 class, Henry Coleman is high on the Cavaliers, as are Caleb Love, Reece Beekman, Terrance Williams, Johnny Juzang, Keon Johnson, Walker Kessler and Mark Williams.
A year from now, it would not be a surprise if Virginia were to land at least two of the group with Beekman, Coleman and Williams the likeliest. Keep in mind, Tony Bennett has never been swayed by the recruiting rankings but even he might take the time to use the momentum caused by winning the national title to squeeze out a few high level commitments in the coming months.
