In today’s Twitter Tuesday mailbag, we take a look at the recruitments of 2021’s top ranked player Patrick Baldwin Jr., four-star shooting guard D’Marco Dunn, prospects for Arizona’s 2021 recruiting class and more.
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Starting Five: Alabama, Houston, NC State acquire more talent
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
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As time passes and more members of the 2021 Rivals150 come off the board, the interest in Patrick Baldwin Jr. has continued to intensify.
Ranked No. 1 nationally, the 6-foot-10 forward at Sussex (Wis.) Hamilton is a highly skilled forward, armed with an elite jump shot who is down to Duke, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia and Wisconsin. As most know, he’s got ties to Northwestern where both of his parents went to school and to Milwaukee where his father is currently the head coach.
For much of his recruitment, Baldwin has been closely linked to Duke and there’s no doubt that the Blue Devils are in there deep. If he picks them, it would give them the top two prospects in the senior class and three top-10 prospects. They are certainly right near the top if they aren’t in first place.
If not Duke, then the possibility that Baldwin chooses to play for his father can’t be ignored and it isn’t at all out of the realm of possibility. Kentucky, North Carolina and Northwestern are in there as well but I’d be fairly surprised if he were to pick a team other than Duke or Milwaukee.
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A four-star shooting guard, D’Marco Dunn is down to Arizona, Clemson, Georgia, Louisville, North Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt. He’s scheduled to announce his decision on Wednesday.
Before moving to Fayetteville (N.C.) Westover for his junior year of high school, the 6-foot-4 senior attended school in Tucson so he’s got ties from coast to coast. As I wrote during Monday’s Starting Five, I really see this one coming down to North Carolina, Arizona and Vanderbilt as the primary contenders. My pick to win is the Tar Heels.
As a prospect, the thought is that Dunn will be a floor-stretching wing and a potential three-point sniper in college. He’s got solid size, isn’t a bad athlete and has shown the ability to make some things happen off the dribble. Primarily, though, it’s that jump shot that I would expect to be his calling card. When he’s on with that, he opens up the floor for big men and drivers and can really help an offense be more efficient.
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After landing a big class that was heavy on International players during the 2020 recruiting cycle, Sean Miller and his staff look to be on the verge of a return to their roots where they build with highly-ranked high school talent.
It may be early to look ahead to the 2022 class, but I do anticipate some good things happening for them in 2021 where four-star point guard K.J. Simpson has already committed. For instance, while Arizona may miss out on four-star shooting guard D’Marco Dunn, I would consider them pretty heavy favorites for four-star Shane Nowell from Seattle. I would look for him to call it for the Wildcats in the relatively near future. I also like their chances with top-50 power forward DaRon Holmes. After spending his first three seasons of high school in the Phoenix area he’ll play his senior year for national power Montverde (Fla.) Academy. He’s down to the Wildcats, California, Dayton and Marquette and I like the chances of him returning back to Arizona for college.
A class built around Holmes, Simpson and Nowell would be a pretty good starting point in 2021.
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This is a good question and there is a lot at work here. Top prospects are going to want to see how the experience goes for guys like Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd who made the decision to take the G League path from 2020. Also, the amount of progress made in implementing Name, Image and Likeness as a real thing in college sports and not just an idea could play a huge role here.
Any high-end player is paying close attention and anybody in a top 10 or 20 is a legitimate candidate to take the path. As it pertains to the class of 2021, the names that seem to come up most often as really watching the G League closely are five-stars Jaden Hardy, Michael Foster, JD Davison and Aminu Mohammed. It is certainly something we’ll have to watch closely throughout the season.
