Twitter Tuesday: UConn's class, Florida targets, Syracuse, more

It was a busy weekend on the recruiting front as a number of Rivals150 prospects came off the board. As the dominoes continue to fall, the future of college basketball continues to take shape. In this week’s #TwitterTuesday, we take a dive into the recruiting efforts at UConn, where Florida sits in the 2018 class, Syracuse’s future and the recruitment of Emmitt Williams.

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Matt brings up the current picture of UConn recruiting this fall. The Huskies have done a great job of late securing some of their top targets, those being James Akinjo, a Rivals150 guard that broke out in July, and Sidney Wilson, a potential freshman producer this season, though it is likely that he will redshirt this winter upon transferring from St. John’s. What might be ahead for the Huskies?

The next domino set to fall is Jalen Carey. Many believed that once Akinjo had come off the board that UConn would move onto another position. However, Kevin Ollie and his staff have done a great job of remaining in the picture as they sit in Carey’s top three. Miami and Syracuse will be tough to beat, but the Huskies have sold the idea of sliding into their backcourt and taking on a scoring role before then evolving into a well-rounded playmaker. It will be tough to grab Carey, but they are in the picture with a commitment not too far off.

Matt also brings up the idea of UConn grabbing a shooter for next year. This is exactly what the Huskies are looking for and while Carey may not be a shooter, he is a scorer that can take over a game. If not Carey, the Huskies may tap back into the West Coast as they host Emmitt Mathews, a Rivals150 wing from the state of Washington, for an official visit next weekend. West Virginia is the only program to have also set up an official visit date with the Pacific Northwest native as he should be valued for his shot-making and versatility given his 6-foot-7 standing stature.

In the frontcourt, UConn would love to reel in Simi Shittu, though it is fighting an uphill battle. If I were a Huskies fan, I wouldn’t get my hopes up. They have remained in pursuit of Dimon Carrigan, the Nike circuit’s top shot-blocker this past summer, a local product in the mold of past bigs that had gone on to succeed as rim protectors in Storrs. However, things may have stalled here, but expect for newer names to jump onto the recruiting board this winter as Ollie and staff do not need a polished back-to-the-rim presence, but more of a hard-playing center that can rebound the ball and alter shots.

Syracuse made some noise this past week with the commitment of 2019 guard Brycen Goodine, a Rivals150 junior guard that attends the same school of former Orange star guard Michael Carter-Williams. Goodine brings a versatile skillset to the court and the chance to grow into the lead guard spot, though he is already a solid scorer.

With Goodine on board, Syracuse has done a good job of investing further time and energy with some of the top prospects from the Northeast and within the New England hotbed that it is nearby. The Orange recently offered Khalif Battle, the younger brother of sophomore wing Tyus Battle, and it would not be difficult to see another Battle suit up for Jim Boeheim’s unit in two years.

Along with Battle in the backcourt is Jalen Lecque, a top-30 guard in the 2019 class that is a native of New York but is currently attending high school in North Carolina. Originally a member of the 2018 class, Lecque reclassified in the spring and could jump back into his original class, though he tracks as a blueblood recruit in 2019.

A few others to keep tabs on include Isaiah Stewart, a native of Rochester, N.Y., who recently transferred to La Lumiere School, in Indiana, which should bring Midwest programs to the table with his recruitment. John Bol Ajak, a hard-playing and pick-and-pop power forward, Aidan Igiehon, a tremendously talented and explosive big man, and Kofi Cockburn, the biggest of interior presences in the 2019 class, remain a few of the frontcourt pieces that the Orange will continually pursue in the coming months.

A class of Goodine, Battle, and a big man pledge from Stewart, Ajak, Igiehon or Cockburn, is not crazy to imagine for Orange fans, while Syracuse remains in the mix for Rivals150 wing Kahlil Whitney, a native of Chicago who is entering his junior year at Roselle Catholic in New Jersey this fall.

Everyone will remember this past weekend for the crazy ending that saw Florida defeat Tennessee with its 63-yard touchdown pass as time expired. While there were plenty of fireworks on the gridiron in Gainesville, the Gators’ basketball staff was attempting to shoot off its own as it hosted four of its top targets from the 2018 class.

Elijah Weaver, Devon Dotson, Colin Castleton and Khavon Moore, four prospects that can be found within the Rivals150, visited Florida. Let’s rank the chances that Florida has in landing each.

1. Castleton: Illinois recently hosted Castleton to kick off the month and Purdue is set to do the same to end the month, but the Gators remain the favorites. Castleton has spoken on end about his affinity for the program. A commitment could come at any time, though it does bode well for others that he did not commit to the Gators immediately after receiving the UF offer a few weeks back.

2. Dotson: Originally planning on visiting Florida on the weekend of Sept. 8, Hurricane Irma changed plans as Dotson took a visit to Gainesville this past weekend. UF and Kansas are the likely landing spots for Dotson and while Maryland, Wake Forest, NC State and UCLA are doing all that they can in postponing his commitment for another few weeks, it is looking as if a decision is in the cards soon as the Gators may come out of the weekend with a slight edge.

3. Moore: There is not much known or talked about with Moore and his recruitment as things have been kept close to vest. It should be understood that Florida is a favorite for him and while a commitment could come at any time, the Gators will be in it until the very end.

4. Weaver: This shouldn’t be taken as if Mike White’s program has no chance with the in-state recruit. Weaver has connections with the program thanks to the short drive from his Oldmsar Christian School to the Gainesville campus, and with having two of his former high school teammates, Eric Hester and Dontay Bassett, on its roster. Ohio State and USC have gained the most traction of late, but UF and Oklahoma State remain just as involved.

Butler has yet to strike in the 2018 class as it remains the only Big East member left out in the dark within the current crop of seniors. That should all change within the coming weeks as the Bulldogs sit in a good spot for Morris Udeze, an interior presence that cut his teeth on the Under Armour circuit this past summer with the Houston Defenders, and with his teammate, Miller Kopp, a Rivals150 wing that brings a quality scoring punch to the wings.

First-year head coach Lavall Jordan is entering the season with a roster that can compete for the Big East title. Whether he can piece everything together and do just that is up for debate but what isn’t is that he needs to replace Kelan Martin and Tyler Wideman. Butler has gained great traction with both Udeze and Kopp but now the staff needs to close.

While there has not been much talk about the duo playing together in college as a package deal, Butler has the chance to land both. They have better chances with Udeze as the Montverde CBD product is close to making a college decision. Jordan made an appearance at his school on Monday and after visiting Ohio State this past weekend, it is gearing toward an OSU, Butler and Wichita State decision for Udeze.

Kopp, a Rivals150 wing, visited Northwestern, Texas A&M and Butler to kick off September. Just like Udeze, a commitment could be right around the corner as any of three could land the smooth-shooting senior. He visited Northwestern this past weekend and word is that the Big Ten program may have the slight lead, though Butler is close.

When each does decide to end his college recruitment, I would be surprised if Butler does not land at least one of the two. I would put their chances with Udeze slightly better than with Kopp, though Butler sits in a good position with the Houston native.

Finding information on five-star prospects normally isn’t much of an issue, but with Emmitt Williams, little to nothing is known about which way the Florida native is leaning. Last month, Williams narrowed his college list to a group of seven consisting of Kansas, LSU, Florida, Miami, Duke, Oregon and USC. Which, of these seven, has a legitimate shot at landing the talented and elite producer this fall?

As we sit today, just one program has secured an official visit date, that being the Oregon Ducks. The Pac-12 program has also gained the most talk surrounding Williams as Dana Altman’s program should be viewed as the favorite. On Sept. 29, Williams will head to the Pacific Northwest for a weekend visit.

LSU, a program that just notched the commitment of five-star big man Nazreon Reid last week, would love nothing more than to pair Williams with the imposing center. Will Wade has made Williams a priority and while an official visit date has not been set, the new staff in Baton Rouge has already shown that it can win major recruiting battles.

Miami and Florida, the two in-state programs, are both heavily invested in the recruitment of Williams. Official visit dates are currently being worked on by each program and the idea of playing close to home in front of family and friends bodes well for the Canes and Gators.

USC has remained in the mix and after an unofficial visit in June, the Trojans could have been perceived as the leader. Things have changed since then, but their style of play, location and the coaching staff’s connection to the state of Florida does not hurt.

Duke and Kansas round out the final seven for Williams as each would love to add the rim-punishing power forward, though they are both longer shots. Duke, which is also involved for David McCormack within the interior, would love nothing else than to add Zion Williamson at the forward position. On the other hand, Kansas remains in the mix for McCormack, too, but recently landed power forward Silvio De Sousa at the beginning of the month and is rather worried about how it will round out its backcourt this fall.