Advertisement
basketball Edit

Twitter Tuesday: Villanova, Talen Horton-Tucker, Saddiq Bey

We are back for another round of #TwitterTuesday. In this week's edition, we predict the futures of Rivals150 wings Talen Horton-Tucker and Saddiq Bey, examine Villanova’s conundrum at the point guard position and look at when four-star guard Jared Butler might be committing.

MORE: Five-star Ayo Dosunmu down a pair | Rivals150 | 2018 Team Rankings

Advertisement

It is rather interesting that Villanova has seemingly backed off the point guard position for the 2018 class. The Wildcats were heavily involved with Jahvon Quinerly, Elijah Weaver and David Duke just two months ago, but now they seem to be okay to move ahead and take a stab at point guards in the 2019 class. But could that change following the FBI's basketball recruiting arrests?

Jay Wright is known for his guard-heavy lineups, a system that has been the catalyst for major success on the Main Line. The Wildcats looked primed for another deep run into March but there are some questions surrounding what they might do if star point guard Jalen Brunson decides to leave a year early for the NBA following his junior campaign.

Remaining proactive, Villanova did lay down the groundwork with Quinerly, Weaver and Duke. The ship looks to have sailed already with Duke and Weaver, but the door doesn't appear to be completely shut with Quinerly. He committed to Arizona in August, but he may decide to reopen his college recruitment due to U of A's involvement in the recent scandal. If eligibility concerns aren't an issue, Villanova would be in a great spot with the five-star guard.

If Villanova decides to punt on 2018 point guards and shift its attention to 2019, look for the Wildcats to further prioritize Rivals150 juniors Jalen Lecque, Bryce Wills and Isaiah Wong.

Talen Horton-Tucker
Talen Horton-Tucker (Chicago Sun Times)

One of the more, if not the most, versatile prospects in the 2018 class, Talen Horton-Tucker remains a bit of a mystery.

The four-star prospect is down to a final seven of Iowa State, Ohio State, Georgetown, Illinois, Xavier, Georgia Tech and Saint Louis. He just returned home from an official visit to Georgia Tech, has already visited Xavier and will head to Iowa State this weekend.

Saint Louis and Georgetown could offer Horton-Tucker the ball straight out of the gates next year and give him the chance to become the face of the program as a freshman. Unfortunately for both schools, neither has much of a real chance.

Illinois and Ohio State remain in the hunt and while both have invested quality time and effort in recruiting him, both programs are playing catch-up. It also does not help that neither has been able to solidify official visit dates. That all could change but the Illini and Buckeyes remain more focused on the point guard position.

Georgia Tech has to be seen as a suitor after hosting the versatile prospect for an official visit over the weekend. Securing Horton-Tucker's commitment would give Josh Pastner a mighty good and high upside class this fall. However, the Yellow Jackets may be in third.

Horton-Tucker will head to Iowa State this weekend for its Midnight Madness festivities as the Cyclones will also have on hand its three class of 2018 commitments hoping to dish out their first assists as Iowa State pledges.

Xavier, meanwhile, has done a tremendous job of prioritizing Horton-Tucker as he remains the top recruit on their board this fall. The Musketeers can offer the chance to step in and take over for potential All-American Trevon Bluiett when he leaves this spring.

Look for a commitment soon, as Horton-Tucker is expected to sign in November.

Saddiq Bey, a Rivals150 small forward prospect in the 2018 class, took an official visit to NC State over the weekend, a program that is searching for a wing scorer this fall. Where might Bey be leaning and when might he decide?

Bey has already visited Pitt, Xavier, Miami and now NC State for official visits. The Hurricanes were previously seen as the likely landing spot for him until the FBI investigation into the program. Pitt remains in the hunt as it offers potentially the greatest opportunity as a freshman to star.

Xavier, which loses both Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura on the wings after this season, would love nothing more than to solidify its perimeter core with Bey. The Musketeers have continued to gain ground within recent weeks and might be the leader at this point.

Many were worried heading into the weekend about NC State and its chances of wrapping up Bey. The Rivals150 prospect has family in the Raleigh area and has spoken on playing closer to home in college. However, would the Wolfpack take Bey over five-star wing Keldon Johnson? That remains to be seen.

Bey could take a final visit to Princeton in the coming weeks but it does look as if things are coming to a close with his recruitment.

One of the more lightly discussed but more-than-capable freshmen next year is Jared Butler. He has played his recruitment close to the vest, but we do know that he has taken official visits to Baylor, Virginia and Alabama and has nothing else planned for the foreseeable future.

While Chris asks about where Virginia and Alabama stand with the Louisiana native, it should also be noted that Baylor remains squarely in the mix. Scott Drew would love to throw Butler into his backcourt where the Rivals150 standout has the chance to be an early producer for the Bears.

Virginia is still doing its best with Butler. He enjoyed his visit to Charlottesville last month and, thanks to his ability to wear many hats in the backcourt, remains intrigued by Tony Bennett’s program.

While the Cavaliers and Bears are strong suitors, Alabama remains the program to beat. There was a minor snafu three weeks ago when Kobie Baker, an associate athletic director assistant on staff, immediately resigned following the FBI probe into college basketball. But the Crimson Tide look to be in the clear at this point. Alabama has recruited Butler for the longest and the hardest, and the SEC program appears to be the favorite as the early signing period approaches.

Advertisement