The non-conference portion of the college basketball season is beginning to wrap up as we begin to grab a greater sense of the national title picture and the needs of specific programs on the recruiting front. In this week’s #TwitterTuesday, we assess the recruitment of Zion Williamson, the official visit tour of Courtney Ramey, Indiana’s 2019 class, and how Providence can turn its season around.
The recruitment of the most watched and highly entertaining prospect in America, Zion Williamson, has been kept close to vest over the past few weeks. After he decided to push off his signing until the spring, many questions remain as to which way the five-star is leaning.
Opinions differ, but Clemson might have gained the most traction of late, a program that is at least in the share of the lead for the in-state prospect. Despite not taking an official visit to the ACC program, Williamson has kept the Tigers in high favor as it does not hurt that he lives just an hour’s drive from the campus and his step-father once suited up for the school during his collegiate playing days.
While Clemson has continued to make a push, it would be difficult to discount Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and South Carolina in the pursuit of Williamson. Everyone but the latter USC program hosted Williamson for an official visit this fall as they have continued to actively recruit him into the winter months.
A commitment is not expected within the coming weeks as things may drag on for a bit longer. Clemson is in a good spot, but still, a lot of work has to be done before the five-star sensation makes his college decision.
For Oklahoma State fans, they would love for Courtney Ramey to shut down his recruitment following his official visit to Stillwater this weekend. That will not be the case. The former Louisville commit and top-50 prospect is slated to visit at least three other schools, trips that won’t finish up until the end of February.
As of now, Ramey has one remaining official visit to schedule. Ohio State, Missouri, Louisville and Clemson are those fighting for the trip, though he is likely to take a number of unofficial visits.
Where else might he be headed? Villanova, UCLA and Texas will each host Ramey. He will head to Texas following Christmas for his second of four official visits scheduled. Villanova and UCLA will then host the premier defender in February with a likely commitment to occur not until later this winter.
A leader has yet to emerge in Ramey’s renewed recruitment, so even those schools that have not booked an official visit cannot be counted out.
Nothing is concrete in recruiting until the prospect arrives on campus and as Indiana remains totally entrenched in the recruitment of Romeo Langford, a five-star 2018 scoring option, this winter, the 2019 class as a whole remains a bit blurry for the time being.
What we do know and should expect with Archie Miller and his staff is that they are going to thoroughly recruit the top prospects from the state. In the 2019 class, Keion Brooks and Trayce Jacskon-Davis fit the bill as each have become highly regarded targets for the Hoosiers since the hiring of Miller back in the spring.
Brooks is a top-50 small forward that holds offers from some of the top programs in America, including Kentucky, but IU continues to sit in a good spot for him. In a similar manner, Jackson-Davis, the son of Dale Davis, is a top target and has begun to garner most improved descriptors when assessing how far he has come in just a very short time.
It would be ideal that Indiana land both as it would send another sign that Miller and his staff are adamant about shutting down the borders of the state. Each would complement each other in the frontcourt and bring even more star power to the program. Others to keep tabs on include Matthew Hurt and Trendon Watford, the latter being the younger brother of former IU star Christian Watford, a five-star forward from Alabama.
Providence kicked off the season with ambitions of putting itself in line for its fifth straight NCAA bid via a strong non-conference performance. This still could occur, but recent losses to UMass and Rhode Island have slowed down the Friars’ momentum of late.
The recent news of Emmitt Holt being lost to injury for the season stings, but that isn’t the only reason why Providence has struggled of late. More so, Providence is turning the ball over at an alarming rate, something that must be fixed immediately if it wants to compete with the upper-half of the Big East Conference.
Currently, Providence has just two more assists than turnovers for the entire season; if it expects to win and make another deep dive into March, this has to change. Sure, Holt’s status this season does hurt in the depth, but taking care of the ball is a must. David Duke’s enrollment next fall will definitely help but this year’s group must refocus on making the easy play rather than deferring to the high risk one.
If it can erase some of their mistakes, there is more than enough talent on its roster, featuring Kyron Cartwright, Makai Ashton-Langford, Kalif Young and Rodney Bullock, to remain afloat within the Big East and earn another bid to the NCAA Tournament.
I could not agree more with your assessment of the 2018 recruiting class at Utah this fall. While it may not have moved the needle as some of its contemporaries in the Pac-12, and it sneaks in just barely inside the top 50 of the 2018 team rankings, the group does check plenty of boxes that needed filling in Salt Lake City.
Utah's four-man class is full of backcourt talent that has a chance to leave an immediate mark beginning next year. Replacing guard Justin Bibbins will be of the utmost importance. Junior college lead guard Charles Jones and the wildcard of the class, Naseem Gaskin, could be just the two that could do it.
On the wing is the most highly lauded prospect of the bunch, Timmy Allen. The younger brother of WVU freshman wing Teddy Allen, the four-star prospect will be leaned upon for his scoring abilities in the half-court setting. It wouldn’t come as a surprise that Allen could muster double-digit scoring averages by the time his sophomore season finishes.
Rounding out the class is Riley Battin, a fundamentally sound post that plays his tail off but also can step out and extend the defense with the perimeter jumper. Just like Bibbins in the backcourt, replacing David Collette is crucial. While Battin will have to better his athleticism, he is just too smart, skilled and tough that it would be difficult for the California native to not contribute during his stay at Utah.
