9/11/2015 football Edit

Weekend visits preview 9/11

Eric Bossi

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst

THE RIVALS150: 2016 | 2017

Michigan State has a huge football weekend on their hands as ESPN's College Gameday and Oregon roll into town. Not surprisingly, the Spartans will be looking to make it a big basketball weekend as well. We take a look at who Tom Izzo and the Spartans are expecting, some key SEC and Big 12 visitors and much more in our weekly weekend visit preview.

Spartan Party

Michigan State will have two if its biggest remaining targets on campus in five-star forward Miles Bridges and top 30 point guard Cassius Winston. While Indiana, North Carolina and Michigan are in the mix for Bridges, the behind-the-scenes speculation is that the Spartans are locked in a battle with Kentucky for the explosive Michigan native who ranks No. 11 nationally. Earlier this week, Winston (No. 28 nationally) cut his list to the Spartans, Stanford and Pittsburgh. For a while, it has been thought that the Detroit product would be tough to pull out of the state and it wouldn't be a surprise if this weekend closed the deal.

Michigan State already has commitments from five-star shooting guard Joshua Langford and four-star big man Nick Ward as it tries to put together a monster 2016 class. Most likely, the Spartans will host some key 2017 targets as well with both five-star small forward Brian Bowen and four-star big man Xavier Tillman expected to make stops.

Often times, the best football atmospheres make for the best hoops recruiting atmospheres. It isn't as if Tom Izzo and Michigan State need much help, but they'll surely be hoping the buzz from the big game with Oregon helps to make the best weekend possible.

Big SEC visits

Several SEC programs have multiple key targets on campus this weekend.

In Starkville, Ben Howland and Mississippi State host a pair of four-star prospects from the class of 2016 in Texas big man Schnider Herard and local point guard Tyson Carter. The Bulldogs appear to be in good shape with Carter and are hoping they can leave a lasting impression on Herard. Class of 2017 four-star combo guard Nick Weatherspoon is also expected to stop by.

One of the hottest prospects in the class of 2017 is No. 57 Jay Jay Chandler a high scoring combo guard from Katy (Texas) Cinco Ranch. He'll be stopping by Texas A&M after checking out Virginia Tech earlier this week. The Aggies' pair of four-star commitments from the class of 2016 -- point guard J.J. Caldwell and power forward Robert Williams -- are expected in town. A&M is also hoping to host recent Memphis decommit Ar'Mond Davis, one of the premier junior college shooting guards.

Vanderbilt will host a pair of Rivals150 prospects. Four-star center James Banks will be in town and the 'Dores appear to be fighting it out with Texas for his services. Another who has Texas on his list (and the Longhorns probably lead) is San Antonio power forward Clevon Brown, one of the summer's breakout performers.

Andy Kennedy and Ole Miss are expecting at least two official visitors. Three-star big man Maciej Bender has been generating a lot of buzz lately as a potential sleeper. Juco big man Justas Furmanavicius is expected to join him.

Finally in SEC country, Rick Barnes has his first big recruiting weekend at Tennessee. Four-star wing De'Riante Jenkins is the headliner, but Rivals150 wing Josh Okogie, Tennessee wing Jordan Bone and three-star power forward Grant Williams all have scholarship offers.

Important weekend in Big 12

At least three Big 12 programs are expecting a pair of important visitors.

Texas hosts the top two targets on their board. Four-star big man Javin Delaurier makes the trip from his home in Virginia after visiting Notre Dame last weekend. In-state combo guard Andrew Jones, who rose from obscurity to the national top 40 during the summer, heads to Austin after last week's trip to Arizona and an unofficial visit to Baylor the week before.

In Stillwater, Oklahoma State has a pair of four-star visitors as well. Texan Cameron McGriff had a strong visit to Arkansas last week and a decision could come very soon after his visit, making it a very important weekend for the Cowboys. For shooting guard Curtis Jones, most of the talk has revolved around Indiana and Georgetown, but his affinity for gunning up three-pointers is a good fit for Travis Ford's offense.

Iowa State plays host to Rivals150 power forward Eric Curry after he visited Minnesota last weekend. The Cyclones will also play host to three-star junior college guard Darrion Strong, a native of Minnesota who spent a year of prep school in Iowa.

At TCU they will host under the radar, but very good, wing Josh Parrish. Parrish's older brother is already a player for the Horned Frogs.

Point guards on move

Several highly regarded point guards from the Rivals150 will be making official visits as well.

Five-star Kobi Simmons takes what should be his final visit when he sees Ohio State after checking out UNLV and Kentucky over the past two weeks. Simmons will likely make his choice sooner rather than later.

In the nation's capital, Georgetown plays host to high-flying Seventh Woods. Woods will be joined on his visit by tough as nails four-star shooting guard Bruce Brown. Providence hosts top 50 point guard Shamorie Ponds and UNLV hosts a high-end point guard recruit for the second weekend in a row when four-star Jaylen Fisher comes into town.

Out in Pac-12 territory, top 60 point guard Charlie Moore takes his first official visit when he travels from his home in Chicago to visit California. After visiting Oregon State last weekend, four-star point guard JaQuori McLaughlin will make his way to Salt Lake City to see Utah where the Utes will also be hosting athletic prep schooler C.J. Keyser who originally committed to Colorado State in the class of 2015.

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