killer_ewok;1313369 wrote:Chris McCullough is headed to Syracuse.

Good get for the orange

Yeah, Rick Pitino was hard (no pun intended) after McCullough. He will be another great power forward in a long line of them in upstate NY.

Not to derail, but since we are on the topic of Syracuse... Killer, how long do you personally think Jimmy B will continue at the helm of the Orange? Like K or Calhoun, the guy is a lifer and I think will stay until his health no longer permits. That's just my opinion, of course, but would be interested to see what SU fans think.

Being that K is 65 years old, this is obviously a popular discussion among Duke fans as well. My opinion is that K will coach into his early to mid-70s, so probably close to another decade. I don't see him or Boeheim leaving "early" -- relative to Joe Paterno -- like a Dean Smith or Tom Osborne.

reclegend22;1313649 wrote:Not to derail, but since we are on the topic of Syracuse... Killer, how long do you personally think Jimmy B will continue at the helm of the Orange? Like K or Calhoun, the guy is a lifer and I think will stay until his health no longer permits. That's just my opinion, of course, but would be interested to see what SU fans think.

Being that K is 65 years old, this is obviously a popular discussion among Duke fans as well. My opinion is that K will coach into his early to mid-70s, so probably close to another decade. I don't see him or Boeheim leaving "early" -- relative to Joe Paterno -- like a Dean Smith or Tom Osborne.

Mid-70's as well and then he'll hand the reins over to Mike Hopkins.

reclegend22;1313627 wrote:Yeah, Rick Pitino was hard (no pun intended) after McCullough. He will be another great power forward in a long line of them in upstate NY.

But that only lasted about 30 seconds.

hilliardfan;1313994 wrote:But that only lasted about 30 seconds.

Well played. Lol. I love Rick Pitino as a coach, but he's a stupid, stupid man off the court. At least in that instance.

Laley should be happy. Noah Vonleh reportedly committed to Indiana tonight. And I am happy because 2013's No. 3 power forward who is said to have range out to 22 feet is not heading to North Carolina, despite the Heels reportedly being back in the hunt as serious contenders as late as last week.

In Jabari Parker news,

reclegend22;1317750 wrote:Laley should be happy. Noah Vonleh reportedly committed to Indiana tonight. And I am happy because 2013's No. 3 power forward who is said to have range out to 22 feet is not heading to North Carolina, despite the Heels reportedly being back in the hunt as serious contenders as late as last week.

In Jabari Parker news,

Beat me to it. Such an awesome weekend to be a Hoosier (minus football lol).

Crean just went head to head with UNC for Troy Williams and Noah Vonleh and got them both. Awesome. Vonleh has cancelled his visits to Syracuse and Ohio St. No word on if he will sign early or still wait till the spring, which was his initial plan. But that plan was when he was going to take visits post the early signing period.

My God, I am beyond pumped. Zeller in 2011. Then 2012 was loaded and now 2013 is about to be loaded. 2014, Crean has a solid group he is strong with (along with a commitment from James Blackmon Jr.). Just on a roll.

Laley23;1317754 wrote:Beat me to it. Such an awesome weekend to be a Hoosier (minus football lol).

Crean just went head to head with UNC for Troy Williams and Noah Vonleh and got them both. Awesome. Vonleh has cancelled his visits to Syracuse and Ohio St. No word on if he will sign early or still wait till the spring, which was his initial plan. But that plan was when he was going to take visits post the early signing period.

My God, I am beyond pumped. Zeller in 2011. Then 2012 was loaded and now 2013 is about to be loaded. 2014, Crean has a solid group he is strong with (along with a commitment from James Blackmon Jr.). Just on a roll.

There is no doubt that Indiana Basketball is back to stay this time. Tom Crean has impressed me immensely. I always thought of him as just a "really good" coach at Marquette, but now that we've seen what he can do with the resources that are available in Bloomington at the helm of a superpower, I'm a believer. He's the real deal and proving to be as good a recruiter as anyone.

Word right now is that Jabari Parker will be ready to commit by December. Not sure what that means for the schools involved (Duke, Michigan State, Florida, Stanford and BYU), but it cannot be a good sign for Stanford and BYU, the two that Parker has not visited.

After wrapping up his visits to State, Duke and Florida within the last two weeks, I imagine he has made up his mind and it's a three-horse race. Duke has been regarded as the front-runner for the past month or so, at least according to the Chicago Sun Times, but Michigan State and Florida are also excellent choices and I wouldn't be surprised if Jabari ended up in either of those two places.

Any new updates on Andrew Wiggins?

2013 Center Kennedy Meeks is deciding between Carolina and Georegtown tomorrow night.

Right now, Carolina's 2013 class consists of 5* PF Isaiah Hicks and 4* PG Nate Britt. If they could add Meeks, and then somehow pull off a miracle with Wiggins, I'd be ecstatic.

Lets be quite honest about Parker. We all know why BYU is on his list.

It's Duke, Florida or MSU. He'd be crazy to not pick Duke or Florida though. Both are serious title contenders next year...

On Wiggins, who knows. He went from UK or FSU to wide open. Not much coming from his camp that I've seen. I don't see him deciding until the spring.

Although it's 2014, Karl Towns, who claimed the #1 overall spot in the 2014 when Wiggins reclassified, will decide December 4th. I'd be shocked if it isn't UK. Towns played for Calipari's Dominican Republic team this past year.

Azubuike24;1321259 wrote:On Wiggins, who knows. He went from UK or FSU to wide open. Not much coming from his camp that I've seen. I don't see him deciding until the spring.

Although it's 2014, Karl Towns, who claimed the #1 overall spot in the 2014 when Wiggins reclassified, will decide December 4th. I'd be shocked if it isn't UK. Towns played for Calipari's Dominican Republic team this past year.

Some Duke fans think the Blue Devils have a realistic shot at Towns, but I don't buy it. There is no way that Towns spent that much time with Calipari, playing for him all summer and having UK near the top of his wish list, and then choose to go play college basketball somewhere else for another coach. I just don't see it as a plausible scenario.

With that said, Towns is what, 12 years old? He's in the Class of 2015. I wouldn't be surprised if the recruitment were from over, even after his December decision. See Rivers, Austin; Craft, Aaron; MoMo Jones; King, Taylor and on and on.

And with that said, UK has a combination lock on this kid and nobody else has the key.

reclegend22 wrote:And with that said, UK has a combination lock on this kid and nobody else has the key.

Certainly one of the less intelligent things I've said. SMH.

Three NW Ohio kids signed on the dotted lines Wednesday and one gave a verbal to Big 10 schools.

Vitto Brown(Bowling Green)signed with Wisconsin and Nigel Hayes (Whitmer) gave a verbal to Wisconsin.

Mark Donnal(Anthony Wayne) signed with Michigan.

Marc Loving(St.John's) signed with OSU.

Some lists I have seen have Loving, Hayes and Donnal in the top 100 of the 2013 class.

Towns is a Sophomore who turned 17 yesterday. He is currently in the 2015 class, but he won't stay there. He's going to end up in 2014 and probably ranked #1 in that class. There is also buzz that he might jump up 2 classes, to the 2013 class, according to his father. While he's committing now, you're right, there is a long way to go. However, if the rumors about the 2013 class are at all true, a December commit would make sense in-terms of keeping those options open.

If he stays in the 2015 class, he won't even play a game until he's nearly 20 (November of 2015 he would turn 20). I've never heard of a player moving up 2 classes, but apparently given his age and coursework completed prior to moving to Memphis, he would be eligible for any of these 3 classes (2013, 2014 or 2015).

sportswizuhrd;1321301 wrote:Three NW Ohio kids signed on the dotted lines Wednesday and one gave a verbal to Big 10 schools.

Vitto Brown(Bowling Green)signed with Wisconsin and Nigel Hayes (Whitmer) gave a verbal to Wisconsin.

Mark Donnal(Anthony Wayne) signed with Michigan.

Marc Loving(St.John's) signed with OSU.

Some lists I have seen have Loving, Hayes and Donnal in the top 100 of the 2013 class.

Wow, I'm from the Toledo area and had no idea that Bowling Green had a Big Ten quality player, let alone one that could play for Bo Ryan, one of the best in America. Props to the kid.

The best by far that's come out of BGHS over the last 15 years is Josh Almanson, who played for the Bobcats in the late '90s under the Mike Vanett regime and finished as the school's all-time leading scorer and All-Ohio. He also made the national Top 100 list for McDonald's All-American selections.

And Anthony Wayne having a Michigan player is doubly impressive.

Azubuike24;1321355 wrote:Towns is a Sophomore who turned 17 yesterday. He is currently in the 2015 class, but he won't stay there. He's going to end up in 2014 and probably ranked #1 in that class. There is also buzz that he might jump up 2 classes, to the 2013 class, according to his father. While he's committing now, you're right, there is a long way to go. However, if the rumors about the 2013 class are at all true, a December commit would make sense in-terms of keeping those options open.

If he stays in the 2015 class, he won't even play a game until he's nearly 20 (November of 2015 he would turn 20). I've never heard of a player moving up 2 classes, but apparently given his age and coursework completed prior to moving to Memphis, he would be eligible for any of these 3 classes (2013, 2014 or 2015).

Wow, had no idea he was considering a jump to 2013. That's crazy. But considering he just turned 17, it makes sense. But then you have to wonder how many times did this kid complete the 2nd grade and wonder if he's really the guy you want. Ha.

Thanks for clearing that up, though. Gives me a clearer picture of the kid's process. We all know he's going to play for the Big Blue, though, so I don't think any of it even matters. Calipari has him in the bag. Another notch in his ever-lengthening recruiting belt.

I think people might be overrating Towns a bit. I expect the hype to build even more if he re-classifies. I'm not sure he would have any chance at top 8 in the 2013 class. Doesn't mean he's bad, and maybe that is a testament to how deep the 2013 class is. With that said, I don't see any way he is as impactful as Julius Randle, Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker...

reclegend22;1321441 wrote:Wow, I'm from the Toledo area and had no idea that Bowling Green had a Big Ten quality player, let alone one that could play for Bo Ryan, one of the best in America. Props to the kid.

The best by far that's come out of BGHS over the last 15 years is Josh Almanson, who played for the Bobcats in the late '90s under the Mike Vanett regime and finished as the school's all-time leading scorer and All-Ohio. He also made the national Top 100 list for McDonald's All-American selections.

And Anthony Wayne having a Michigan player is doubly impressive.

Yeah, Toledo is pretty loaded this year, in comparison to what they have EVER produced. Its pretty fun to be covering all these kids for work this year. For 3 years of watching many games and working them, Id rank them like this:

1. Mark Donnal...not as high a ceiling, imo, but most polished thus far. 6-10 with 25 feet range. Next Pittsnogle, imo.
2. Marc Loving...but that kid has a shot to be awesome. Just is not even close to the top 25 ranking he has now.
3. Nigel Hayes...Best body of them all. Most athletic. Toughest to judge because he looks uninterested, yet led Whitmer to the state finals.
4. Vitto Brown...Just a consistent workhorse. While not an impact freshman, hes the next "guy has been at Wiscy for 7 years" guy for Bo Ryan. The Big Ten will get sick of playing this guy twice a year. Moreso than Hayes, who can dominate, or be completely shut down.

Univ. of Toledo also got the next best 2 players from the area, which is awesome for them. Out of my coverage, so I cant talk in depth about them. But both kids are easily impact players at the MAC level.

-Zach Garbar from Vanlue...6'9 and not a stiff.
-Jordan Lauf from Napoleon...have seen this kid. He is tough

This is BY FAR the best class Toledo/NWO has ever produced. I dont think I am overreacting at all. No Jimmy, Buford or the like. But deepest and consistent talent throughout.

Laley23;1321572 wrote:Yeah, Toledo is pretty loaded this year, in comparison to what they have EVER produced. Its pretty fun to be covering all these kids for work this year. For 3 years of watching many games and working them, Id rank them like this:

1. Mark Donnal...not as high a ceiling, imo, but most polished thus far. 6-10 with 25 feet range. Next Pittsnogle, imo.
2. Marc Loving...but that kid has a shot to be awesome. Just is not even close to the top 25 ranking he has now.
3. Nigel Hayes...Best body of them all. Most athletic. Toughest to judge because he looks uninterested, yet led Whitmer to the state finals.
4. Vitto Brown...Just a consistent workhorse. While not an impact freshman, hes the next "guy has been at Wiscy for 7 years" guy for Bo Ryan. The Big Ten will get sick of playing this guy twice a year. Moreso than Hayes, who can dominate, or be completely shut down.

Univ. of Toledo also got the next best 2 players from the area, which is awesome for them. Out of my coverage, so I cant talk in depth about them. But both kids are easily impact players at the MAC level.

-Zach Garbar from Vanlue...6'9 and not a stiff.
-Jordan Lauf from Napoleon...have seen this kid. He is tough

This is BY FAR the best class Toledo/NWO has ever produced. I dont think I am overreacting at all. No Jimmy, Buford or the like. But deepest and consistent talent throughout.

Great information, Laley. Might go check out Donnal depending on the matchups during tournament time if Anthony Wayne were to make it to Savage Hall (not sure where the DI regionals are at this year). Love going to watch elite shooters. Sounds like the perfect Beilein big.

Haven't followed high school basketball very closely in the last few years, so a great rundown. I literally had no idea about any of those guys except for hearing about Loving on a few occasions. Which is weird because for years a couple of buddies and I never missed a City League Final Four game and made the all the rounds during February and March. And I've said this before, but by far still my favorite area player that I've seen is Nate Miles. He could have been amazing. Though incredibly undisciplined, Miles was pound for pound better than Willie Buford and the most naturally gifted shooter from distance that's ever come out of Toledo. Sad end for him. Had he ended up at Cincinnati or wherever it was he was going to play originally (before the whole UConn saga) and put all of his personal bull---- aside, he'd be in the pros today. No doubt in my mind.

Meeks is officially a Tar Heel.

4-star F Tyler Roberson picked Syracuse over Kansas and 'Nova.

Karl Towns re-classifying to 2014 after committing to UK. I always thought the 2013 thing was a reach...