Aaron Brown Lists his Final Four; Decision Coming Soon

For quite some time, Penn Wood rising senior Aaron Brown, a 6'5 wing, was considered to be one of Saint Joseph's primary recruiting targets in the 2011 class. Schools like Saint Joseph's, Rice, Penn State, and a few others were on the rapidly-improving wing guard. Well, as is often the case in the world of recruiting, that list of schools has undergone a dramatic change. On Friday at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, Aaron Brown told Alex Kline of TheRecruitScoop that his list of schools has been trimmed to four. Those four schools are West Virginia, Rutgers, Temple, and Florida.

Brown told Alex Kline that he will be taking his final visit next week, and that his decision will be coming after that. Brown's decision will likely impact a number of other local players, like Juan'ya Green and Devin Coleman, who have a number of similar schools on their lists.

West Virginia first became interested in Brown when assistant coach Billy Hahn saw him play against Plymouth-Whitemarsh in the District 1 Title Game at Villanova. Hahn was there recruiting PW rising senior Jaylen Bond, who has since committed to Pitt.

Temple has been on Brown for quite some time, while Rutgers and Florida appear to have jumped in the mix more recently.

Where does this leave Saint Joseph's in their recruiting efforts in the 2011 class? Players like Andrew Nicholas and Vaughn Gray appear to be in the mix at that position, and it's likely that more names will appear over the live summer months.

Alex Kline's Twitter page with the Brown info is linked below:

TheRecruitScoop

NBA Top 100 Camp Rosters Released

Earlier today, rosters for the annual NBPA Top 100 Camp were released, and the rosters include a number of talented players from the tri-state area. Rising junior Ryan Arcidiacono from Neshamniny High School (PA), who I wrote an article about earlier in the week, is one of several players from Pennsylvania on the invite list.

In addition to Arcidiacono, another name on the invite list should look familiar to Hawk fans, and anyone that pays attention to high school hoops in the Philadelphia area. Penn Wood rising junior Aaron Brown, a 6'5 wing who I have written about extensively on here, is another player to receive an invite to the prestigious camp. Brown is coming off an impressive weekend last weekend in Los Angeles for the EYBL event.

2012 forward Amile Jefferson, from Friends Central in Philadelphia, is another on the invite list. Jefferson is considered by many to be an elite recruit at the forward position in the rising junior class. Jefferson has the attention of nearly every coach in the country, and is being recruited locally by nearly all the Big 5 schools and nationally by powerhouses such as Duke and North Carolina.

Four rising juniors from the Garden State received invites as well, including one post player who has some recruiting interest from the Hawks. That player is Derrick Randall, a 6'9 power forward who played last season at Paterson Catholic. Due to the closing of that school, Randall will be playing his high school ball next season at South Kent Prep in Connecticut. Another player from the Garden State, New Egypt forward Desmond Hubert, got an invite. I saw Hubert play last summer at the Reebok U Camp at Philadelphia University. Hubert is an extremely athletic shot-blocking force in the post with a still-developing offensive game. Like Amile Jefferson, Hubert is receive elite-level interest, from schools all around the nation. Forward Shaquile Thomas, cousin of NBA player Tim Thomas, and guard Tyrone Johnson, also received invitations.

A complete look at the invite list is linked below, from Scout.com

NBA Top 100 Camp Rosters

Ryan Arcidiacono Making a Name for Himself

Growing up a short car ride from Neshaminy, and spending many afternoons and evenings at the Neshaminy Mall growing up, I was fairly surprised to hear last winter (2008-2009) about a freshman on the Neshaminy High School basketball team garnering some serious accolades. That freshman is now a sophomore, and the accolades are now pouring in. Over Memorial Day Weekend, at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions AAU event in North Carolina, Ryan Arcidiacono opened eyes with an outstanding weekend. The 2012 guard from Neshaminy had a terrific sophomore season this year, helping Neshaminy into the state playoffs, where they defeated Bartram before falling to Aaron Brown, Shawn Oakman, and Penn Wood.

While local schools like Saint Joseph's, Temple, Villanova, and Rutgers knew all about Arcidiacono before last weekend, he was not a household name nationally. With his performance last weekend at the TOC, that has changed. While I wasn't down in North Carolina to watch the tournament last weekend, a number of sites who were reported on Ryan's outstanding play. In an interview with Zagsblog he claimed offers from Rutgers, Saint Joseph's, and Rice with additional interest from Villanova, Temple, Georgia Tech, and many others.

Below are a series of links to articles about Arcidiacono's impressive weekend at the Bob Gibbons TOC and some insight into his recruitment.

Zagsblog- Gritty Performance Earns Arcidiacono Praise

Rivals- Arcidiacono Explodes on National Radar

Image Above from Rivals.com