Hawks Offer 2012 Forward

After such an action-packed spring, with the signings of Pat Swilling Jr. and Ronald Roberts, it has been a fairly slow summer up to this point for Saint Joseph's fans. There have been reports involving Montverde's Papa Samba Ndao and rising senior Andrew Nicholas. In the case of Papa Ndao, Montverde Academy reported that Ndao has given the Hawks a commitment. Shortly after that, Rivals.com reported the same. Aside from these two reports, there has been no further confirmation or elaboration on Papa's recruiting status. In the case of Nicholas, the former Rutgers commit was supposedly on the verge of giving the Hawks a commitment a few weeks ago, but all has been quiet since that report first surfaced.

A new name to throw into the mix now is that of Northfield Mount Hermon's rising junior Evan Cummins. Cummins is a 6'8 power forward who already has offers from Providence, UMass, Florida Atlantic, Boston University, and William and Mary. That list, as well as the news that the Hawks have offered Cummins, comes straight off of Northfield Mount Hermon's Twitter account, which is linked at the bottom of this article.

Cummins is the latest 2012 recruit to receive an offer from the Hawks. Scranton 6'5 guard Terry Turner is another target who has emerged over the past 6 months or so as a top target of the SJU coaching staff. Neshaminy's Ryan Arcidiacono has long been a top target of the coaches, and remains one. Ryan's stock has exploded this summer thanks to his strong showing on the AAU circuit. Ryan now boasts offers from some of the biggest names in college basketball, such as Florida, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and Notre Dame. Most of these 2012 recruits are still about a year away from making their college decision, so there is time for school lists and leaders to change.

Northfield Mount Hermon Twitter

Myles Davis Down to Four

In an article on the Rivals network on Friday, former Saint Peter's Prep guard Myles Davis listed the four schools that he will be selecting from when he ultimately makes his college choice. The schools he listed, in the article linked below, are Villanova, Pitt, Georgetown, and the University of Virginia. A number of schools that Davis had been listing for quite some time, which included Saint Joseph's, did not make the final cut. In the article, Davis also explains that the college choice could be made in the near future. While he seems to have an idea where he will be playing his college ball, Davis still needs to decide where he will be playing high school ball next year. In addition to that, Myles will be deciding whether or not he will reclassify into the 2012 class. When I spoke with Saint Peter's Prep coach Mike Kelly over the winter about Davis' recruitment, he did mention to me that Davis is young for his class. This could be one of the reasons for his possible decision to reclassify.

Myles Davis was a target of the SJU coaching staff for quite some time. With his name off the board now, the staff is likely to hone in even more on current guard targets like Chris Wilson, Juan'ya Green, and Elijah Carter. It is also possible that new names will pop up over the remainder of the summer. While the Hawks seem certain to sign a guard in the 2011 class, exactly who will fill that role is up in the air.

Myles Davis Trims LIst to Four

Shawn Valentine to Rider

The Trentonion is among multiple sources reporting that Winslow Township (NJ) rising senior Shawn Valentine has given Rider University an early pledge. The 6'7 wing apparently chose Rider over Rutgers, as well as Temple, La Salle, and Saint Bonaventure.

Despite his size, Valentine is not a post player, instead preferring to play off the ball. In college he probably projects as a 3, or even a 2 guard.

Valentine caught Saint Joseph's assistant coach Mark Bass' eye two years ago when Coach Bass was watching Winslow take on Daryus Quarles' Life Center Academy team. A few days after Coach Bass saw Shawn play, he was seated behind the Hawk bench at a home game at the Palestra. While the Hawks did not really recruit Valentine over the past year or so, he was at one point shown interest.

Rider's signing of Valentine is a major pickup for the Broncos. The article in the Trentonion, which is linked below, cites the family atmosphere at Rider and the sales pitch given by former Rider standouts Jason and Ryan Thompson as primary reasons for his decision.

Trentonion- Rider Signs Winslow Township Standout

Picture Above Courtesy of Douglas Bovitt and The Courier Post Online

More Offers for Arcidiacono and Carter

In 2009, Saint Joseph's signed two guards in Carl Jones and Justin Crosgile. The Hawks signed two more guards in 2010, in Langston Galloway and Pat Swilling Jr, both from Louisiana. In college, it takes a high-level backcourt to win come March. It is for that very reason that the Hawks are actively searching for guards, especially a point guard, in the 2011 and 2012 classes. Two of those guards, 2011's Elijah Carter and 2012's Ryan Arcidiacono are continuing to pick up high-major offers. Saint Joseph's has offered both guards, and both are probably right at the top of the staff's list.

On his Twitter account, linked below, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog has listed a number of schools to recently offer both standout guards. Arcidiacono picked up a number of impressive offers, including Florida, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Boston College. Zagoria also mentions that Kansas and North Carolina have been in touch with the Neshaminy (Pa) standout. Saint Joseph's and Temple are among the local schools that offered Arcidiacono before he exploded on the national scene this spring. Whether they can stay in the race for the top 50 recruit amidst all this national attention is to be determined.

Elijah Carter, who graduated from Saint Anthony this year and will do a year of post-grad next year in Maine, has also picked up some offers. Last week, NBE Basketball Report had an article that featured a quote from Carter saying that Saint Joseph's and Rutgers had offered since he reopened his recruitment and was released from his LOI at Saint Bonaventure. Now, Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Richmond have also stepped up to the plate with offers for the 6'1 guard according to Zagoria.

Adam Zagoria's Twitter is linked below:

http://twitter.com/AdamZagoria

Eli Carter Picking Up Offers

In October, when senior Saint Anthony High School (NJ) guard Elijah Carter decided to play his college basketball in the Atlantic 10 for Saint Bonaventure, it was considered a solid pickup for the Bonnies. Over the course of the season, Carter saw his stock continue to rise. This spring, Carter went on a tear, scoring in bundles. Between the IS8/Nike league in New York City and the Donofrio Classic in Philadelphia, Carter routinely netted over 30 points. In fact, Carter scored an amazing 54 points in a win with the New Jersey Roadrunners at the Donofrio Classic in April. Since his impressive performances in the spring, Eli has opted to reclassify from the 2010 class to the 2011 class, spending next year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

In addition to reclassifying, Carter has also reopened his recruitment. He has officially been released from his Letter of Intent with Saint Bonaventure, allowing him to be recruited once again. In an article on NBE Basketball report, which is linked below, Carter said that a number of schools are involved in his recruitment. The two schools, thus far, that have extended scholarship offers are Rutgers and Saint Joseph's.

It is clear that the Hawks are targeting a point guard in the 2011 recruiting class, and Eli Carter fits that bill. With this apparent offer, he jumps into the mix alongside players like Chris Wilson and Juan'ya Green

The article from NBE Basketball Report is linked below:

Elijah Carter- NBE Basketball Report

Photo Courtesy of Scout.com

July 13th- Odds and Ends

While I haven't been able to jetset around the country to these summer AAU tournaments, others have. Below I have linked some sites and articles and information that could be of interest to SJU fans, as well as fans of other Philadelphia-area schools.

-Yesterday, the Jersey Shore Warriors defeated Team Izod at the Hoop Group Summer Classic in Neptune, New Jersey. The Jersey Shore Warriors were paced by current Hawk target Andrew Nicholas. Nicholas, who originally committed to Rutgers before Fred Hill was fired, led the Warriors with 20 points in the winning effort. Team Izod got 20 points from former Saint Bonaventure commit Eli Carter. Carter, who played last year at Saint Anthony, will do a post-grad year at Brewster Academy this year. Expect his recruitment to take off.
NJHoops Article on Hoop Group Summer Classic

-Devin Coleman, a 6'3 guard out of Friends Central, is one of the best rising seniors in the city of Philadelphia. Coleman recently participated in the Big Shots event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At the event, Coleman listed Temple, La Salle, Saint Joseph's, Minnesota, and Richmond as the schools that he liked the most. He also noted that Iowa as a school coming on the hardest. For most of the summer, Iowa has been considered the leader for the talented guard.
Scout.com's Big Shots Recap

A Look at Rivals' Top 100 of 2012

Earlier this week, I went through Rivals.com's list of the top 150 players in 2011, highlighting players from the Philadelphia and New Jersey area, as well as those with recruiting interest from Saint Joseph's and other Big 5 schools. Today, I will do the same with Rivals' list for 2012. Three of the 100 players on the list have already made college choices, with two of them (Rapheal Davis and Jay Simpson) signing with Matt Painter's Purdue team.

There are a number of Philadelphia/New Jersey prospects on this list. In fact, there are five in the top fifty, four from Pennsylvania and one from New Jersey.

The top-ranked prospect from Philadelphia is Westtown School center Daniel Ochefu, who checks in at number 8 on the list. Ochefu is making a big splash this spring, attracting interest from local schools such as Temple and Rutgers as well as national powerhouses such as Georgetown and Kentucky. In an article on Zagsblog, Ochefu listed Georgetown and Kentucky as his favorites.

Kyle Anderson, a 6'7 rising junior from New Jersey, cracks the list at number 11. I had a chance to watch Anderson back in September at the Gym Rats Midnight Madness event in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and came away extremely impressed. Anderson has the ability to play any position, from the point to both forward positions. He plays a very intelligent and selfless brand of basketball. Anderson played last season at Paterson Catholic, and due to the closing of the school, will suit up next year for Bob Hurley's Saint Anthony team.

One of my favorite local players, regardless of class, is Friends Central's Amile Jefferson. The 6'7 forward plays high school ball with rising senior guard Devin Coleman, who also projects as a high-major college players. As good as Coleman is, Jefferson is a truly special prospect, and colleges are well aware of that. Jefferson just competed in the Adidas Invitational in Indianapolis, where he continued to elevate his stock. The Hawks were on Jefferson early, having him on campus last year when he was a rising sophomore. At last year's Reebok U camp at Philadelphia University, most of the SJU staff was sitting front and center when Jefferson played. He will be a very tough pick-up for the Hawks though considering the long list of suitors that Amile has. A list that includes Duke, Villanova, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Ohio State, and many others.

While Jefferson has been on the national radar for the better part of the past year, another local star emerged on the national stage this spring. Neshaminy's Ryan Arcidiacono, a 6'4 point guard, makes his debut on the list at number 37. Ryan's stock exploded this spring at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions event in North Carolina. Prior to the event, Ryan was already being recruited by Temple, Saint Joseph's, Villanova, Notre Dame, and others. His play at the TOC led to even more interest and offers. Villanova has been considered the team to beat for Ryan's services should they extend an offer his way. Notre Dame, Temple, and Saint Joseph's are among the other teams with a legitimate shot at the talented guard.

Only a few spots down from Arcidiacono is Academy of the New Church (PA) combo forward Savon Goodman (pictured above). Before Ochefu and Arcidiacono blew up this spring, it looked like Savon and Amile Jefferson were going to battle it out for status as the top 2012 player in Philadelphia. That's not to say that the two have identical games though. While Amile loves his mid-range jumper and is a bit more of a finesse player at this point, Savon's bread and butter is taking the ball to the basket. When he does, he is nearly unstoppable. Savon's combination of toughness, strength, and athleticism are tough to match. He just played in an event down near Georgetown called the DC Metro Showcase. Goodman, like Jefferson, has serious interest from Georgetown and Villanova. North Carolina, Syracuse, Texas, and Pitt are other schools involved with the wing.

Most of these players have a long way to go before making their college choices. Even those who make their choice this summer have a strong chance of reopening their recruitment over the next year and a half. These are names you are likely to hear more from over the coming years though.

The picture of Savon Goodman above is courtesy of Scout.com

More on Aaron Brown's Commitment

After Dave Telep of Scout.com published an article yesterday that Penn Wood's 6'5 rising senior Aaron Brown officially committed to West Virginia, I put a brief article with a few links up here. Since that point, a number of other media outlets, including ESPN.com, have confirmed the decision. One of the better articles on Brown and his decision is written by Chris Vito of the Delaware County Times. In the article, which is linked below, Brown explains his rationale behind the decision. Ultimately, Brown chose West Virginia over Temple, having narrowed his choices to two. Penn Wood head coach Clyde Jones explained Brown's decision, saying that the challenge of playing in the Big East conference was a major factor.

Brown's commitment to West Virginia shows that there is only so much that local coaches like Temple's Fran Dunphy and Saint Joseph's Phil Martelli can do when Big East and ACC schools come calling. Members of the Temple and SJU staff were fixtures at Penn Wood games throughout this season.

Brown is the third Philadelphia-area 2011 star to make his college decision. John Johnson and Jaylen Bond are both headed to Pitt, choosing the Big East program over serious local A10 interest. Saint Joseph's was heavily involved with Johnson until he made his decision, and Temple was heavily recruiting Bond. Brown is now the third local star to choose the Big East route, picking West Virginia over heavy interest from both Temple and Saint Joseph's. Devin Coleman, Juan'ya Green, and Malcolm Gilbert are three more local 2011 players with serious interest from local A10 schools and Big East, Big Ten, and ACC programs. Will they go the route of Brown, Johnson, and Bond or not? We will find out over the coming months.

Chris Vito Article on Aaron Brown's Commitment to WVU

Aaron Brown to the Big East

Dave Telep of Scout.com is reporting that rising Penn Wood senior Aaron Brown is headed to Morgantown to play for Coach Bob Huggins and the West Virginia Mountaineers. Scout is the only site so far breaking the news, which comes only two days after it appeared that Brown initially gave a verbal to the Mountaineers. On Saturday, news broke that Brown made his college choice. Shortly after, Penn Wood head coach Clyde Jones denied the commitment. I am waiting on further confirmation on the news. Once that happens, I will post it here.

In the meantime, here are a number of articles and write-ups I did on the hyper-athletic wing this past season:


Plymouth Whitemarsh Wins State Title

Aaron Brown Leads Penn Wood past Plymouth-Whitemarsh

Penn Wood Narrowly Escapes Early Exit

Penn Wood Pounds Chester

A Look at Rivals' Top 150 of 2011

While I was away, Rivals rereleased their list of the top 150 players nationally in the 2011 recruiting class. Later today they will release their new rankings for the 2012 class, which I will look at tomorrow, along with Scout's 2012 list.

There is one Philadelphia player in the top 10, and that player is Academy of the New Church center Rakeem Christmas. Christmas had trimmed his list of colleges earlier in the year, but according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog, he reopened that last week when he visited Rutgers unofficially.

Christmas isn't the only player from Academy of the New Church on the Rivals list. Fellow frontcourt player Malcolm Gilbert, a 6'11 center, checks in at number 145 on the list. For quite some time Gilbert was attracting mostly local interest, from schools like Saint Joseph's, La Salle, Drexel, and a few others. That has changed dramatically over the past few weeks. In the past few weeks, Gilbert has visited a trio of college basketball powerhouses. Gilbert has recently visited Duke, Pitt, and Ohio State unofficially. In addition to being a tremendous force on the defensive side of the ball, Malcolm is also an impressive student, which explains the mutual interest in Ivy League schools. Gilbert has seen his stock rise through the roof over the summer, and his recruitment will be one of the more interesting local ones to follow over the coming months.

Speaking of Pitt, two players from Philadelphia are committed already to the Big East program. While neither player has appeared on any of Rivals' previous top 150 lists, both make their debut here. 6'1 guard John Johnson, from Girard College. checks in at number 132 and 6'6 forward Jaylen Bond makes an appearance at 141. Bond's PW team won a state championship team this year, courtesy of the interior play of Bond and Saint Joseph's-bound center CJ Aiken and perimeter play of senior guard Whis Grant.

Xavier secured an early commitment from the number 58 prospect on the list, 6'4 wing Dezmine Wells. Wells recently put on a show at the NBPA Top 100 camp against many of the best high school players in the country. Xavier just keeps on rolling.

Desmond Hubert, a lanky 6'9 shot-blocking force from New Egypt, New Jersey appears at number 78. Hubert has said that Pitt and Villanova are two of the frontrunners in his recruitment, although a number of other schools are making a serious push.

The first player associated with the Hawks checks in at number 80. Myles Davis, from Saint Peter's Prep in Jersey City, is a 6'2 combo guard. There has been some speculation about Davis over the summer months, concerning both his high school for next year and his classification. There has been talk that Davis could possibly transfer to Plainfield, his home town. In addition, there has been talk that Davis could reclassify to the 2012 class. When I spoke with SPP head coach Mike Kelly over the winter about Davis, he told me that Davis was young for his grade, which could be a possible reason for reclassifying. Davis lists the Hawks, Villanova, Pitt, UConn, George Mason, the University of Virginia, and Georgetown as his schools of interest. Davis played high school ball with 2010 Hawk commitment Ronald Roberts at Saint Peter's Prep, which is certainly worth noting when discussing Davis' recruitment.

Two other players on the list have expressed varying degrees of interest in the Hawks. 6'9 Derrick Randall, who played at Paterson Catholic last year and will play at South Kent his senior year, comes in at number 131 on the list. Randall has been providing the same basic list of schools to recruiting sites for almost the past year. A list that includes Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Providence, Seton Hall, Saint John's, and Saint Joseph's. The other player that has listed the Hawks makes his debut at number 147. 6'5 wing Vaughn Gray played for Don Bosco in Bergen County, New Jersey for the past three years. He will play this coming season at national powerhouse Saint Benedict's Prep. Gray has interest from Saint Joseph's, Richmond, Temple, Xavier, the University of Virginia, Providence, and Oregon. Playing at Saint Benedict's next year, that list is likely to expand.

Check back tomorrow for a look at the 2012 rankings.

The Rivals Top 150 for 2011 is linked below:

Rivals 150 for 2011

Back On It

For those of you who have been checking the site regularly for the past couple weeks, I apologize for the long delay here without any new information or articles. I just got back from a nice ten-day venture into Nicaragua. As much as I love the site and working on pieces for it, Nicaragua wasn't the place to be working on this. I'm back now and I'm refreshed and ready to hopefully start a busy summer on here. Thanks for checking in. Articles will start piling up again this week.