Daniel Ochefu a Wildcat

Over the past several weeks, it was becoming apparent that Westown School (PA) junior big-man Daniel Ochefu was nearing a decision. Those tuned in to his recruitment seemed to think that the decision would come down to Temple and Georgetown. When Daniel made his college selection yesterday, it didn't come as a surprise to anyone. The fact that he chose Villanova certainly did, however, come as a surprise to many, myself included.

The 6'10 center is generally viewed as a top-25 player in his class, and his signing is as big for Villanova as it is rough for Temple. With Ochefu now in the fold, Villanova has three of the top four players from the Philadelphia area in the 2012 class. Wing Savon Goodman and guard Ryan Arcidiacono have already given Nova verbal commitments, and Daniel became the third member of that class yesterday. The final highly-regarded junior recruit in the city is Friends' Central's Amile Jefferson. Villanova is viewed as one of the leaders for his services as well.

There is really not any downplaying the signing of Ochefu for Villanova. Coach Jay Wright seems to always have a terrific cast of guards. With the signing of Ochefu (and Yarou in 2009), Jay has shown an ability to get highly-regarded bigs as well.

ESPN Article on Ochefu

Zagsblog Article on Ochefu

Photo of Daniel above is courtesy of Rivals.com

Weekend Rundown

Over the past two days, a number of noteworthy high school games were played in the area. A rundown on those games, a look forward, and a few recruiting notes are below.

On the recruiting front, Roman Catholic senior big Junior Fortunat attended the Seton Hall-Marquette game last night. Junior has seen a number of schools jump into his recruitment since becoming NCAA eligible last week, which I reported on here.

According to Alex Kline's Twitter, Princeton Day School (NJ) sophomore Davon Reed was in attendance at yesterday's Temple-La Salle game. Both schools have already offered the 6'4 guard. In addition to those schools, Saint Joseph's, VCU, Rutgers, and West Virginia have also extended scholarship offers Davon's way.

Temple also hosted another significant recruit this weekend, as Westtown (PA) junior center Daniel Ochefu took an unofficial visit to campus on Friday with his parents. An article from Philly.com on his visit is linked here. His final four schools are Temple, Villanova, Georgetown, and Texas.

In New Jersey playoff action yesterday, Teaneck advanced with a 20-point win over Sparta. Chris Jones, a junior wing who has interest from the Hawks, had 11 points in the win, while sophomore guard Joel Hernandez dropped 23. An article on the game can be found here.

On Friday night, another junior guard with SJU interest helped his team advance. Seton Hall Prep junior guard Dallas Anglin had a game-high 28 points to guide his team past Paramus Catholic. Anglin had interest from the Hawks, Boston University, George Washington, Rice, and many others. He has been on a tear during this playoff run, and more schools are bound to take notice.

In Philadelphia, Friday night was full of high school hoops as well. The night's premier matchup was the District 1 Class AAAA title game between Chester and Council Rock North. Maurice Nelson led the way for Chester, scoring 22 points. Chester had four double-digit scorers, and easily dispatched of Council Rock North, 66-43. RIck O'Brien's article from the Inquirer can be found here.

Philadelphia's District 12 Class AAA championship game took place Friday night at Archbishop Ryan, and featured Philadelphia Catholic League champs Neumann-Goretti and Philadelphia Electrical and Technology. Neumann took a 33-23 lead into the half, eventually winning 62-54. Two stars for Neumann were sophomore Johnny Davis, who tallied 18 points and 18 rebounds, and sophomore Derrick Stewart who had 15. PET got 19 points from Hakeem Baxter, and 9 each from Devante Chance and Carrington Ward.

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