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

Big Night of Hoops at Rutgers Tonight

Although Rutgers' season came to a close earlier this week, there is still basketball to be played on campus. Tonight, the New Jersey state playoffs continue, and Rutgers is the host of two highly-anticipated match-ups. At 6, Seton Hall Prep and Saint Peter's Prep will face off. Saint Peter's Prep is led by junior guard Myles Davis and senior forward Ron Roberts. In an article on Rivals.com earlier this week, Davis continued to list Saint Joseph's as a school of interest, alongside Pitt, UConn, Georgetown, Providence, La Salle, and George Mason. Ron Roberts chose Saint John's, another school on Davis' list, over the Hawks in the fall.

The second game of the double-header features Bob Hurley's Saint Anthony team and one of the top-ranked high school teams in America, Paterson Catholic. Saint Anthony is a veteran team, led by seniors going to Richmond (Derrick Williams), Saint Bonaventure (Eli Carter), and Oregon State (Devon Collier). Paterson Catholic's senior star is Seton Hall-bound forward Fuquan Edwin. Derrick Randall, a junior bigman on Paterson Catholic, is an SJU recruiting target in the class of 2011.

Friends Central-Saint Anthony Game Snowed Out

Going into the weekend, I was really anticipating attending a match-up between one of Philadelphia's best high school teams, Friends Central, and a team coached by arguably the best high school coach in America, Saint Anthony's. The game was scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Philadelphia University. As anyone in the Northeast knows, the region was blanketed with 20-plus inches of snow over the weekend, forcing the postponement of the game. According to Philly.com, the game will be rescheduled on one of four dates: February 19th, 20th, 26th, or 27th. Both teams are loaded with Division 1 talent. Saint Anthony's features senior guard Eli Carter, who will be playing in the A10 for Saint Bonaventure next year. Derrick Williams, a monster of a power forward, will be suiting up for Richmond next year. Along with these two A10-bound players, the Friars also star Oregon State signee Devon Collier and University of Maryland signee Ashton Pankey. Friends Central is loaded in their own right, starring junior guard Devin Coleman and sophomore forward Amile Jefferson. Both are SJU targets. I will be on hand for this game whenever it is rescheduled, and a recap will be posted here.