By ALEX KLINE
As the July live period approaches for college coaches, spring AAU events have made a major impact on recruiting. With word of mouth traveling from events like the Nike EYBL, Bob Gibbons tournament and the upcoming Rumble in the Bronx, good play and potential is being noticed. College coaches cannot watch kids play until July, but that does not prevent them from showing extra interest by offering players and getting them on campus for visits. This week has been huge for that.
On Wednesday night, Katin Reinhardt picked up two new offers. The former USC commit added scholarships from Baylor and N.C. State. Reinhardt, a 2012 shooting guard from Mater Dei in California, also has offers from Arizona, Arizona State and the Trojans. Along with that, Big East schools Syracuse and UConn, among others, have begun expressing interest in the talented guard.
Florida State offered three extremely talented juniors Wednesday from around the country, Richard Peters, Kareem Canty and Alex Poythress.
Peters, a former Oklahoma commit picture above, is hearing from tons of new schools since decommitting. The talented 2012 Canadian power forward, who stands 6-10 and attends Westwind Prep in Arizona, currently likes Washington the most. At the same time, new schools are coming in almost every day and making Peters’ recruitment extremely interesting.
Canty, a 2012 point guard, who attends Bridgton Academy in Maine, has seen his stock rise, as well. The New York native took an unofficial visit to Xavier last week due to his good relationship with Musketeer assistant Rasheen Davis. Canty said he, “loved” his visit and could see himself playing for the school. He also visited Seton Hall this spring and enjoyed it.
Poythress, a 2012 combo forward out of Northeast High in Tennessee, is blowing up due to his play on the circuit. This week, he has picked up offers from West Virginia, Louisville and the Seminoles. They join Cincinnati, UConn, Florida, Georgia, Marquette, Memphis, Miami (FL), Ohio State, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and West Virginia. Duke is also expressing a fair amount of interest.
2013 point guard Isaiah Lewis of Christ the King in New York is also having a great spring. Memphis, Stanford, North Carolina and Miami (FL) are some of the newest schools to express interest in the sophomore talent. He is also hearing from Ohio State, Kansas, Arizona, Florida and others.
Brannen Greene, a 2013 shooting guard out of Mary Persons High in Georgia, has also seen his recruitment shoot up this spring. N.C. State and Providence offered the talented sophomore on Thursday. They join the list of Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Marquette, Oklahoma, Xavier, South Carolina and Virginia.
Speaking of Providence, Ed Cooley and his new staff brought a great trio of New England talent onto campus Wednesday. 2012 power forward Zach Auguste of New Hampton (NH), 2013 small forward Noah Vonleh of Haverhill (MA) and 2014 combo guard Wayne Selden of Tilton (NH) all made unofficial visits to the school. The Friars staff has offered all three, including Auguste, who picked up his offer on Thursday. Selden, one of the top talents in his class, who already has an offer from Kentucky, said, “I enjoyed the visit to Providence. Coach Cooley and Coach (Andre) LaFleur are good people.” Andre LaFleur’s departure from UConn to become the associate head coach at Providence could end up playing a huge role in the recruitment of Selden and many other New England area players, including Kuran Iverson, Nerlens Noel, Johnnie Vassar and more.
Stanford is pursuing 2012 point guard Jordan Chatman extremely hard. Chatman, the son of former BYU standout Jeff Chatman, and current star for Skyview High in Washington has spoken with Cardinal head coach Johnny Dawkins several times this week. On Thursday, Dawkins informed Chatman’s father that he was invited to Stanford elite camp, along with the hopes of hosting the family for an unofficial visit. Chatman visited Utah unofficially on Monday and has seen a number of new schools after him.
Shaka Smart and the VCU Rams completed their 2012 class on Wednesday night as they picked up their third and final commitment. Jordan Burgess, a 2012 forward from Benedictine in Virginia and the brother of current Rams star Bradford Burgess, made his pledge to VCU. He joins Mo Alie-Cox and Justin Tuoyo. However, the fourth scholarship may open up in the coming months. This could lead to an offer for Charles Cooke, a big time shooting guard out of Trenton Catholic in New Jersey.
With July just a few weeks away, coaches and players alike are excited for the anticipation of another big month with tons on the line. The Reebok Basketball Breakout Challenge, the LeBron James Skills Academy, Peach Jam, Vegas events, Orlando Nationals and more will all play a huge role in the future of college basketball.
