Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Recruiting Roundup: Juwan Morgan Sets 3 Visits; Ahmad Visiting Ohio State; Bacon, Koumadje Visiting FSU, Murray Adds Offers
By NICK MEDLINE & ADAM ZAGORIA
With two schools pushing the hardest, Juwan Morgan added another contender.
The four-star Waynesville (MO) power forward set official visits to Vanderbilt (Aug. 28-30), Washington (Sept. 12-14) and Indiana (Sept. 26-28), his Mokan Elite AAU coach, Rodney Perry, told SNY.tv.
After his excellent July, several schools began recruiting Morgan–with some perhaps being too late.
Indiana and Washington became the hardest in pursuit, he told SNY.tv on July 12. You could see why: Morgan showed excellent hands and blocking ability on the circuit.
“His upside is through the roof. I think he’s only scratching the surface on how good he’s going to be,” Perry said.
Morgan said that Indiana built strong relationships earlier in his recruitment. He praised the coaching staff, and already took an unofficial visit to Bloomington. The Hoosiers also showed interest in his AAU teammate Shake Milton.
“I talk to Coach [Tom] Crean and Coach [Steve] McClain at least two to three times a week,” Morgan said. “They tell me they’ve been watching and are going over things I can work on. They give me that advice.”
Washington and Lorenzo Romar could continue their dominant string of recruiting. The 12th year head coach has landed three top-150 players in the class of 2015: Marquese Chriss, David Crisp and Dejounte Murray. Those guys are also pitching the program to Morgan.
“I’ve been talking to the players that already committed to Washington in my class,” Morgan said. “They speak very highly of Coach Romar, and it’s great to hear that.”
But the Vanderbilt visit means that coach Kevin Stalling made a recent push. With schools including Missouri and Arkansas competing, the Commodores worked their way in.
Morgan earned the attention. Down the stretch, the old names are fighting to hold on. FREE THROWS
**2015 Showtime Ballers/Oak Hill Academy SG Dwayne Bacon will take an official visit to Florida State Sept. 5-7, as will 7-4 Showtime Ballers C Jean Marc Christ Koumadje.
**2015 All Ohio Red/Cleveland (OH) Shakur Heights F Esa Ahmad will visit Ohio State unofficially Saturday and may also visit Cincinnati this weekend, his dad told SNY.tv.
**2016 CIA Bounce/Athlete Institute PG Jamal Murray added offers from Indiana and Missouri, his dad told SNY.tv.
**2016 Playaz/Seton Hall Prep PG T.J. Gibbs added offers from Xavier and USC.
**2015 PF Emmit Holt of Vermont Academy has added offers from St. Joe’s, Duquesne, George Washington and Rice.
**2015 Sports U/St. Anthony F Markis McDuffie added offers from Maryland and Wichita State, his dad told SNY.tv.
**2015 F Keith Stone has trimmed his list to Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, VCU, and Virginia Tech,according to Adam Barnes.
**2015 Team Final/ Ewing (N.J.) Trey Lowe Tweeted that he cut his list to SMU, Temple, St. Joe’s and VCU. For more, click here at COBL.com.
2016 Team Final/Haverford (Pa.) School G Levan “Shawn” Alston, Jr. cut his list to Temple, VCU, Marquette, Notre Dame, Penn State and Penn. For more, click here.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
By NICK MEDLINE & ADAM ZAGORIA
With two schools pushing the hardest, Juwan Morgan added another contender.
The four-star Waynesville (MO) power forward set official visits to Vanderbilt (Aug. 28-30), Washington (Sept. 12-14) and Indiana (Sept. 26-28), his Mokan Elite AAU coach, Rodney Perry, told SNY.tv.
After his excellent July, several schools began recruiting Morgan–with some perhaps being too late.
Indiana and Washington became the hardest in pursuit, he told SNY.tv on July 12. You could see why: Morgan showed excellent hands and blocking ability on the circuit.
“His upside is through the roof. I think he’s only scratching the surface on how good he’s going to be,” Perry said.
Morgan said that Indiana built strong relationships earlier in his recruitment. He praised the coaching staff, and already took an unofficial visit to Bloomington. The Hoosiers also showed interest in his AAU teammate Shake Milton.
“I talk to Coach [Tom] Crean and Coach [Steve] McClain at least two to three times a week,” Morgan said. “They tell me they’ve been watching and are going over things I can work on. They give me that advice.”
Washington and Lorenzo Romar could continue their dominant string of recruiting. The 12th year head coach has landed three top-150 players in the class of 2015: Marquese Chriss, David Crisp and Dejounte Murray. Those guys are also pitching the program to Morgan.
“I’ve been talking to the players that already committed to Washington in my class,” Morgan said. “They speak very highly of Coach Romar, and it’s great to hear that.”
But the Vanderbilt visit means that coach Kevin Stalling made a recent push. With schools including Missouri and Arkansas competing, the Commodores worked their way in.
Morgan earned the attention. Down the stretch, the old names are fighting to hold on.
FREE THROWS
**2015 Showtime Ballers/Oak Hill Academy SG Dwayne Bacon will take an official visit to Florida State Sept. 5-7, as will 7-4 Showtime Ballers C Jean Marc Christ Koumadje.
**2015 All Ohio Red/Cleveland (OH) Shakur Heights F Esa Ahmad will visit Ohio State unofficially Saturday and may also visit Cincinnati this weekend, his dad told SNY.tv.
**2016 CIA Bounce/Athlete Institute PG Jamal Murray added offers from Indiana and Missouri, his dad told SNY.tv.
**2016 Playaz/Seton Hall Prep PG T.J. Gibbs added offers from Xavier and USC.
**2015 PF Emmit Holt of Vermont Academy has added offers from St. Joe’s, Duquesne, George Washington and Rice.
**2015 Sports U/St. Anthony F Markis McDuffie added offers from Maryland and Wichita State, his dad told SNY.tv.
**2015 F Keith Stone has trimmed his list to Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, VCU, and Virginia Tech, according to Adam Barnes.
**2015 Team Final/ Ewing (N.J.) Trey Lowe Tweeted that he cut his list to SMU, Temple, St. Joe’s and VCU. For more, click here at COBL.com.
2016 Team Final/Haverford (Pa.) School G Levan “Shawn” Alston, Jr. cut his list to Temple, VCU, Marquette, Notre Dame, Penn State and Penn. For more, click here.