John Wall, the No. 1 Rivals recruit in the Class of 2009, says he plans to be one-and-done or two-and-done for college in order to help support his family, including his mom and two sisters.
“My dad (John Sr.) passed when I was 10,” Wall told SI.com. “After he passed, I was the man of the house. I realized I wanted to go somewhere and get my family in a better situation.”
“If I go one-and-done or two-and-done,” Wall added, “I’m going back to school and finish regardless. I promised it to my mom.”
Memphis, Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and N.C. State are listed as Wall’s leaders at the moment.
**Xavier Henry, the No. 2 prospect in ’09, will visit Kansas, Memphis, UCLA and Texas but we hear it will come down to Kansas and Memphis. Word is the 6-6, 214-pound Henry favors Memphis even though both his parents attended Kansas.
**Kentucky is the favorite for Daniel Orton, a 6-10, 260-pound center from Oklahoma City (OK) Bishop McGuinness listed as the No. 2 center in the class.
**Villanova and Georgetown are still recruiting 6-5 Montrose Christian small forward Terrell Vinson, but Duke is not.
**Despite one recent newspaper report, Lance Stephenson is not considering Indiana and North Carolina is not recruiting him.
**6-7 Birmingham (Ala.) forward Christian Watford likes Memphis and Louisville, but Kentucky, Indiana and Alabama are also in his Top 5, according to Jody Demling.
**Onetime Rutgers target Ricardo Ratliffe, a 6-8 power forward from Hampton (VA) Kecoughtan, is headed to prep school.
(Photo courtesy Kelly Kline)