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.
Jordan Mickey has a top five.
The 6-foot-9 Mickey, the Rivals No. 20 power forward in the Class of 2013 out of Arlington (Texas) Grace Prep, is now considering Ohio State, LSU, SMU, Oklahoma State and Arkansas, his father told SNY.tv Tuesday.
Louisville, which had been in the mix early, is no longer under consideration.
“Louisville was on the table early but didn’t pan out,” James Wright said. “I wish them the best.”
Wright said no official visits are yet set for his son, but the family will set up a series of home visits after Sept. 9.
Here’s James on each school:
“Ohio State has a consistent winning program. In 2013, they’re going to have a big need at the power forward position, which will give Jordan an opportunity to come in and make a major impact as a freshman. Also they have a wonderful coaching staff, well-rounded. Coach [Thad] Matta is a really good coach with a great track record. Ohio Sate did a wonderful job with the recruiting process.
“LSU will in a rebuilding process. You got Johnny Jones there who did a wonderful job at North Texas State. He’s looking forward to big things at LSU. He was there earlier in his carer with Dale Brown. We had a couple visits down there and they went really, really well. With his coaching style, Jordan will fit into a more running style of offense. I think coach can really utilize his talents. His older brother also plays football at LSU, so that’s another big perk to have the opportunity to go to school with his brother.
“SMU I think has made a big commitment with Larry Brown. We’re big fans of Larry Brown for many, many years. We’ve had several opportunities to go over and spend some time with Larry and his program. I think those guys are going to do some great things in the next year or two as they’re able to implement more of the athletes that they’re trying to implement. I did hear about the [Harrison] twins coming in. I do know they’re scheduled to come in for a visit.
“Oklahoma State is another great program. We got an opportunity to go up there and spend some time, got a chance to talk to some of the local guys that we already know, LeBryan Nash and Marcus Smart which are two great additions to Oklahoma State. We we went and visited on an unofficial visit after they went 4-0 overseas. They have wonderful facilities. Coach [Travis] Ford is getting a lot out of his athletes. His atheltes are really producing for him and he stressed the fact of chemistry and thought that Jordan would really fit in well with his program and he would love to have the opportunity to coach him. We looked at his coaching style, the way the 3/4 plays and it’s definitely something Jordan is interested in.
“Arkansas, Coach [Mike] Anderson is in a rebuilding process. I have no doubt that he can get the job done. We had a visit there and went over the motion offense. The way they like to push off the backboards, get rebounds and push off the board will enable him to display his inside and outside game and defensively it will showcase his ability to defend inside and out and also gve him a lot of opportunities to shot-block and rebound. In his system I think Jordan will do a really good job in terms of getting some good stats.”
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.
Jordan Mickey has a top five.
The 6-foot-9 Mickey, the Rivals No. 20 power forward in the Class of 2013 out of Arlington (Texas) Grace Prep, is now considering Ohio State, LSU, SMU, Oklahoma State and Arkansas, his father told SNY.tv Tuesday.
Louisville, which had been in the mix early, is no longer under consideration.
“Louisville was on the table early but didn’t pan out,” James Wright said. “I wish them the best.”
Wright said no official visits are yet set for his son, but the family will set up a series of home visits after Sept. 9.
Here’s James on each school:
“Ohio State has a consistent winning program. In 2013, they’re going to have a big need at the power forward position, which will give Jordan an opportunity to come in and make a major impact as a freshman. Also they have a wonderful coaching staff, well-rounded. Coach [Thad] Matta is a really good coach with a great track record. Ohio Sate did a wonderful job with the recruiting process.
“LSU will in a rebuilding process. You got Johnny Jones there who did a wonderful job at North Texas State. He’s looking forward to big things at LSU. He was there earlier in his carer with Dale Brown. We had a couple visits down there and they went really, really well. With his coaching style, Jordan will fit into a more running style of offense. I think coach can really utilize his talents. His older brother also plays football at LSU, so that’s another big perk to have the opportunity to go to school with his brother.
“SMU I think has made a big commitment with Larry Brown. We’re big fans of Larry Brown for many, many years. We’ve had several opportunities to go over and spend some time with Larry and his program. I think those guys are going to do some great things in the next year or two as they’re able to implement more of the athletes that they’re trying to implement. I did hear about the [Harrison] twins coming in. I do know they’re scheduled to come in for a visit.
“Oklahoma State is another great program. We got an opportunity to go up there and spend some time, got a chance to talk to some of the local guys that we already know, LeBryan Nash and Marcus Smart which are two great additions to Oklahoma State. We we went and visited on an unofficial visit after they went 4-0 overseas. They have wonderful facilities. Coach [Travis] Ford is getting a lot out of his athletes. His atheltes are really producing for him and he stressed the fact of chemistry and thought that Jordan would really fit in well with his program and he would love to have the opportunity to coach him. We looked at his coaching style, the way the 3/4 plays and it’s definitely something Jordan is interested in.
“Arkansas, Coach [Mike] Anderson is in a rebuilding process. I have no doubt that he can get the job done. We had a visit there and went over the motion offense. The way they like to push off the backboards, get rebounds and push off the board will enable him to display his inside and outside game and defensively it will showcase his ability to defend inside and out and also gve him a lot of opportunities to shot-block and rebound. In his system I think Jordan will do a really good job in terms of getting some good stats.”
