By JACK LeGWIN
Get used to the name: Blake Harris.
While the recent news has been Thon Maker and his brother, Matur, moving to Canada, not much has been said about Harris, the five-star point guard who will make significant contributions in his sophomore year for Carlisle (Va.).
“I want to win a state championship,” Harris told SNY.tv. “Just win a lot of games this year, and become a better point guard.”
By ADAM ZAGORIA & CHIP MILLER
Stephen Zimmerman will be on hand Friday night for Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness and his mother hopes the reality meets the hype.
“The only phrase that I can think of is ‘Over the Top,'” Lori Zimmerman told SNY.tv. “Coach Cal promised us it’s just over the top and the fans are over the top. So, I guess I kind of expect the super experience.”
The 7-footer from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman will be at Kentucky this weekend along with fellow 2015s Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram, Carlton Bragg, Malik Newman and Kentucky’s lone 2015 commit, Charles Matthews. Also, 2016 star Tyus Battle of New Jersey’s Gill St. Bernard’s will attend.
This will be a huge weekend on the recruiting front as Midnight Madness hits a slew of big-time programs, including preseason No. 1 Kentucky, defending national champion UConn, Syracuse, Arizona, Memphis, St. John’s, Georgetown, Indiana, Maryland, Providence, UNLV and others.
Here’s a look at who’s going where, with constant updates all weekend.
**One week after hosting their NBA Combine for 90 NBA personnel, Kentucky will follow it up with Big Blue Madness. The Wildcats are expected to host a Who’s Who of elite 2015 players, including Carlton Bragg, Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram, Malik Newman, Stephen Zimmerman and their lone 2015 commit, Charles Matthews. Also, 2016 star Tyus Battle will attend.
Owasso (OK) shooting guard Shake Milton is headed
To say that this is a critical recruiting weekend for head coach Steve Lavin and St. John’s would be a massive understatement.
The Johnnies have six seniors on their current roster, including guards Jamal Branch, D’Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene and Sir’Dominic Pointer, and could also lose junior big man Chris Obekpa and/or sophomore point guard Rysheed Jordan to the pros.
Lavin and company need a dynamic recruiting class in 2015 to help offset some of their losses and help pave the way for the future. They already missed out on a couple of targets when guard Malik Beasley chose Florida State and junior college wing Tank Efianayi recently picked UCF.
Beginning with their Red Storm Tip-Off Friday night, St. John’s will host several recruits, including a trio of five-star 2015 players in Roselle (N.J.) Catholic guard Isaiah Briscoe, Our Savior New American forward Cheick Diallo and Baton Rouge (LA) shooting guard Brandon Sampson. All three players could potentially wait until the spring to commit, although Briscoe — whom St. John’s sent four staff members to watch on Thursday — may pull the trigger early.
Markis McDuffie, a 6-foot-7 face-up four man from St. Anthony and Sports U, will take an official visit to Boston College this weekend and then visits SMU Oct. 24, his father told SNY.tv.
McDuffie has already taken officials to VCU and Wichita State, and will likely choose from among those four programs.
“He’s an effective player right now,” Hall of Fame St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley told SNY.tv. “Last year he led us in scoring as a junior. I think he had a pretty good out-of-season [summer] period, so you’re getting a pretty good player right now.
Brandon Sampson, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard from Baton Rouge (LA) Madison, will trip to St. John’s this weekend for their Red Storm Tip-Off and will then head to USC the following weekend.
Sampson will visit St. John’s along with local targets Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American, a 6-9 forward, and Isaiah Briscoe of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic, a 6-3 guard.
“He did an official to LSU, he did an official to Cal and he’s going to take an official to St. John’s this weekend,” Madison coach Jeff Jones told SNY.tv.
Sampson said he’s also considering UCLA and Texas A&M.
