BY CHIP MILLER
The story of the weekend was the commitment of 2015 Sarasota (Fla.) Oak Ridge High’s Antonio Blakeney to LSU.
The former Louisville commit chose LSU over Kentucky and Missouri, becoming the second 2015 commit to Johnny Jones and the Tigers.
Blakeney, the sharp shooting five-star guard, joins the overall No. 1-ranked Ben Simmons of Montverde Academy in Florida, giving the Tigers a potent one-two scoring punch.
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Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy 2015 point guard Terrence Phillips committed to Kim Anderson and the Missouri Tigers on Saturday. Phillips committed while on his official visit to Columbia, telling ZAGSBLOG it was a good fit. “(It) just felt like it was a good fit for me,” Phillips stated via text Saturday evening. “Bigger, better place playing in the SEC, and I didn’t want to go back home with distractions so I can keep improving my game.”*****
Ivan Rabb officially visited Arizona over the weekend. Rabb visited with Arizona commit 2015 five-star Allonzo Trier and 2016 five-star forward T.J. Leaf. Rabb’s mother, Tami, gave SNY.tv some insight to the visit. “The visit went well,” Tami Rabb told Adam Zagoria. “Arizona is a great option for Ivan. The coaching staff was hospitable and informative. Arizona is definitely a school you have to see to believe.” Kentucky, Kansas, California and UCLA as well as Arizona are Rabb’s final five. Kentucky and Arizona are the only two officials taken so far by the five-star forward out of Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland, California.*****
Malik Newman wrote in his USA Today Player blog that he will officially visit Ohio State between Jan. 24-26 and will visit Kentucky, Kansas and N.C. State, but those dates have yet to be finalized. Newman’s father, Horatio Webster who himself is a former Mississippi State stand out, said that Malik and the family have hosted in-homes with Kentucky’s John Calipari, Kansas’ Bill Self, N.C. State’s Mark Gottfried, Mississippi State’s Rick Ray, Ole Miss’ Andy Kennedy, UConn’s Kevin Ollie, Texas A&M’s Billy Kennedy and Samford’s Scott Padgett. Newman officially visited Texas A&M back on Oct. 10. Officials to Ohio State, Kentucky, Kansas and N.C. State will complete his five officials allowed. Expect a decision in April.*****
Villa Angela-St. Joseph (OH) five-star forward Carlton Bragg will announce his decision between Kentucky, Kansas and Illinois on Thursday at 2:45 pm ET at his school. Bragg dropped UCLA from his final list. Kentucky’s John Calipari, assistant Barry Rohrssen and Illinois assistant Dustin Ford were on hand to see Bragg Friday night at the Cancer Research Classic. Kansas head man Bill Self was expected but couldn’t get out of Lawrence due to weather. The current 247Sports Crystal Ball has Kansas trending and currently leading with 39 percent of the predictions. You can watch Bragg announce his decision on Cleveland.com.*****
Bradenton (Fla) IMG Academy four-star forward Romello White announced via Twitter on Monday that he has committed to Donnie Tyndall and the Tennessee Volunteers. “Glad to say I’m committing to the university of Tennessee. #VolNation #truly blessed Thank you to all the coaches that recruited me.” Mike Kelly, Mello’s coach at IMG Academy in Florida, had this to say. “Mello is a great kid with a very high motor,” Kelly stated. “He’s tough and competes every day! He has worked very hard on the court, [in the] weight room and more importantly in the classroom since arriving at IMG Academy. He keeps getting better and he has a high ceiling!” “He really loved the staff at UT,” Kelly added. “He’s been to canpus a couple of times and was very impressed! Believe he will have a chance to be very successful on and of the court right away at UT.” White is Tennessee’s first commitment from the 2016 class.*****
Fort Lauderdale (FL) Elev8 Sports Institute four-star shooting guard Kobe Eubanks announced via his Instagram account that he had trimmed his list to a final ten: Georgia, Oregon, UConn, Missouri, Providence, Louisville, Kansas, South Florida, Maryland and Virginia Tech. UCLA is also involved, his coach told SNY.tv. “I will be taking my first visit this weekend (January 10) to the University of Oregon,” Eubanks told SNY.tv. “I will take another visit later this month.” Eubanks then plans on cutting his list after his second visit and making his decision at the end of the Elev8 season. “I am looking forward to getting the process started this weekend and see what’s the best fit for me and [who] has the biggest need for my position,” Eubanks added. The former Baylor commit, who reopened his recruitment at the end of November, took an unofficial visit to Maryland where he picked up an offer from Mark Turgeon.*****
Five-star wing Jayson Tatum had 39 points and 14 rebounds in front of Kentucky head man John Calipari and assistant Barry Rohrssen Friday evening.
Tatum is considering Arizona, Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Saint Louis University, UConn and Wake Forest.
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