Veer Singh, one of the most talented and mysterious players in the New York metropolitan area, has committed to Seton Hall in the Class of 2015, his mother told SNY.tv Monday morning by phone.
Singh was originally Class of 2016 but is reclassing to 2015.
“He’s going to commit to Seton Hall,” Renee Singh, who moved to the area from Georgia in the fall, said by phone. “He’ll be going 2015.
“I think we are happy with the decision. It was more of wanting him to stay close by since I moved here for him. I like the program and I think he’ll be a good fit there.”
A 6-foot-7 1/2, 205-pound wing now at Thurgood Marshall in New York, Singh transferred from St. Peter’s Prep after last season. He said he chose Seton Hall over Cal (for 2015) and schools like Creighton, Cincinnati, Villanova, Rutgers and Temple (for 2016) because of his familiarity with Seton Hall freshmen Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington, who are also part of the New York Lightning AAU program. Virginia, Louisville and Miami also expressed interest.
“It was a combination of the coaching staff along with me knowing the guys that are already there like Angel and Khadeen,” Singh told SNY.tv Monday evening. “Those were two guys that were already established when I was coming up. I looked up to them on the spring and summer circuit, and watching Angel blow up. Everybody knew he was good in the program, but it never really got out there. And then he had that huge summer, leading the EYBL in rebounding and going to the NBPA Camp, going against the best of the best.
“And then Khadeen was a high that everybody talked about. Leading scorer, Bishop Loughlin. And then when I came on the visit in September, I got to meet the rest of the guys, like Desi [Rodriguez], Isaiah [Whitehead] and then Ismael [Sanogo] I kind of knew, just from being in Jersey. But really getting to know Desi and Isaiah as well. With that group of guys, I’m going to go in knowing what their strong points are and I think it will jell really well.”
Singh was originally Class of 2016, but if his recruitment had extended into next year, it would have probably blown up even more and been tougher for Seton Hall to land him. Instead, he said he’s been working with Sean Davenport, principal at Thurgood Marshall, to make sure “I graduate on time” to reclass to 2015.
“I went and made sure that the online school I was taking, it was just a few additional classes,” he said, adding that he had to double up on English at Thurgood Marshall and also took French, Spanish and Algebra 1 online. “I made sure it was NCAA-certified and everything.”
Singh has long been considered a talented if somewhat unpredictable player who needs to harness his focus and passion.
“Veer Singh is a guy who the first time I saw him in June of 2013, he is really a talent,” longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “He’s a special talent. He has size, he has skill and he has athleticism. What he lacks most is focus. He has a tendency to takes plays off and not play every possession.
“It’s a quantum leap going from high school to going to play in the Big East for Seton Hall. He’s got to increase his focus and learn how to play hard all the time. He’s put on 20 pounds in the last year, but he needs to get stronger. If he expects to be a contributor at Seton Hall, which he can and he can be a very good player for them, he’s got to get into the weight room, do a lot of running and work on his conditioning so that he’s not physically overmatched.
“He’s a 6-6 1/2, 6-7 kid who has the skills of a guard. He’s gotta be more of a factor in the game and he has to just to keep his head in the game and learn how to play every possession.”
Singh said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard focused on his passing ability on the wing.
“One thing that Coach Willard told me that really stuck with me when I went on the visit was that people really talk about my shooting, but they really underestimate my passing ability,” Singh said. “And he was the only coach who told me to my face, ‘I think your passing ability is something we could cherish here at Seton Hall.'”
Singh is Seton Hall’s second commit in 2015, joining California shooting guard Dalton Soffer.
Seton Hall loses seniors Brandon Mobley, Haralds Karlis and Stephane Manga. Sophomore guard Jaren Sina also transferred.
