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.
Recruiting Roundup: Harry Giles, Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen Headline Weekend Road Trips
With the NCAA Early Signing Period approaching Nov. 11-18, many top recruits will hit the road for visits this weekend.
Here’s a rundown that will be updated over the weekend. For more detail on any player, click the embedded link near their name:
**Oak Hill Academy (VA) big man Harry Giles visits Duke for his last official visit and should be warmly greeted there.
The 6-foot-10 Giles is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2016 and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s considering Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Wake Forest, with Duke the overwhelming favorite. He is expected to announce during the early signing period, although it’s possible the Nov. 14 date could change. “I think consensus everybody thinks he’s going to Duke and because of the attraction of staying close to home and because Jayson Tatum is a friend of his,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said last week on The 4 Quarters Podcast.
Smith also said it was a “good move” by Duke to get the last official this coming weekend.
“They have the last visit and that was done purposefully and that was a good move on their part I think because when the smoke clears and his head’s spinning a little bit now he goes to Duke for the final visit, so it’s going to be interesting,” Smith said.
**Malik Monk visits Arkansas in the last of his scheduled official visits. The 6-foot-3 guard from Bentonville (AR) has not set an announcement date. He is considering Arkansas, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oregon, but most observers expect it to come down to Arkansas and Kentucky. Monk and Texas point guard De’Aaron Fox have discussed playing together, and it’s possible they could both team up at Kentucky.
**Bam Adebayo, the 6-10 power forward from High Point Christian (N.C.), takes his official visit to N.C. State, as does his friend Dennis Smith Jr., the point guard who has already committed to the Wolfpack. The two have long been linked in a potential package to N.C. State, but there are no guarantees Adebayo will land there as Kentucky has also made a strong push. Kentucky coach John Calipari has visited Adebayo several times and the big man has also visited Lexington.
**Jarrett Allen, a 6-9 power forward from Austin (TX) St. Stephen’s Episcopal, shuffled his visit order and will trip to Houston this weekend instead of Kentucky, which he will now see in two weeks. He has previously visited Notre Dame and Kansas.
**Miami hosts 6-4 shooting guard Bruce Brown of Vermont Academy, who previously visited Indiana and Xavier. He is also slated to visit Purdue next weekend.
**Cal is hosting 5-10 2016 Chicago (IL) Morgan Park point guard Charlie Moore, among others.
**UCLA is hosting commits Lonzo Ball and Ike Anigbogu on their official visits.
**Boston College hosts commits Ty Graves and Mike Sagay and uncommitted big man Nic Popovic.
**Kansas State hosts Arnaldo Toro, a 6-9 power forward from St. Benedict’s Prep, who has also visited GW and St. Joe’s.
**Seton Hall is expected to host the Fab 5 of Naz Reid, Louis King, Atiba Taylor, Jahvon Quinerly and Luther Muhammad on Sunday. For more, read this.
**St. John’s will host 2017 wing Sid Wilson and possibly 2017 guard Justin Minaya on Saturday for their Red-White Scrimmage.
**Minnesota hosts 2016 commit Michael Hurt, a 6-6 small forward.
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.
With the NCAA Early Signing Period approaching Nov. 11-18, many top recruits will hit the road for visits this weekend.
Here’s a rundown that will be updated over the weekend. For more detail on any player, click the embedded link near their name:
**Oak Hill Academy (VA) big man Harry Giles visits Duke for his last official visit and should be warmly greeted there.
The 6-foot-10 Giles is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2016 and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s considering Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Wake Forest, with Duke the overwhelming favorite. He is expected to announce during the early signing period, although it’s possible the Nov. 14 date could change.
“I think consensus everybody thinks he’s going to Duke and because of the attraction of staying close to home and because Jayson Tatum is a friend of his,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said last week on The 4 Quarters Podcast.
Smith also said it was a “good move” by Duke to get the last official this coming weekend.
“They have the last visit and that was done purposefully and that was a good move on their part I think because when the smoke clears and his head’s spinning a little bit now he goes to Duke for the final visit, so it’s going to be interesting,” Smith said.
**Malik Monk visits Arkansas in the last of his scheduled official visits. The 6-foot-3 guard from Bentonville (AR) has not set an announcement date. He is considering Arkansas, Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oregon, but most observers expect it to come down to Arkansas and Kentucky. Monk and Texas point guard De’Aaron Fox have discussed playing together, and it’s possible they could both team up at Kentucky.
**Bam Adebayo, the 6-10 power forward from High Point Christian (N.C.), takes his official visit to N.C. State, as does his friend Dennis Smith Jr., the point guard who has already committed to the Wolfpack. The two have long been linked in a potential package to N.C. State, but there are no guarantees Adebayo will land there as Kentucky has also made a strong push. Kentucky coach John Calipari has visited Adebayo several times and the big man has also visited Lexington.
**Jarrett Allen, a 6-9 power forward from Austin (TX) St. Stephen’s Episcopal, shuffled his visit order and will trip to Houston this weekend instead of Kentucky, which he will now see in two weeks. He has previously visited Notre Dame and Kansas.
**Miami hosts 6-4 shooting guard Bruce Brown of Vermont Academy, who previously visited Indiana and Xavier. He is also slated to visit Purdue next weekend.
**Cal is hosting 5-10 2016 Chicago (IL) Morgan Park point guard Charlie Moore, among others.
**UCLA is hosting commits Lonzo Ball and Ike Anigbogu on their official visits.
**Boston College hosts commits Ty Graves and Mike Sagay and uncommitted big man Nic Popovic.
**Kansas State hosts Arnaldo Toro, a 6-9 power forward from St. Benedict’s Prep, who has also visited GW and St. Joe’s.
**Seton Hall is expected to host the Fab 5 of Naz Reid, Louis King, Atiba Taylor, Jahvon Quinerly and Luther Muhammad on Sunday. For more, read this.
**St. John’s will host 2017 wing Sid Wilson and possibly 2017 guard Justin Minaya on Saturday for their Red-White Scrimmage.
**Minnesota hosts 2016 commit Michael Hurt, a 6-6 small forward.
