Rayshaun Hammonds to Georgia
Rayshaun Hammonds, the 6-7, 190-pound power forward
Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegna is in his 18th season at the New Jersey prep power, and has won over 300 games.
He has coached future NBA players Luol Deng and Charlie Villanueva.
But he never had a team with a quartet of players sign National Letters of Intent. Until Wednesday.
Forward Deng Gak (Miami), point guard Matt Turner (Santa Clara), wing Anthony Mack (Wyoming) and stretch-four Zach Kent (Tennessee) all signed at the school.
“I think it’s a lot of credit to Coach Mantegna for getting us all prepared,” said the 6-foot-4 Turner, who also considered Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech. “It shows how confident our team is and we’re all very excited for the season.”
Wendell Carter Jr., who this summer won a gold medal with the USA U17 team and was named to the All-Star Five Team at the U17 World Championship in Spain, now plans to sign during the early signing period instead of in the spring.
The 6-foot-10 Carter Jr. out of Atlanta (GA) Pace Academy is considering Duke, Harvard, Georgia and Georgia Tech, and took his final visit to Georgia Tech this past weekend.
“I’m going to be signing early,” he told Rivals.com. “I’m just going to put it up on Twitter. I’m going to make a video and put it up on Twitter. I’m not sure when exactly it will be.”
The early signing period runs Nov. 9-16.
Duke remains the favorite for Carter Jr., who continues to talk with fellow Class of 2017 star Gary Trent Jr. about playing together in college. Trent Jr. has visited Duke, UCLA and Michigan State and recently said in his USA Today blog that both he and Carter Jr. “loved” their Duke visit — which they took together.
P.J. Washington, the 6-foot-8 forward from Frisco,
Here’s a look towards this weekend’s recruiting visits and other news. This list will be updated throughout the weekend.
**Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6-foot-5 1/2 point guard from Chattanooga (TN) Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, is visiting Kentucky beginning Friday. For more on Alexander and Kentucky, read this.
**Lonnie Walker, the 6-5, 206-pound shooting guard from Reading (PA) High School, will take his fourth official visit to Kentucky this weekend (Nov. 5). Walker has previously taken officials to Miami (Sept. 30), Arizona (Oct. 14), and Villanova (Oct. 28). He also has plans to visit Syracuse later this month (Nov. 11).
**P.J. Washington, the 6-8 forward from Frisco, Texas and Findlay Prep (NV), will take his final official visit to UNLV this weekend and is expected to decide during the NCAA early signing period. He also
