Recruiting Roundup: Weekend Visits and Tidbits
By JACOB POLACHECK **James Wiseman, the 6-foot-11 center
By JACOB POLACHECK **James Wiseman, the 6-foot-11 center
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Ahead of his official visits later this fall, Class of 2019 shooting guard Bryan Antoine took an unofficial to Villanova on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-5 Antoine from the Ranney School (N.J.) and Team Rio is the No. 12 player in the Class of 2019, per ESPN.com. He will take officials Florida (Sept. 15), Kentucky (Sept. 22), Duke (Sept. 29) and Villanova (Nov. 3).
“Villanova is only like an hour and 45 [minutes] from my house so it’s kind of like the home school,” Antoine told me earlier this year. “In the past three years they’ve won two national championships, there’s no other place you can do that at home. You can go in there and win a national championship.”
By JACOB POLACHECK Jabri Abdur-Rahim, the 6-foot-5 small
Reigning national champion Villanova officially added two
By JACOB POLACHECK Trey Patterson, the 6-foot-7 small
By JACOB POLACHECK
Cole Anthony, the 6-foot-3 combo guard from Archbishop Molloy (NY) High School, will transfer to Oak Hill (VA) Academy for his senior season.
“We’re deciding to attend Oak Hill Academy,” he said on ESPNU.
Chandler Lawson Cam Thomas, Lynn Greer, Tobias Rotegard and fellow New York City prep star Kobi Cockburn will also join Anthony at Oak Hill next year.
“We are so excited that Cole will be joining the Oak Hill basketball family,” Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith told ZAGSBLOG Saturday. “We have a long history of outstanding point guards who have played for us,” “Nine have gone on to play in the NBA. I think Cole has the potential to be the next great one.”
“I love his ability to create for his teammates and himself,” he said. “He has tremendous court vision and a great feel for making the right plays. “
By SEAN BOCK
Three members of Villanova’s 2018 national championship team were taken in the first round, including two who tested the waters and one who didn’t start (Donte DiVincenzo), but National Player of the Year Jalen Brunson was not among them.
DiVincenzo, Mikal Bridges, and Omari Spellman were all drafted in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft while Brunson was drafted No. 33 overall by the Dallas Mavericks.
“Brunson is mature, and he is a winner,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said on air. “He’s an excellent point guard and is another guy who’s not going to stand out because of how athletic he is. He’s very efficient, he knows how to play, and he’s just a winner. I’m not sure I’ve come across a more mature player in the course of my years in college basketball and as a good as a leader.”
“There’s a reason why Villanova won, and they won in large part because of Jalen Brunson,” Bilas added.
