ESPN Recruiting Nation Basketball

Times are tough right now for programs still looking to add pieces in the Class of 2012 and the domino effect is well underway. High-major schools are settling for mid-major talent and the ripple effects are being felt throughout all levels of college basketball. That being said, there are still a couple of mid-major programs which have managed to find some late value:

Georgia State
There’s rebuilding and then there’s what Ron Hunter is doing down at Georgia State. The Panthers picked up their eighth (that’s not a typo) commitment of the 2012 class on Monday from three-star SF Markus Crider (Huber Heights, Ohio/Bridgton Academy). The 6-foot-6 forward committed to Providence back when Keno Davis was at the helm of the program and appeared poised to wait as long as it took to get back to the high-major level. That looked like it was close to becoming a reality when Crider took a recent trip to Nebraska, but ultimately he pledged to the school that had recruited him the longest and hardest this season. It was a good decision in my book as Crider has the tools to be a very good mid-major player. He’s a combo-forward with a knack for scoring the ball and the type of guy who has the versatility to let his matchup dictate his point of attack. With eight new faces in Atlanta next year, he should have the opportunity to do what he does best from day one.

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I had an opportunity to speak this past weekend at the fifth-annual International Middle School Combine that was held at St. John's High School in Houston. The combine was under the direction of former University of Maryland All-American, No. 1 pick in the 1976 NBA Draft and former NBA head coach, John Lucas II.

Just over 100 very talented players from the 2016 and 2017 classes were in attendance. The post players (about 20 were 6-foot-6 or taller) were mobile and athletic, the wings had very good skill level and the point guards displayed excellent speed, quickness and high basketball IQs. However, the combine was much more than just playing games. The players learned the game.

Lucas was direct and to the point on what he thought each player needed to work on, how they should go about it and how to take their games to the next level.

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FRISCO, Texas – Four-star wide receiver and Texas A&M commit Derrick Griffin (Rosenberg, Texas/Terry), a projected tight end in college, is the top-ranked hybrid tight end in the 2013 class for a reason. His speed, athleticism, playmaking ability and overall bounce highlight his football résumé.

However, those same categories also make Griffin equally dangerous on the basketball court. At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Griffin was a go-to player for Terry's basketball team and currently is a key contributor on his AAU team, the Houston Hoops.

So which route does he go: football or basketball? Terry has aspirations of playing both when he arrives at College Station.

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DALLAS -- There were many great matchups over the course of the weekend during the third session of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. Here is a look at who stood out during the event:

Standout players

Julius Randle (Plano, Texas/Prestonwood)
2013, PF, 6-foot-8, 240 pounds
Before anointing anyone the No. 1 player in the 2013 class, we need to make sure we don’t dismiss Mr. Randle. He is still the most unstoppable force in the class. His game is pure power with just a little finesse mixed in. Randle drives to his left 90 percent of the time, but defenders can’t stop him from doing it. When he is attacking in the paint, no high school player can stop him.

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Anthony Bennett is one of the biggest recruits in the history of the UNLV program because of his high national ranking (No. 7), his ties to the program and his ability to come in and elevate the program right away.

The five-star power forward from Brampton, Ontario, who played his high school ball at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, regularly attended UNLV's home games during its 26-win season.

"I felt a great relationship with the coaches," Bennett said. "I went to a lot of games at UNLV and it felt like a second home."

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On Friday, it was reported by the New England Recruiting Report that the nation’s top post-graduate basketball league would be losing two of its eight schools. Both the Winchendon School and Maine Central Institute have left class AAA of the New England Preparatory Athletic Council (NEPSAC).

Only six schools - Brewster Academy, Bridgton Academy, New Hampton School, Northfield Mount Hermon School, South Kent School, and St. Thomas More School – will remain next year as the league has now lost 40 percent of its membership in the last three years, following reclassifications of Phillips Exeter Academy and Worcester Academy in the realignment of 2010.

The news will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire of those who have predicted the destruction of prep school basketball for years now, but the reality of the situation is anything but the case.

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Abdul-Malik Abu (Marblehead, Mass./Kimball Union) was one of New England’s biggest winners of the April live period.

Coming into the month the sophomore big man was considered by many to be on the verge of a breakout. Coming out of the month and that breakout is a thing of the past, as he has now solidified himself as a high-major frontcourt target in the class of 2014.

Abu now holds offers from Iowa State, Michigan State, Providence, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Temple, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island according to his Expressions Elite head coach Tyron Boswell. He’s also generating additional interest from the likes of UConn, Kansas, Wake Forest, and N.C. State.

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There will be a fresh face taking the court for Texas PRO this weekend in Dallas at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

Class of 2013 point guard Isaiah Taylor (Oakland, Calif./The Village School (Houston)) will be making his debut for coach Marland Lowe and I have been getting good reports.

"I am very excited about playing in the Nike EYBL this weekend," he said.

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One of the most common complaints about the grassroots schedule is that kids play so many games that winning and losing becomes devalued. A similar complaint is that by the time the best teams in the field actually match up, it’s typically on Sunday afternoon when they’re worn down from multiple games already played, resulting in sloppy and anti-climatic championship rounds that are often hard to evaluate.

Nike became the first to address this concern with the way it constructed its Elite Youth Basketball League. Similar to AAU nationals, teams never play more than two games in a day and are consequently fresher and able to perform at a higher level.

While I don’t necessarily disagree with any of the above, I also think there is plenty to be learned by Sunday afternoon basketball where talented players are often far less than 100 percent, both physically and mentally.

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ESPN 60 point guard Jaren Sina (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's School) has continued to raise his level of play thanks to his great work ethic and love for the game.

At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, Sina is a very skilled, smart and confident player who competes on every possession. He is also an excellent facilitator and shooter with range past the arc.

"I am a leader on the court, I can get teammates involved, create for myself and make open shots. I have been working on improving my speed and quickness and people have been telling me that they can see the improvement when they watch me play," he said. "I work out four days a week at 5:30 a.m. lifting weights and after school I work on my agility, ballhandling and shooting."

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We have all heard the old adage in both business and sports that “if you are not working hard to improve, your competition will pass you by.” The theory is that as a player you are either working hard to get better, not working and getting worse or doing the minimum and staying the same. In Austin Nichols’ case, he obviously subscribes to the working harder mentality.

Nichols has been a talented commodity for quite a while. College coaches from the ACC, SEC, Big East and Big 12 have already made the 2013 recruit from Briarcrest Christian in Memphis, Tenn., a priority recruit, but Nichols’ continued development should also see him steadily move up the rankings.

He seems hungry to prove himself as one of the top players in the class each time he takes the floor, whether it be in an empty gym or a packed event. Players like Nichols who continue to evolve their game, have a good work ethic and a high basketball IQ are more rare than most people realize and are the type of players that not only keep getting better, but they help college coaches win a bunch of games in the process. It’s no wonder that he has generated a buzz among the college coaches that were able to be in attendance during the last two weekends of April.

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Anthony Bennett (Brampton, Ontario/Findlay Prep), the best remaining player in the 2012 class, has narrowed it down to two schools -- UNLV and Oregon -- after eliminating Kentucky and Florida recently.

Once he chooses UNLV or Oregon, he will be expected to be one of the main guys right away. Bennett is a hybrid scorer who has the body of a power forward in terms of width and girth, but not height, as he stands 6-foot-7. His skill level is terrific as he knocks down deep shots and punishes like-size defenders in the paint with power and finesse. He makes up for his lack of height with his 7-foot-plus wing span that enables him to contest shots, rebound and get deflections and steals.

If UNLV is to land the local product, who plays for Findlay Prep, it would send shock waves through the MWC and the nation. He would join fellow ESPN 100 recruit, SG Katin Reinhardt (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./Mater Dei) who is battle tested playing at Mater Dei under legendary coach Gary McKnight. Reinhart is a long-range shooter who has a scorer's mentality and good vision to make the assist when needed.

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The Bill Hensley Memorial Spiece Run N' Slam All-Star Classic is historically THE best and biggest spring basketball event in the Midwest. This year’s event continued that tradition. The event featured teams from Indiana, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, New York, Minnesota, New Mexico, Washington and Canada.

Standout players

Demetrius Jackson (Mishawaka, Ind./Marion)
2013, PG, 6-foot-1, 170 pounds
A Saturday morning SAT test made him late to the party and by the time he arrived, Jackson’s team was mired in the loser’s bracket. We bumped into him Saturday night when he slapped on his Superman cape and saved the day in a playoff game. Jackson is one of the best point guards in the 2013 class because he’s got speed, power, smarts and is ultracompetitive. With the game on the line, he dominated with a pull-up, post-up and the big shoulders great players typically have.

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Junior Jermaine Lawrence (Springfield Gardens, N.Y./Pope John XXIII) has been generating quite a buzz over the last three weeks.

First, it was a strong performance at the Under Armour Hoop Group Jam Fest in Pittsburgh then an encore performance at the Under Amour Hoop Group Jam Fest in Philadelphia. This weekend, Lawrence captured MVP honors in a loaded field at the second-annual Mary Kline Classic.

Not surprisingly, his recruitment has picked up recently as well, but it could really be just the tip of the iceberg because his recent play is likely to build momentum all the way until July when college coaches are permitted to return to the grassroots circuit.

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