Last weekend saw plenty of high-profile visitors, and Jawun Evans taking his final trip to Oklahoma State helped the Cowboys land the five-star point guard. With Friday being the first official day of practice, there are a couple of Midnight Madness events around the country – and as a result, there are a few key weekends on the recruiting front.
“Late Night with Roy” brings elite talent
North Carolina opens its season with a Midnight Madness event at the Smith Center on Friday, and the Tar Heels are taking advantage by welcoming in plenty of targets in 2015 and 2016. Top-10 center Stephen Zimmerman was originally scheduled to visit, but he’s heading to USA Basketball. There is still more than enough talent on campus this weekend. It’s headlined by five-star wing Brandon Ingram, who will take an unofficial visit to Chapel Hill. He visited officially in January and is planning to go Kansas and Kentucky the next two weekends.
Versatile top-40 perimeter player P.J. Dozier adjusted his schedule a bit, moving up the North Carolina visit from the end of October to this weekend. He went to Michigan last weekend and will also visit Georgetown, South Carolina and Louisville. Among the 2016 prospects, elite players Dennis Smith Jr. and Harry Giles are expected to be on campus. One interesting name to keep en eye on could be Luke Maye, a top-150 senior who will be on campus. There is talk he could end up a Tar Heel – regardless of whether he gets a scholarship offer.
Tennessee welcomes multiple targets
Tennessee’s big football game against Florida is taking place on Saturday, and the Volunteers are bringing in a couple of recruits to experience the wild weekend at Neyland Stadium. The bigger name is top-10 prospect Skal Labissiere, who has already taken visits to North Carolina, Georgetown and Kentucky. Memphis is the team to beat in this recruitment, and the Tigers and Baylor are still on the visit schedule for Labissiere. However, Chris Clarke might be the more important visitor from Tennessee’s perspective. The active four-star prospect has already visited Connecticut, Creighton and Virginia Tech, and Tennessee is getting its chance to close the deal. The Volunteers have made a strong push with Clarke over the last several weeks. 2016 prospect Braxton Blackwell is also expected to visit.
Malik Newman takes visit to Ole Miss
Katy Perry and College GameDay are both in Oxford this weekend, but coach Andy Kennedy is likely (I say likely because, well, Katy Perry) more excited about the visit from Malik Newman, a top-five prospect in the class of 2015. He’s been very quiet about his recruitment and hasn’t really progressed too far into the process. Newman was invited to USA Basketball this weekend, but he chose to take a visit to Ole Miss instead. Newman has an official visit scheduled to Texas A&M for next weekend. Kentucky, Kansas, Mississippi State, NC State, UConn and others are involved. 2016 guard Kyle Guy is also expected to visit.
Wake Forest gets chance to make move on Moore
Another prospect that hasn’t dived into the recruiting process too far is Doral Moore, a high-ceiling big man ranked among the top 50 seniors in the country. He was supposed to visit Kentucky in August but didn’t make the trip. He was supposed to visit Illinois last week, but canceled the trip a couple of days prior. This weekend, Moore will be on Wake Forest’s campus –- and the Demon Deacons have been considered among the leaders in his recruitment for a few months. Danny Manning has done a very good job with Moore since taking over the job, and he will have his chance to make an excellent impression on the 7-footer. It doesn’t appear that Moore is nearing a decision, but Wake Forest could really state its case this weekend.
Elijah Thomas staying in-state this weekend
It seems like borderline five-star big man Elijah Thomas is in this space every week, but considering this is his fourth official visit, it makes sense. He’s already been to LSU, Oklahoma State and Illinois, and he’s got a visit scheduled for Texas A&M next weekend. This weekend, it’s another in-state school: SMU. The Mustangs had more momentum in this recruitment back in the spring, as Illinois and Oklahoma State have become the de facto leaders for Thomas. A decision could be coming in the next few weeks, and it will be interesting to see how much of an impact Jawun Evans has on Thomas. The five-star point guard committed to Oklahoma State earlier this week, and Evans and Thomas are very close.
Notes:
• Seton Hall will have its Midnight Madness festivities on Friday, and top-10 prospect Isaiah Briscoe will be on the Pirates’ campus. Besides Briscoe, Seton Hall is also welcoming a host of local prospects, including T.J. Gibbs and Rawle Alkins.
• After landing point guard Ty Hudson last week, Clemson is hoping to carry some of that momentum with Tevin Mack. The four-star scorer will be on campus this weekend. UConn and South Carolina are also on the docket for Mack this month, and he tripped to VCU last week.
• Other noteworthy visits: Aaron Falzon (Northwestern), Nick Rakocevic (UCLA), LaGerald Vick (Georgia Tech), OG Anunoby (Indiana)
