Basketball recruiting

Biggest recruiting job is to get Blakeney and TQ to comeback. I think Blakeney will to get a shot to be the guy. If you can roll out a starting lineup with a Sr. in TQ, So. in Sampson, So. in Blakeney, Jr. in Victor, and an improved JR in Big E/Epps that's a good start.

C - JR. Reath/JR. ER III/SR. Malone
PF - SO. Victor/JR. Epps/SR. Bridgewater
SF - JR. Jenkins/SO. Sampson/FR. Sims
SG - SO. Blakeney/JR. Patterson/FR. Hayward
PG - SR. Quarterman/FR. Mays

It'll be something like that (minus 1 guy gone if Quarterman and Blakeney both return; take your pick of a big more than likely). Kind of ignore positions as Johnny uses multiple players everywhere. Epps will play 3/4. Reath 4/5. Victor 4/5. Jenkins 2/3. Sampson 2/3. Patterson 1/2. Hayward 2/3. Quarterman 1/2/3. Mays 1/2.

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Blakeny is gone.

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To where? Right now he's not a draftable prospect. He's a 6'3 SG who has struggled to shoot.

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If he declared he would test off the charts athletically and probably work himself up to late first round

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Yeah that's not going to happen.

The 2 biggest things working against Blakeney is he's only 6'3 as a pure SG and has struggled to shoot the 3 this year. He's obviously very athletic but there's a zero percent chance an NBA team would draft him in the 1st round if he tests well and that's it. Now if his game picked up the rest of the season like it did last game, I'd say he has a shot to get drafted for sure, but that's asking A LOT. He needs to start shooting at a 40% or greater clip from 3 to really ever be hopeful to get drafted in the 1st round being as short as he is. The problem all NBA teams have with short SGs is can you defend guys 3-4 inches taller than you? The NBA is full of 6'6ish SGs now.

He is definitely not taller than 6'3.

Also, our recruiting class is low but it has potential. I think Reath will surprise people. He's one of those late bloomers and has done really nice things at JUCO this year

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Also, our recruiting class is low but it has potential.

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I tend to agree. Our class is what is, outside the 2 JUCO fillers who we expect to help us out immediately (or we hope they do), it's full of 3-4 year players.

Mays is the star of the class and is an elite PG in my opinion. He has to work on his shot but outside of that there's really no real knocks against him. Johnny can play him at the 1 or 2 without much hesitation.

Sims is kind of a dangerous tweener, similar to Bridgewater, but he is taller by an inch or two. He has way more of a PF game but is trying to develop that mid-range and outside game to be a SF. I think he can have a rough transition to college, similar to Bridgewater playing against much taller competition. A player I'd compare Sims to is Michael Carrera of South Carolina. Carrera came in and over time has had to develop his game too being more like an undersized PF. Carrera has been a pretty mediocre player up until this year, his senior season, he's seemed to finally figure it out.

Hayward to me is a complete wildcard. You have to love his athleticism but the move to NCAA Division I basketball will be tough on him year 1 I imagine.

Reath I hate to compare to Odo but he is a rebounder and shot blocker with size like Odo but unlike Odo has a versatile offensive game which will help him out a lot. I think he can be a decent contributor next year, but not a star by any means.

Jenkins is really struggling from 3 this year, shooting like 27%. Good news is he knows how to take it to the hoop and is still shooting almost 50% from the floor, and with good size and I'd say very good defense can be a solid contributor.

Blakeny's athleticism and skill set scream NBA. He was one of the top prospects out of HS and is now finding his groove in the college game.

He has the rare ability of creating a clean shot for himself anytime he wants (regardless of his height). He shows a commitment to wanting to defend and rebound, putting his plus plus level athleticism to work on both ends of the court. He wants to be a good defender which is also rare for a young pure scorer.

He's the real deal and unfortunately I think scouts will be all over him. And you have to assume he was always thinking of the 1 and done possibility, so if the opportunity is there why wouldn't he go?

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Blakeny's athleticism and skill set scream NBA.

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I completely agree.

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He was one of the top prospects out of HS and is now finding his groove in the college game.

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Keyword just now finding his groove, lets see if it continues to be a groove.

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He has the rare ability of creating a clean shot for himself anytime he wants (regardless of his height)

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And is shooting probably about 25-30% from that created shot this year, which is awful. He has the ability to fire, but you have to hit those if you're going to take them.

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He's the real deal and unfortunately I think scouts will be all over him. And you have to assume he was always thinking of the 1 and done possibility, so if the opportunity is there why wouldn't he go?

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Sometimes plans get derailed, he hasnt played like an NBA pick and currently no one is projecting him to be an NBA pick. I think he absolutely has the skillset to be an NBA pick but his game has to pick up tremendously this last month or two for him to be drafted. At best this year he might go 2nd round, and that's assuming he improves a lot to close out the year. Trying to get drafted in the 1st round as a 6'2-6'3 SG is not impossible, but it's beyond rare.

Is there any chance we sign someone late and lose a Malone/Bridgewater/Epps/Robinson?