#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 4/25/14

• This is a huge weekend for recruiting as it is the only weekend in April that college coaches can attend events and there are a number of high profile events for them to attend. The Nike EYBL, widely considered the top AAU league in the country, has Session #1 this weekend in Sacramento. Because of the recruiting calendar, coaches won’t be able to attend Sessions 2-4 so the next time coaches are allowed to watch the EYBL is the Peach Jam in mid July. This means that if your team is playing in the EYBL, you better be playing and playing well this weekend in Sacramento or you might just fall between the cracks until July. There are also a number of other events and PC recruits are playing at many of them. Here is a list provided by CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello:

1. Nike EYBL Session #1 (Sacramento, CA)
2. Adidas Gauntlet #1 (Dallas, TX)
3. UA Pittsburgh Jam Fest (Pittsburgh, PA)
4. UA Jayhawk Invitational (Olathe, KS)
5. Gulf Coast Hoop Fest (Biloxi, MS)
6. All-America Availables JUCO Showcase (Dallas, TX)
7. Double Pump Hoop Fest (Anaheim, CA)
8. Pangos Spring Spectacular (Las Vegas, NV)
9. Kingwood Classic (Spring, TX)
10. Las Vegas Tip Off Classic (Las Vegas, NV)
11. Southern Exposure Showcase (North Augusta, SC)
12. Adidas Spring Classic (Indianapolis, IN)
13. Nor Cal Spring Showcase (Sacramento, CA)
14. Nike Spring Showdown (Romeoville, IL)
• ICYMI – Rivals.com released their final Top 150 for the Class Of 2014 yesterday. 3 of PC’s 4 commits are on the list: #61 Paschal Chukwu, #69 Jalen Lindsey and #89 Ben Bentil. When I asked Eric Bossi for his thoughts on those 3, he said the following:

In brief Chukwu is a long term stock. Love his mobility and ability to rebound and protect the rim. Has to get stronger. Lindsey has all of the physical tools that you could want. But, the motor and production have got to be more consistent. Bentil, would blossom and likely outplay his ranking if he accepts being an energy guy, a grinder and dude who saves possessions on the glass.

But, I would imagine Providence fans have to feel pretty good about the level of talent that is coming into the program.

• Rivals released their team rankings this morning for the class of 2014. Providence comes in at #22 nationally with other Big East schools falling Georgetown #9, Seton Hall #13 and Xavier #17. Here is the description of PC’s incoming class:

• Devonte’ Graham has visited Kansas and NC State so far and will be visiting Virginia this weekend. UndercoverFriar is reporting that a visit to Providence is being worked on for Graham. Here is what Graham had to say to SNY.tv about Kansas after his visit: “I like the campus and the atmosphere and the players I really got along with, and all the coaches. Basically, I would come in and have an impact right away is what I was told.” On NC State: “I know a lot of the players from playing against them and playing with them so I felt real comfortable with that,” he said. “And coach [Mark] Gottfried, I’ve known him for a couple of years because his son played high school ball with me, so that always felt like a family environment and it’s home. That was my first time on campus and it was pretty nice.” [Playing in his hometown] “That’s a big push for them, just playing in front of my family, but I don’t want to make my decision off my family,” he said. “I want to do the right thing for me.” When asked about any other visits, Graham told Pack Pride “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “I go to Virginia on Friday. Right now I don’t have any other visits scheduled, but I might take a couple more. If I feel like I know where I want to go I’ll make a decision.”Graham’s AAU coach, Dwayne West, discusses the process of Graham’s recruitment, how he has matured throughout this season and how much respect he has for Ed Cooley as a coach and a man in this video:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvfo40v5jXg&feature=youtu.be]

• 2014 PG Larry Austin got his release from new Tennessee coach, Donnie Tyndall this week. Providence assistant coach, Bob Simon reached out to Austin’s high school coach, Blake Turner this week to express interest. Turner told me that Austin is a “vocal leader [who is] dominant [on] both ends of the floor…[he is] very explosive [and] finishes strong.” His stat line this season for Lanphier HS was 23 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4 apg, 4 spg in 27 mpg. Turner also described him as “a great kid…National Honor Society kid” and said Austin is the “hardest worker in every practice and workout and every drill.”

https://twitter.com/iamkylerandle/status/459390790096023552

• Ed Cooley was down in Nashville on Tuesday to watch 2016 Braxton Blackwell. Blackwell also got visit from Ohio State’s Thad Matta this week. Blackwell will be playing in Dallas this weekend with the Atlanta Celtics. A teammate of his on the Celtics is PC recruit Josh Langford (2016).

Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley will be on the @cpa_basketball campus to watch 2016 Braxton Blackwell (Nashville,TN) in open gym. @btwice_11

— Drew Maddux (@DrewMaddux) April 22, 2014

• Providence watched 2015 PF Steve Enoch of Norwalk (CT) HS. Enoch has been described to me as the definition of a late bloomer. He needs to develop a killer instinct and gain more confidence but he already has a very nice game for someone his size. I’ll be speaking with his AAU coach, Drew Gladstone next week to get an update on how he played in Pittsburgh this weekend and will hopefully be able to speak with Enoch himself. Stay tuned. Click here to watch a highlight video of Enoch.

Providence, URI, St. Joe's & several others watched Norwalk (CT) 2015 forward Steve Enoch work out today

— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein) April 22, 2014

• Providence also watched 2015 G/F Arkel Ager of St. Joseph’s HS this week. The 6’5 swingman plays for Expressions Elite on the AAU circuit and will be out in Sacramento this weekend playing in the EYBL Session #1. Ager has interest from basically the entire Big East. This will be a big AAU season for him to step up for Expressions and be a leader.

2015 G Arkel Ager (@arkel_lamar24) was seen by Providence, Seton Hall, Towson, St. Bonaventure, Temple, West Virginia & Rhode Island today.

— The Circuit (@TheCircuit) April 24, 2014

• 2015 SG Jalen Coleman has a new highlight mixtape that came out on Wednesday. Coleman is currently ranked 58th in the class of 2015 by ESPN and 31st by Rivals. He has offers from Arizona, Auburn, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Memphis, Michigan, Michigan St, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Providence, Purdue, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Xavier. Rivals Eric Bossi had this to say about Coleman on 4/21/14:

Coleman is a polished and complete shooting guard prospect who plays both ends of the floor. He’s started to mature physically and has an ideal two guard frame with good shoulders and long arms. His specialty remains his jump shooting, but Coleman is becoming a very good mid range scorer and has gotten more explosive attacking the rim.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fcMpHjD4Ak&sns=em]

• For a preview of the teams playing in the EYBL in Sacramento this weekend, click the links below:

Division A

Division B

Division C

Division D

• Those interested in watching a live stream of all games on Court 1 at the EYBL this weekend, click this link for the schedule of games to be streamed and for the player itself.
• Last weekend, an event called “The Preview” was held and it featured some of the top teams in the Northeast. Here are the recaps of PC recruits by NERR’s John Kibbe:

Players who stood out:

Curtis Cobb (Mass Rivals): Even on a Rivals team stacked with guard talent, Cobb stood out in both games on Saturday. He always seems to play within the flow the game and quietly dominates the game on the offensive end.

Jalen Adams (Mass Rivals): Adams was as good as advertised, showcasing his trademark athleticism and playmaking abilities. Matching up against a very talented Lightning backcourt, he was extremely tough to stop attacking the basket.

Makai Ashton-Langford (Mass Rivals): Ashton-Langford may very well have been the most impressive player on the court against the Lightning Saturday afternoon. He came off the bench and made an impact on both ends of the floor, getting out in transition and setting up teammates off the bounce. He also showcased some excellent athleticism, finishing strong at the basket over an unsuspecting Lightning defender.

Steve Enoch (High Rise Team Up): Enoch was extremely impressive in a loss to the Lightnning Saturday afternoon. Going against the bigger Govan, he scored 10 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers. He also did nice job rebounding and blocking/altering shots.

• In the last sentence of an article by Oklahoma State reporter, John Helsley on the commitment of 7 footer Anthony Allen to the Cowboys, an interesting tidbit was dropped regarding former PC recruit, Jared Terrell.

In addition, Cowboys signee Jared Terrell – a four-star guard from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, is rumored to be asking out of his letter-of-intent, due to personal issues arising at home.

If this is true, expect PC to get involved. Many are speculating that URI would be involved because they were a finalist before Terrell committed to OK State but that may be hurt by Preston Murphy leaving the staff to go to Boston College. That could also mean BC gets involved this time around. It will be interesting to see if this indeed happens and how it plays out over the next few weeks.

• 2015 PG recruit Justin Robinson is going to give it a go tonight as his Boo Williams team takes on the New York Lighting at 8:30pm PST in EYBL Session #1 in Sacramento. Robinson injured the ankle a couple weeks ago and was unsure of whether he would be able to play in this all important evaluation period. He traveled to Sacramento with his team and expects to give it a shot this weekend.
• Here are some highlights from the Jordan Brand Classic Regional game last Friday at the Barclays Center. Some Big East players are featured and PC commit Paschal Chukwu has a nice block at the 57 second mark.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKqz7fwclMg]

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Mike Hopkins

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