#pcbb Weekly Recruiting Update 5/9/14

This weekend is another in which college coaches are not allowed to be on the road evaluating players but there will still be a lot of high major talent playing. The most notable tournament of the weekend will be the Nike EYBL Session #2 in Dallas. There are other tournaments with PC recruits this weekend including the Hoop Group Providence Jamfest and the Wallace Prather Memorial Classic which is hosted by the Atlanta Celtics who feature two 2016 PC recruits in Braxton Blackwell and Joshua Langford. Here are all of the events this weekend courtesy of CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello:

May 9-11

• Hoop Group Providence Jam Fest (Providence, R.I.)
• Wallace Prather Memorial Classic (Atlanta)
• Adidas May Classic (Indianapolis)
• Elite 8 in the Desert (Phoenix)

May 10-11

• Nike EYBL Session #2 (Dallas)

Other big news for this weekend is that the Friars will have a 2014 PG recruit on campus. Larry Austin, the former Tennessee commit, visited Xavier last weekend and will take in Friartown this weekend. Craig Belhumeur at FriarBasketball.com spoke to LA’s high school coach, Blake Turner, who told him that a visit to Cal, where former Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin was just hired, is still in the cards at a later date. Another source told me that Austin may also visit Kansas State but Turner told me that visit is “possible, but not 100% confirmed.” You just never know with 18 year olds but Larry, his coaches and his family have been methodical since he got his release from the Volunteers so my gut tells me he will consider all options carefully and I believe it’s likely he takes all of his scheduled visits before deciding. For those that have been asking for some video on Larry Austin, enjoy below:

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• 2014 SG Jared Terrell was rumored to be down to BC and PC last week with URI getting cut out. On Monday he visited Chestnut Hill and it was later revealed by Adam Zagoria that Providence was no longer recruiting Terrell. Then later in the day another revelations came about via a Twitter account with connections to Terrell’s AAU squad, Expressions, that Terrell never had plans of visiting Providence. That tweet has since been deleted. Terrell then went on an unofficial visit to URI on Tuesday and rumors are abound that he will end up a Ram.
• Kevin Farrahar and Craig Leighton from FriarBasketball.com debuted their “Elite 8 Recruiting Rankings”on Thursday. This is a great idea and definitely worth checking out on a weekly basis.
• Last week 2015 stud SG Antonio Blakeney, ranked 16th in the class of 2015 by ESPN, mentioned Providence as one of the schools recruiting him the hardest. That’s great news except that Providence was one of 9 schools recruiting him the hardest and the other schools aren’t exactly the little sisters of the poor. Blakeney “told 247Sports that Florida, Louisville, LSU, Memphis, Kansas, North Carolina, Providence, Florida State and USC are recruiting him the hardest.” ESPN’s Reggie Rankin did a write up after the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions played last weekend in Georgia. Rankin mentioned Blakeney as one of the 2 best shooting guards at the Bob Gibbons TOC:

Antonio Blakeney: Blakeney can hit open 3s and make midrange pull-ups look smooth and easy. He also displayed high-level athleticism on the break, where he finished above the rim in impressive fashion. Blakeney has great offensive confidence and a matching scorer’s mentality. With continued development, he has all the tools to be a terrific scorer at the major college level.

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• 2015 PG Justin Robinson is finally healthy again after dealing with ankle and wrist injuries that hampered him during the first live period in April. Despite not being at full strength and playing limited minutes in Sacramento a few weeks ago, the offers keep coming in for the Maryland native. UNLV site, Vegas Rebs, spoke with Robinson after UNLV assistant coach Todd Simon offered him a scholarship. In addition to the Runnin’ Rebels, Robinson also picked up an offer from St. Joseph’s this week. Robinson was one of five guards, including one of three point guards, to get an offer from Hawks’ head man, Phil Martelli this week. Robinson’s offer list is getting longer by the week. In addition to the new ones mentioned above, Robinson also holds offers from George Washington, Illinois, Maryland, UMass, Memphis, Old Dominion, Providence, Radford, St. Peter’s, Temple and Virginia Tech.
• Rivals.com’s Mike Pegram took in the Run-N-Slam tournament in Fort Wayne, IN last weekend. A few PC recruits were in attendance. In the class of 2015, Jalen Coleman and Matt Holba were mentioned while 2016 SF Miles Bridges also got some pub. Here is Pegram’s take on those three and how they played last weekend:

Jalen Coleman (6’3, All-Ohio Red) – was the best player on the court the first 10 minutes of yesterday’s quarterfinal loss to Spiece Indy Heat then kind of disappeared till midway through the second half and ended up with a team high 17 points. Still has his gorgeous, silky-smooth jumper and can drive and score as well. Still don’t see a point guard or a five-star level game but clearly the top prospect in Indiana in the Class of 2015 and a guy that will have you set at scoring guard for several years.

Matt Holba (6’6, Spiece Indy Heat) – Indy Heat missed him on Saturday when he was back in Noblesville area for his Guerin Catholic prom. He returned Sunday morning and without his three big blocks including a huge one in the final minute against Esa Ahmad, his team may not have survived that quarterfinal game. He can really sky and runs the floor as well as any small forward. Had some nice slashing moves and some short jumpers but not a big scorer off his own dribble or a guy that will come off screens for spot up shots. Just a true hustle guy with matching spring off the floor and cleans the glass well for his size. Had the best dunk of the opening night, a gorgeous one hand slam off a lob pass. Just picked up offer from Penn State.

Miles Bridges (6’6, The Family) – didn’t get here till Saturday and played up a year, coming off the bench. Very thick guy but still an excellent athlete. Had some foot issues on Sunday. Probably averaged about 10 points a game and showed his toughness. Looked more like a shorter power forward this week but should develop over time into maybe a stronger small forward guy. Very bright kid that showed a lot of enthusiasm both on the court and on the bench. From Michigan but plays now at Huntington Prep in West Virginia.

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• Also playing in the Run-N-Slam in Fort Wayne last weekend was Bridges’ AAU teammate, Eric Davis. Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi had this to say about Davis:

The No. 34 player in the class of 2015, Michigan combo guard Eric Davis is working hard to be more of a point guard. While he did a good job of distributing the ball and playing without mistakes, his best attribute is his ability to score. After shaking off some first-half foul trouble, Davis scored 19 of his team-high 25 in the second half on an assortment of jumpers, drives and trips to the free throw line. He’s gotten a little bigger — looks to be pushing 6-foot-3 — and stronger and got off to a strong start on Friday night.

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• Another PC recruit playing at the Run-N-Slam is 2015 SG Matt Holba. Holba is a good friend of 2015 PC commit, Ryan Fazekas. Bossi had this to say about Holba’s performance:

Also playing well for the Spiece Indy Heat was 2015 small forward Matt Holba. He threw down a couple of impressive jams in transition, had a big chase-down block that he swatted off the backboard and showed a balanced floor game. Holba listed offers from Providence, Valparaiso, Lehigh, Penn State and William & Mary to go along with interest from Ball State, Indiana State, Bucknell, Ohio, Notre Dame and Purdue.

• 2015 big man, Cheick Diallo received an offer from Kentucky this week so that makes him an even tougher get.

2015 PF Cheick Diallo (@cheick_diallo13) has received an offer from Kentucky. #CARDS

— ProScholarsAthletics (@PSACardinals) May 7, 2014

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Mike Hopkins

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