ACC Basketball Recruiting Rundown, Dec 14

I’ve got a ton of information for you to wade through today, so let’s just get into it:

First, even though Dominic Cheek (SG, 6’5″, 2009) eliminated all the ACC schools from his list some time ago, he’s committed to Villanova…it would have been nice to see such a deep sharpshooter in the ACC.

Doron Lamb (SG, 6’4″, 2010) scored 27 points in a victory over Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago. Young’s leading scorer was Ahmad Starks (PG, 5’8″, 2010), who has already given a verbal to Oregon State. Lamont Jones (PG/SG, 6’0″, 2009) was the leading scorer for Oak Hill with 28 points and already has committed to Virginia Tech.

Justin Young has some notes on NC State commit Lorenzo Brown (SG, 6’4″, 2009):

…what a great player Lorenzo Brown is. The question mark surrounding the future N.C. State has always been his ability to take over in the home stretch.

TBO Sports has a write up on John Henson (SF, 6’10” , 2009), the UNC commit who will be an impact player for the Heels:

John Henson was just a regular high school student once. He was an above-average small forward entering high school, but between his sophomore and junior years at Round Rock High in Texas, Henson grew 6 inches.

Henson is also mentioned in this article, which talks about how when college coaches and scouts start watching a player, so do the NCAA investigators:

With stakes that high, the NCAA, which governs college sports, is increasingly wary of what colleges sometimes do to get those difference-making athletes. Getting the star might mean first taking care of his friend, family members, or those in the inner circle who simply have their hands out.

I run into these ‘handlers’ all the time when I scout teams. Sometimes they’re just guys who are really trying to help players, but often they are looking for a payout.

In the same article, we see whatever-happened-to Gus Gilchrist, who Maryland fans thought would be helping out in the paint at Maryland. Maybe Maryland wasn’t interested in ‘creating jobs’ for pals?

Today, for instance, 6-foot-10 center Gus Gilchrist will make his debut for the University of South Florida. He is a potential franchise player for the Bulls, who have mostly been overmatched in basketball since joining the Big East Conference. Shortly after Gilchrist entered USF’s program last summer, the Bulls created a job as a video and conditioning assistant for one of his closest friends.

This is, of course, why the number on point guard in the 2009 class, John Wall (PG, 6’4″, 2009) is already being watched, and why rumors abound.