Lakeem Jackson: headed to South Carolina?

Lakeem Jackson (SF, 6’5″, 2009), a Charlotte player who has offers from Georgia Tech, Clemson and South Carolina, appears to be leaning toward the Gamecocks and the SEC.

“I know South Carolina’s No. 1 on his list right now,” said Rico Jackson, the player’s oldest brother and mentor. “I think he’ll go ahead and make his decision, if not within the next week, probably when the summer’s out, on his way back to school.”

Here’s a short clip from December showing off Jackon’s high rising dunking ability:

Kevin Parrom: A fit for Clemson?

Kevin Parrom (6’5″, SF, 2009) may be from NYC but he is still considering South Carolina and Clemson, as stated in this interview with Alex of Northstar Basketball:

NB: You mentioned colleges, what are some of the schools that you’re considering right now?
KP: Xavier, St. John’s, Pittsburgh, Clemson, Marquette, [and] South Carolina

There are two things that Alex digs into that are important to note is that Parrom had an altercation with his previous head coach (yikes!) and that the game Alex scouted he did nothing of note:

Flat-out, Kevin Parrom didn’t show the crowd all that much in the game I saw him play. He didn’t stand out at all. The 6’4 junior was almost non-existent in first half, when he scored just three points and was only 1/3 at the free throw line. In the second 16 minutes of play, Parrom was a bit better. He drove to the hoop and was aggressive. Overall, though, this was a poor performance for Kevin, and not a great game to judge him on.

The thing to note here is that Oliver Purnell has made it clear with the 2008 recruiting class that he goes after players who not only can play at the ACC level but are good students and represent Clemson well. It’s hard to say at this point if Parrom is a good fit for Clemson.

This is not to say this is the full story, so stay tuned…

ACC Basketball Recruiting Roundup, 5/26/2008

So much to get to today, we might as well dive right in…

Derrick Favors

According to this article which discussed the 2008 Bob Gibbons TOC, Derrick Favors ( 6’10”, PF, 2009 ) has narrowed his list to ….fourteen schools. Also, I never thought Favors fell out of the #1 spot and it seems like his play this weekend solidified that.

John Wall, Derrick Favors, Kenny Boynton video

Meanwhile, WRAL in Raliegh has posted some video of John Wall (6’3″, PG, 2009 ), Derrick Favors, Kenny Boynton (6’2″, SG, 2009 ) and others who participated in the TOC.

Florida in the mix for Kenny Boynton

Now it appears that Florida is in the thick of Boynton’s recruitment following a campus visit.

Dominic Cheek

Is Dominic Cheek ( 6’6″, SG, 2009 ) still being recruited by North Carolina? At one time, it was considered a lock, but now some people think things have cooled and UNC may not even be recruiting Cheek anymore. This may be the case, as Cheek now lists his schools as Villanova, Wake Forest, Kansas, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Florida, Connecticut, Texas and Maryland. So Wake and Maryland are options, but no UNC is listed.

Nolan Dennis, Ryan Kelly

Meanwhile, two more UNC targets, Nolan Dennis ( 6’5″, SG, 2009 ) and Ryan Kelly ( 6’10”, PF, 2009 ) , played their games at the Dean Dome. Kelly has been coming on strong and looked good at the tournament. Dennis is a hot target for UNC right now.

If this is your first time here, thanks for visiting and you should sign up for the ACC Basketball Recruiting email updates.

North Carolina High School Basketball commitment

Although this post is not related to an ACC school, I live in North Carolina and I like to pay attention to NC basketball players. One such player is Justin Griffith (6’5″, F) who played for Mount Tabor High School (Winston-Salem) this season. Griffith has commited to N.C. Wesleyen. Griffith averaged 8.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 1.9 apg during his senior season.

Griffith is a teammate of Clemson 2009 target C.J. Harris (6’2″, SG).

Derrick Favors is Consistent

The latest on Favors’ recruitment is officially that he is considering “all” schools, and spectators are commenting on his consistency as a player. Regarded by most as the top prospect of the 2009 class, Favors’ Atlanta Celtics pounded their first over matched opponent in the Real Deal at the Hill.

The Real Deal at the Hill tournament is played at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AK), through Sunday (April 20), with only $8 all-day tickets. This is not some out of the way tournament for just Favors, there are several ACC recruits scheduled to play, including Kenny Boynton.

Arkansas is the center of the prep basketball universe this weekend with the Old School Super Regional going on in Conway, AK, with tickets only $10.

Jordan Classic on ESPN2

For those not traveling to Arkansas, you can catch some of the top prep stars from the Class of 2008 on ESPN2 tonight at 9pm in the Jordan Brand Classic. Good chance to see some guys who might be household names for ACC fans in the next couple of years.

ACC commits:

Al-Farouq Aminu, F (Wake Forest)
Ed Davis, PF (North Carolina)
Iman Shumpert, PG (Georgia Tech)
Tony Woods, PF (Wake Forest)

One guy who is not coming to the ACC and will probably be one-and-done is point guard phenom Brandon Jennings, but I still like to watch him play. He plays with the arrogant abandon of of someone who is one step quicker than everyone on the court.

Derrick Favors, Lighting It Up; John Wall to Memphis?

Derrick Favors continues to light it up, routinely putting up 20-20 games even as he plays against the top recruits in the nation. However, one key aspect about Favors is his attitude towards improvement and goal setting:

“I wanted the eighth-graders to do 50 pushups a night,” says [Favor’s coach] Reddick, who played professionally in Europe for 12 years. “Derrick came up to me and said, ‘Coach, how many do your guys do a night?’ When I told him 150-200, he said that’s how many he was going to start doing.”

Favors also does not intend to transfer schools, which sets him apart from other top recruits. Putting up 20-20 against top competition is excellent, but the key element that separates great players from merely good (or merely talented) is work ethic and an innate drive to improve themselves.

Naturally, Favors is the prize recruit this year by all of the major programs, and the ACC programs reportedly in the mix are Georgia Tech, Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Florida State.

Meanwhile, Jerry Myers muses about the possibility of Favors going to Duke. Jerry reports that NC State, Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Georgia are already high on Favor’s list.

Elsewhere, top PG John Wall from the Raliegh, NC area may be headed to Memphis. This is also being reported by here, along with Xavier Henry and Karron Johnson

Video: Derrick Favors Interview

Everybody’s #1, 6’8″ PF/C Derrick Favors of the 2009 class is featured in this video interview. He comes across as a very grounded young man, mentioning his defense and rebounding more than anything else.

As of this writing, the ACC schools pursuing Favors are reportedly Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and North Carolina State.