Florida State lands a Recruit

The FSU Seminoles landed another recruit on the heels of getting Michael Snaer(SG/SF, 6’5″, 2009), this time it’s forward Okaro White (SF/PF, 6’8″, 2010), who also had offers on the table from Clemson, Georgia Tech and Miami. White is an intriguing player; he’s got the size to play in the post but plays a little more like a small forward. It’s hard to tell where he’ll be used, in the limited time I’ve seen him play, he’s looked like he has some offense and ability to put the ball on the floor, but really wasn’t using his size like a big man.

Of course, White is a 2010 player and will have time to develop more of his game by the time he reaches Florida State. He should be a player that can get some minutes in the ACC. He plays for Clearwater High School in, naturally, Clearwater, FL and here’s a video preview of his upcoming high school season:

Not a whole lot of basketball footage, but you can see Okaro talking to the camera right in the first few seconds, and then he’s being interviewed for most of the clip. This video was not during a game, so it’s mostly just Okaro dunking for footage, but it still shows his length and how he can play facing the basket.

Michael Snaer: No Lock for Florida State

Despite one rumor that rounded the internet a few weeks ago that said Michael Snaer (SG/SF,6’5″,2009) has committed to Florida State, he has not made any decision. However, he is about to visit the ‘Noles, and then follow up with a visit to Marquette:

About a month ago, reports circulated on the Internet about an oral commitment to Florida State. He denied the rumors, but apparently, will be checking out Tallahassee on Friday. Beyond that, a trip to Marquette looms in two weeks for Snaer, who put in the hard work when he needed to and is now reaping the benefits.

Seems like things are moving right along just as Michael said they would, and he is taking his time to make his decision. Nothing wrong with that.

Michael Snaer waits, and Boost Mobile Elite 24 on ESPN

Florida State target Michael Snaer (SG/SF, 6’5″, 2009) was originally intending to announce his college destination in the middle of August, but now has decided to wait until a few more visits. UCLA is still in the mix for Snaer despite reports that it was down to Missouri and FSU.

Boost Mobile Elite 24 on ESPN2

UNC commit Dexter Strickland (SG, 6’3″, 2009) and several ACC targets will be participating in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event, which will be at fabled Rucker Park.

You can catch the action Live on ESPNU at 8 p.m. EDT, Friday August 22
*Re-air on ESPN2 late night Monday, August 25 at midnight EDT.

As always, if you’re a college basketball fan who can’t get enough of this stuff, sign up for the email list.

Florida State Basketball Recruiting: The Rundown

In the ACC, the news surrounding recruits tends to either be basketball or football related, depending on the school. Florida State falls into the latter, with football being the number one newsmaker in the Sunshine State, but let’s try to offer some balance by taking a quick look into what’s been going on in Seminole hoop land:

Breakdown Point 1: it seems almost unnoticed that FSU really is in the mix for Derrick Favors (PF, 6’10”, 2009), even though UNC and Florida have been eliminated by all reports. Favors seems more and more likely to stay near his native Georgia, although Georgia Tech certainly would seem like the team to beat at this point.

Breakdown Point 2: while GT, UNC, Duke and Virginia Tech have been signing players from the class of 2009, FSU has been unfortunately was on the outside looking in as Glen Rice, Jr. (SG/SF, 6’4″, 2009) committed to the Yellow Jackets and has no official commitments reported at this time.

Breakdown Point 3: FSU is reportedly in the mix for west coast guard Michael Snaer, but he is getting recruited hard by UCLA and gets a lot more press on that side of the country.

Breakdown Point 4: Probably the highest rated player (besides Favors) where FSU legitimately has a shot is Terrence Shannon (PF, 6’7″, 2009), a skilled but somewhat underrated big forward who has not reportedly narrowed his list, and plays AAU ball with Favors. Shannon plays very hard, consistently, and would be an excellent get if FSU could convince him to commit. However, Shannon also has offers from Georgia and Georgia Tech, and once again, FSU is going head to head with GT.

Breakdown Point 5: Despite the fact that several guards are on the radar for FSU, the next most likely prospect they have a real shot at might be Torin Walker(C, 6’10” 2009), another Georgia player who will have to decide between football schools in the SEC or the ACC on his basketball future. Walker is a pure center who will be able to bang in the paint, after he gets some experience. Probably the kind of player who really contributes his junior and senior years.

So, in short, FSU doesn’t really have any locks or even much attention at this point, but we must remember that FSU brings in a big 2008 class and probably hopes they don’t need to load up in the class of 2009. This strategy might work if they can land a big time prospect like Favors to come in next year, but it looks like the Seminoles are hoping the newest players just arriving on campus will be enough for now.

Michael Snaer’s List of Schools

Scout.com is reporting that Michael Snaer (6’4″, SG/SF, 2009) has several schools on his current list, including Stanford, Marquette, Florida State, Missouri, UNLV, USC, UCLA,Washington, Kansas, Arizona and Cal.

Snaer, a west coast kid, reportedly has offers from ACC schools Miami and Florida State.

Emmanuel Negedu’s visit to Indiana

Doug Wilson and Chris Korman have a fantastic update on Emmanuel Negedu (6’7″, PF, 2008 ) and his visit to Indiana:

So the Indiana visit, I’ve been told, is much more of a fact-finding visit for Negedu. You’ve heard kids talk about the “feeling” they get about a school, and that’s what so many of them are hoping to find when they step on campus. So coaches do whatever they can to create the feeling: they show off the banners, they drive through the campus on golf carts, they hang a jersey with the prospect’s number in the middle stall of the locker room.

More Bad News for Maryland Terrapins

Recently Gary Williams lost troubled recruit Tyree Evans, and now it appears he’s losing another. Gus Glichrist (6’9″, PF, 2008 ) has asked for a release from his LOI with the Terps.

Class Rankings and UNC Targets

With some players at UNC “testing the waters” about going pro, and with the bevy of big men that UNC is bringing in for 2008 and 2009, CarolinaBBall points out that the Tar Heels are almost exclusively recruiting wings at this point.

2008 Recruiting Class Rankings

Zagsblog has posted the list of top 2008 Recruiting Classes rankings as defined by Hoop Scoop. The only ACC school to make the list is Florida State at #9.

John Wall & Daniel Orton

NewsOK.com (Oklahoma) is reporting that new OSU head coach Travis Ford is actively recruiting Daniel Orton (6’9″, C) and John Wall (6’3″,PG), two ACC prospects.

Kenny Boynton at the Real Deal

ACC target Kenny Boynton was named the MVP of The Real Deal on the Hill, which took place in Arkansas this weekend. Boynton, a 6’2″ PG from Florida is reportedly very high on the Duke Blue Devils’ coveted list as well as Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Wake Forest.

Boynton has stated that he has no leader at this time.

Kenny Boynton setting visits

Rivals is reporting that ACC recruit Kenny Boynton has started setting up his visits[Subscription Required].

ACC Schools recruiting Boynton include Duke, Miami, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Florida State, although I’ve heard that Duke is really gunning for him.
Boynton was also just named to the Florida first-team All-State.

I haven’t seen Boynton play in person yet, so I will have to either travel to an event he’s at, get him on film, or fly down to Florida next season.