Georgia Tech’s Lone 2010 Recruit

Georgia Tech loaded up on big time talent last season, but with the possibility of early defections (especially from Derrick Favors), Paul Hewitt hasn’t been anxious to keep the recruits flowing in bunches, this year only getting a commit from Jason Morris (SF, 6’5″, 2010) so far.

Morris is an explosive leaper who will fit with the athletic style of play Paul Hewitt favors, and Morris is known for being one of the best dunkers in the 2010 class. Of course, he’ll need to work on being more than a high wire act, but the excitement factor is definitely in place.

Although Hewitt only has Morris committed, Georgia Tech is still in the mix for several other players, including Will Yeguette (SF, 6’7″, 2010).

Georgia Tech’s Recruiting Woes

You’ve got to wonder how Paul Hewitt will be able to continue to cope with what has become a standard M.O. during his tenure as the head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Every year or two Hewitt brings in top recruits, such as this year’s Iman Shumpert, or a few years ago with Chris Bosh, and watches them bolt for the NBA before they ever get a chance to really make an impact on the program.

Unlike other programs, like Duke and UNC, Georgia Tech hasn’t managed to recover as quickly from NBA defections. With a top tier class coming in from 2009, including Derrick Favors (PF, 6’9″, 2009), it would appear that Hewitt’s Jackets might be the sleeper team for the 2009-10 season.

But not so fast.

It turns out that already, even in a lackluster season, players on the roster are looking toward the league, and the league is interested. Gani Lawal, a 6’9″ Sophomore, is projected to be a potential lottery pick in the next draft:

With 19 NBA scouts and executives watching him play Saturday, Gani Lawal gave an impressive performance.

The sophomore made 7 of 10 shots from the field and 11 of 14 from the free-throw line, and he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots in Georgia Tech’s upset of Wake Forest.

What this means for recruiting is that if Lawal goes pro, suddenly a team deep at the post with NBA talent is right back where they started. What Paul Hewitt needs to really compete in the ACC is more than a couple of NBA prospects; Duke, Wake and UNC are loaded with NBA prospects and more are coming.

However, Lawal’s not a given to go pro early:

“I plan on being here,” Lawal said. “I just want to keep playing, take it day by day and see where it goes. When the season’s over and everything is in the books, I’ll just sit down, discuss it and see. … Right now I can’t even begin to get into it.”

If Lawal returns, expect Georgia Tech to be one of the better teams next season.

Boo Williams’ McAdoo Swings Through the ACC

James McAdoo (PF, 6’8″, 2011) is big time, already on the big schools’ radar as a sophomore. UCLA and Florida have made no secret that they want the prolific big man, already extending offers according to Scout.

However, this weekend, McAdoo visited the campuses of UNC and Duke (not a bad idea OR difficult given the mere eight mile distance between the two) and will swing through Wake Forest this weekend. Business as usual for Wake, who by some reports was planning to host Noel Johnson (SF, 6’7″, 2009) and got a commitment from Ari Stewart last weekend. Johnson committed to USC, which had seemed to be where he was leaning. I would speculate that Johnson felt getting playing time at Wake might have been difficult with Al Farouq-Aminu and Ari Stewart, if Farouq-Aminu stays for more than one year. He also considered Georgia Tech, but recent moves led him to conclude that USC was the best fit for him.

At any rate, McAdoo, a player from Norfolk, Virginia, seems to really like Duke and UNC, although he does not have offers from them yet. He was on the Chapel Hill campus as was 2010 UNC commit Kendall Marshall.

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

ACC Recruiting Roundup, Volume 2

Alex has an article on Wake Forest basketball commit Tony Chenault (PG/SG,6’1″,2010), where the scorer talks about his recent commitment to the Deacs:

“[It’s a] great school. They [are] known for producing great point guards like Chris Paul. They let their players play . . . [and are in] one of the best conferences in the country,” said Chenault as to why he picked Wake, an ACC power in the 21st century.

Thanks to Alex for the heads up on the future ACC player.

Derrick Favors cuts his list

Derrick Favors (PF, 6’10”, 2009) has cut his list to ten schools, and both Georgia Tech and NC State are still in the mix. Popular opinion seems to be that GT is still the leader, but Favors has not publicly said that.

Dexter Strickland Dunks Away Critics

The Adidas Nations camp takes current high school prospects and pairs them with an “NBA Mentor” during the camp. Not sure if Dexter Strickland, who played the camp after a somewhat light summer schedule was paired with former Carolina players Antwan Jamison or Raymond Felton (both of whom are repped by Adidas), but he was able to answer some of his critics with the camp highlight dunk. To be fair to Dexter, the critics are foolish in this case; Dexter is getting knocked because he chose to rest after an injury, did not play a heavy summer schedule and since he was MIA from the big time events, his stock supposedly slipped. That is laughable and hurts the credibility of a ranking system that pulls that stunt. It’s an old GM joke about a scout who’s favorite player is always the last player they saw.

Anyway, here’s a pretty good rundown of the Adidas event.

Kyrie Irving has ACC interest

You might have heard about Kyrie Irving (PG/SG, 6’2″, 2010), and you might have known that he plays for the same high school team as Dexter Strickland, and maybe you even knew that he had a whole bunch of interest from the Big East. But you probably didn’t know that he also has interest from Maryland, Virginia Tech and UNC.

Irving is officially on our ACC watch list.

Dominic Cheek’s List

Dominic Cheek is expected to announce a preliminary college list in September, and Wake Forest appears to be right in the mix.

Michael Snaer: Playing time is a factor

Michael Snaer (SG/SF, 6’5″, 2009), has been on the radar for some ACC teams but is ‘less visible’ to those of us on the east coast since he’s a California kid. And UCLA has been after Snaer, which is a pretty daunting recruiting challenge for any ACC school. However, Snaer says in this interview that playing time at UCLA is a concern:

“Yeah, it is, just with the guys they have coming in ahead of me.”

Snaer goes on to mention that Virginia Tech has expressed interest in his game, and that a lot of new schools are getting involved in his recruitment, but no mention of Miami or FSU.

Noel Johnson plans USC, U of L visits

Noel Johnson plans to visit Louisville and USC this fall, according to this story from NBE Basketball. However, he also still mentions interest from ACC schools Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.