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Recruiting: Predicting Destinations for Top Unsigned Prospects (Part One)

By Chris Godfrey

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The spring recruiting season is heating up, and there are still plenty of impact players left on the board. Here’s a quick look at where we expect the nation’s top unsigned college basketball prospects to sign on the dotted line and suit up next season. Let’s play a game of final destination — except I promise that no one dies at the end. 

(Rankings taken from the most recent ESPN 100 Recruiting Rankings)

#81 Kenny Williams
6’3, 175lbs – SG
Chesterfield, VA
Lloyd C. Bird High School

Williams was supposed to be a member of Shaka Smart’s most recent haul of prospects at VCU, but after Smart left for Texas, Williams reopened his recruitment and has seen a surge in interest as expected. His newest suitor is John Beilein at Michigan, who is hoping that Williams could be a possible replacement for a possibly departing Caris Levert. According to this Tweet from Evan Daniels, the Wolverines are in Williams top four.

Final Destination: Virginia

If Williams was good enough for Smart’s Havoc defense, he’ll fit well at UVA, especially with Justin Anderson departing for the NBA. The initial commitment to VCU shows that Williams values his defensive talents and has an interest in staying local. The Cavs are the best fit according to that criteria.

#73 Nick Noskowiak
6’2, 180lbs – PG
Sun Prairie, WI
Sun Prairie High School

Originally the first commit of the Coach Wojo era at Marquette, Noskowiak was granted a release from his letter of intent after missing time during his senior season due to disputed reasons that ranged from child abuse to depression. Now that his personal life has seemingly stabilized, he has turned his attention to finding a new program for next year. According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, he has cut his new list down to two.

Final Destination: Iowa State

This seems like a slam dunk. Noskowiak has clearly dealt with some issues in the past no matter which side of the story you believe, and Fred Hoiberg has made his living in Ames by allowing players to maximize second chances. The Mayor has also proven himself able to handle players who deal with difficult off the court circumstances (see: Royce White). Also, USC is gosh awful.

#47 Tevin Mack
6’7, 200lbs – SF
Columbia, SC
Dreher High School

Mack is another top flight recruit that spurned VCU after the departure of Shaka Smart. Since his commitment, his stock has skyrocketed and he is now receiving interest from schools such as UCLA, UConn, and North Carolina. The Tar Heels are making the strongest push for Mack, as they are determined to find a contingency plan for the sudden loss of J.P. Tokoto, but it looks like Mack is looking towards following the man that he originally signed to play for.

Final Destination: Texas

The rumor mill is circulating that Texas is the choice for Mack due to a strong influence from his mother who apparently was very impressed by Shaka Smart during the recruiting process. Well, mother usually knows best.

#39 Brandon Sampson
6’4, 175lbs – SG
Baton Rouge, LA
Madison Prep Academy

You’ve probably noticed that there’s a decommitment theme going on here. Sampson was committed to St. John’s before Steve Lavin left the program, but opened up his recruitment literally minutes after Lavin’s departure. Though he hasn’t ruled out a return to the Johnnies and their new regime, his other options have gotten significantly more attractive in the last few weeks. LSU, located in Sampson’s backyard, lost two frontcourt players to the NBA Draft. Now the Tigers have increased interest in landing the best player available to pair with their duo of incoming McDonald’s All-Americans. Cal, the runner-up in the first race for Sampson, recently added consensus top ten prospect Ivan Rabb. At the moment, all St. John’s can offer is playing time, but a commitment from Cheick Diallo could sway Sampson back to New York.

Final Destination: St. John’s 

This is by far the most up in the air projection. Sampson has three really enticing options to choose from, and sources suggest that he isn’t even close to a decision. Moments after decommitting, I thought Sampson was destined for Cal. When Rabb committed, I thought Sampson was going to Cal for certain. I even originally wrote in Cal as Sampson’s final destination at the top of this paragraph. However, the intrigue of Mullin and his staff of super recruiters has lured me in. The entire St. John’s staff plan to put a full court press on both Sampson and Diallo very soon, and I think it will be enough to make a difference for Sampson, and maybe even Diallo.

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Next: Ivan Rabb Commits to Cal

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