College Basketball: Rebuilding programs get recruiting boost
Northern Arizona and LaSalle are solid college basketball programs, but are they on the verge of a breakout thanks to under-the-radar recruits?
The last time Northern Arizona went to the NCAA Tournament, it was 2000. Since then, they have been mostly irrelevant in the Big Sky, finishing last season with a 6-12 conference record and a 9-23 mark overall.
For a team who needed a desperate shot in the arm of good news, they got one with the commitment of Cameron Shelton, a three-star guard from Damien High School. The 6’2″, 160-pound guard is ranked No. 390 by 247sports but has just been getting noticed by schools since transferring from Chino Hills High School, where he was overshadowed by the Ball family.
In his first season as the lead player in high school, he exploded for averages of 22 ppg, 8 rpg, 6 apg, and three steals game as well. The Lumberjacks view him as the guard of the future and hope he can have the same career as former Big Sky star Damien Lillard, who played for Weber State and now is a top NBA point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Another school who received some welcomed news this weekend was the LaSalle Explorers. 6’5″ Jack Clark has given the school his commitment, the fourth for 2018. While his 247sports ranking of No. 414 might not seem too impressive, he too is a late bloomer and he is often listed three-star star recruit.
He chose LaSalle over Dayton, Penn State, and South Florida. He has good size and can shoot the ball well. Although he’s the only guard of the four-man 2018 class, he’ll have to compete with Marquette transfer Traci Carter for playing time next season.
Since making the Sweet Sixteen in 2013, the Explorers have fallen back in the Atlantic 10 conference. Last year, they were exactly a .500 team finishing 15-15 (9-9). If they can hit on a player like Clark, they’ll be back to contending in the A-10.