NCAA Basketball recruiting is heating up in the offseason. What are the updates with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Wilson?
The Daily Recruiting Notebook (DRN) is a new Busting Brackets’ feature that will examine happenings around the college basketball recruiting world. This first edition will look at the news surrounding former Michigan signee Jalen Wilson, 2020 prospect Cade Cunningham, Kentucky Wildcats junior guard Brad Calipari, and Kerry Blackshear Jr.’s potential transfer, among other items.
Top-75 2019 recruit Jalen Wilson is currently finishing up a visit to the University of Kansas (May 30- June 1), per Gary Bedore of the Kansas City Star. Wilson re-opened his recruitment after he garnered a release from Michigan, on May 16, following the departure of coach John Beilein to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is still considering the Wolverines as well as Florida, North Carolina, and Oklahoma State.
Wilson signed his national letter of intent with Michigan last November, choosing the Wolverines over the Jayhawks along with Baylor, Marquette, and UCLA amongst others. So, it is not a surprise that both KU and OSU are among the schools that the 6’8″ small forward is currently considering.
Kansas is really in need to add another small forward/wing with Dedric Lawson (NBA), LeGerald Vick (graduated), Quentin Grimes (transfer portal), and KJ Lawson (transfer to Tulane) departures. The Jayhawks also missed out on five-star prospect Precious Achiuwa ( Memphis). Incoming four-star Tristan Enaruna and three-star Christian Braun are the top players currently at those positions. KU has three scholarships remaining to use for this upcoming season.
Wilson is all over the map in terms of recruiting rankings. ESPN has him ranked No. 71 in the class. Meanwhile, 274 Sports has him at No. 44 and 247Sports Composite has him locked in at No. 50. He is the 47th best prospect on Rivals’ list.
The Denton (Texas) native is very skilled and has excellent size for a three. Shooting is a strength of his as he has a soft touch as well as good range. Wilson also has the ability to finish through contact and possesses a nice mid-range game. He is a good passer and rebounder, although ball-handling along with defense are a few areas that need to improve.
The four-star prospect averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists while shooting 54% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc last season at Guyer High School.
Wilson will visit UNC from June 3-5. Carolina currently does not have any scholarships available for this year, however, the Tar Heels could use to add depth at the position. He has yet to schedule an official visit to Florida or Oklahoma State. Both the Gators and Cowboys have one scholarship remaining for the 2019-20 season. Neither program is in dire need for help at the small forward position.
It really appears that Wilson, who was a KU fan growing up, that the battle for his service will come down to the Jayhawks and Wolverines with Kansas being the favorite. He is expected to make an official decision by mid-June.
Caden Cunningham’s college list
Consensus five-star 2020 point guard/ small forward Cade Cunningham recently announced the 10 college programs, via Twitter, that he is now considering. Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Memphis, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma State, Virginia, and Washington were the schools that made the list.
It is really no surprise that several blue bloods — Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and UNC — are on the list. Tony Bennett has been one of the best college coaches over the last decade in terms of team success and developing NBA players. Memphis’ Penny Hardaway, like Bennett, is a former NBA player and has done an outstanding job at recruiting to Memphis in a short period as has Washington’s Mike Hopkins. So, it is not a shocker to see those two schools, as well as the Texas Longhorns, make the Arlington (Texas) native’s top-10. Oklahoma State and Florida are the two outliers but both could use guard help in 2020-2021, particularly the Cowboys at the point.
Cunningham is considered a top-three rated player at his position in the 2020 class with the real possibility that he will only spend one season in college. He is ranked as the top point guard in his class by ESPN (No. 8 overall). Both 247Sports Composite and 247Sports have Cunningham rated as the No. 3 small forward in 2020 with Composite rating him as the seventh-best prospect overall while 247Sports has him situated as the eighth-best prospect. Rivals have the 6’7″, 215-pounder pegged as the fifth-best prospect and No. 2 small forward.
He has said that he prefers to man the point in college but will play any position that will make him better. Cunningham had a dominant season at Montverde Academy (FL) this past season and was one of the best players during the spring portion of the Nike EYBL season, producing 25.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 12 games. He also shot 57.1% from the field, 73.3% from the free throw line, and 37.1% (13 of 35) from the 3-point line.
Cunningham is an explosive athlete with tremendous versatility. He is also a very skilled scorer and an exceptional distributor who plays with toughness and possesses a high basketball-IQ. Shooting range and defense, although he does compete on that end feverishly, are his two biggest issues.
Oklahoma State is seen as the overwhelmingly early favorite to land Cunningham’s services with Kentucky a distant second. However, he has said that he doesn’t have a favorite and is not anywhere close to making a decision. It will be interesting to see which teams make the next cut.
So, stay tuned.
More Kansas recruiting
Top 2020 Jayhawk targets N’Faly Dante and Kyree Walker are rumored to be seriously considering re-classifying to 2019, Bedore added. Dante, a consensus top-17 prospect in his current class, is a long and athletic shot-blocking machine with a developing offensive repertoire. The 6’11” Mali (Africa) native averaged 15.3 points along with 9.8 boards and 1.9 blocks in 10 games for MoKan AAU program this spring. He attends Sunrise Academy in Wichita (Kan.). Kentucky, LSU, Oregon and Michigan State are among the programs pursuing Dante.
Walker had a huge junior year at Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix) compiling 30.2 points, 11.0 caroms, 5.9 assists, 3.4 steals, and 2.2 blocks. The 6’5″ wing is a consensus five-star that is ranked between 12th and 24th in his class among the various recruiting services. There isn’t much that Walker, who can score on all three levels, can’t do as he is very quick and strong. He does have to work on his jumper, however. The former Arizona State commit holds 15 offers with Arizona and Arkansas along with KU considered the favorites.
The Jayhawks also recently became the eighth school to offer a scholarship to Richard “Pop Pop” Isaacs, a 6-0 sophomore-to-be point guard from Las Vegas. Isaacs will play for Team USA U16 FIBA Americas’ team in Brazil (June 3-9). : UNLV, California Oregon, Oklahoma, TCU, Oklahoma State, Rutgers, and Mississippi are the other schools that have offered him.
Other recruiting tidbits
Brad Calipari, the son of Kentucky’s head coach John Calipari, has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal and could leave the Wildcats. The 6-foot-4 redshirt junior presumably wants more playing time than the three minutes of action that he averaged in the 27 games he has appeared in for his father. Since Calipari is on track to graduate in three years, he would be eligible immediately upon transfer and have two years of eligibility left.
The Wildcats have already had two guards transfer since the end of the season in Jemerl Baker Jr. (Arizona) and Quade Green (Washington). Kentucky did receive good news this week as Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery will return for the 2019-20 campaign after withdrawing from the NBA draft.
Florida recently offered 2021 prospect John Camden (Downingtown, PA) a scholarship. The 6-foot-7 wing, who plays at Archbishop Carroll, is a four-star prospect that is among the top-60 players in the class by 247Sports. He currently holds six offers with Miami, Penn State, Syracuse, Xavier, and Temple being the others.
247 Sports top-100 2020 recruit Hassan Diara (Putnam, CT) picked up a scholarship offer from Penn State on May 30. It was his third offer — Indiana and St. John’s — that the 6’2″ point guard has nabbed this month. He currently holds 18 overtures which include three other Power-7 conference programs Texas Tech, Georgia, and South Florida. Five A-10 teams have also offered him a scholarship.
Texas Tech received a commitment from UNLV transfer Joel Ntambwe on May 26. Ntambwe, who will have three years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the upcoming season, is the fourth transfer for coach Chris Beard this year. The 6’9″ forward averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 boards for the Runnin Rebels last season. Chris Clarke (Virginia Tech), Tariq Owens (St. John’s) and TJ Holyfield (Stephen F. Austin) had previously committed to the Red Raiders. Clarke, Owens, and Holyfield are eligible immediately.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. is still weighing his options after withdrawing from the NBA draft. Blackshear, who will be eligible immediately, is considering Kentucky, Florida, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech — where he spent the previous three years. Kentucky could be the leader for his services, although the Wildcats have a loaded frontcourt. Florida is located in his home state and former Hokie head coach Buzz Williams now leads Texas A&M. Blackshear Jr., averaged15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this past season.
2019 wing Julian Champaignie, who is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals, became St. John’s coach Mike Anderson’s first NYC recruit when he committed on May 29. The 6’6″ wing averaged 17.2 points while topping the 20-point mark 17 times last year for Bishop Laughlin (Brooklyn) last season. He was originally slated to be part of the 2020 class as the plan was for him to attend a prep school this year. St. John’s has two scholarships still available for Anderson, whose first recruiting class currently consists of three members.
Where will Quintin Grimes end up? That is the big question after the 6-foot-5 combo guard decided not to return to Kansas after withdrawing from the NBA draft recently. He must sit out the upcoming season and will have three years of eligibility left. The former five-star recruit averaged 8.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman. He selected KU over Kentucky, Marquette, and Texas. Will have to have to wait and see if any of those schools are possibilities — obviously, Kentucky will likely be in the mix and could be the favorite.
There had been talk of a trio of 2020 Kentucky targets– Makur Maker, Cliff Omoruyi, and Isaiah Todd –reclassifying to the class of 2019 but that does not seem likely. All three are highly touted big men.
2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson (Kingston, NY) will take an unofficial visit to Arizona State on June 1. Johnson holds 16 scholarship offers with 10 from power-7 conference programs.
Tennessee Tech grad transfer Chris McNeal will play at Cincinnati this year after choosing the Bearcats on May 31. UC will be the point guard’s fifth school — he also previously attended Western Kentucky, New Mexico, and Indian Hills CC. McNeal, who never played at Tennessee Tech due to transfer rules, is expected to play a major role along with Mika Adams-Woods in the Bearcats’ backcourt.