Class of 2021 NCAA Basketball recruit A.J. Griffin had an extremely busy weekend, with several high-caliber schools offering scholarships.
Top-2021 prospect A.J. Griffin has had a torrid start to the summer and continued to see scholarship offers come in heavy this weekend. According to Adam Zagoria of ZAGSBLOG, the 6’6 forward picked up offers from Duke, UCLA, Kansas, Villanova, and Michigan on Saturday.
“A.J. is a top 10 player in the class in 2021,” Pat Massaroni , who is Griffin’s coach at Archbishop Stepinac, told Zagoria. “Many of the most prestigious college basketball programs and head coaches across the country know this and spoke with him and his family today.”
Griffin is the son of former Seton Hall star and current Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin.
Griffin just finished up helping Team USA to capture the gold medal in FIBA Men’s U16 Americas Championship on June 9. He scored 18 in the championship win over Canada. For the tournament, the 15-year-old averaged 13.5 points along with 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in four appearances.
The Ossining (NY) native now holds 18 Division I offers. UConn, Auburn, Georgetown, Rutgers, Saint Louis, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Fordham, Providence, Maryland, St. John’s and Manhatten are the other schools that have offered him.
Griffin, a consensus five-star prospect, can do a little bit of everything. He is physically gifted, owns a 7’0 wingspan and is developing into a bigtime athlete. While his strength allows him to overpower his opponents, he is becoming a capable perimeter shooter with the ability to connect on shots both off the dribble and catch. Griffin is also a freight train in transition and is a very good rebounder. In addition, Griffin, who has shown a ton of potential on the defensive end, can defend the two through the four. The rising junior is rated as the eighth-best prospect in his class by 247Sports and No. 10 in the country by 247Sports Composite. ESPN has him slated at No. 11 in their top 60 rankings.
Wisconsin receives a commitment from twin brothers
Wisconsin Badgers coach Greg Gard got a two for one deal, sort of speak, on Saturday with twin brothers Jonathan and Jordan Davis verbally committing to the program. The twins join 6’1 point guard Lorne Bowman as members of the Badgers’ 2020 recruiting class.
Jonathan, who is a 6’5, 180-pound wing, is ranked among the top 150 prospects by 247Sports, 247Sports Composite and Rivals in the class. He also held offers from Marquette, DePaul, Iowa, Minnesota, and West Virginia among others. Wisconsin offered him in late December 2017.
Jordan, on the other hand, didn’t receive an offer from the Badgers until June 5. The 6’5, 185-pound shooting guard is not ranked by any of the major recruiting scholarships. He also held offers from UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, and UNLV.
Johnny averaged 23 points and 9.3 rebounds while Jordan averaged 12.3 points and 4.7 rebounds this past season while helping La Crosse (WI) Central High school reach the WIAA Division 2 state semifinals. Johnny’s performance got him a spot on the all-state first team.
Brandon Boston Jr. taking time making a college decision
B.J. Boston is reportedly in no hurry to make a decision about his future. The consensus 2020 five-star is now considering Kentucky, Duke, Auburn, and Florida after cutting his list down to four last month. He has taken official visits to Duke and Florida while also taking an unofficial visit to Kentucky in February.
Boston is a versatile and long athlete who is capable of playing the one through the three. The 6’6 175-pounder possesses a nice feel for the game and has the ability to score on all three levels as well as the capability to take over a game. He is excellent in transition and is a good passer. Boston does need to add strength to his frame and play with a high motor all the time.
Boston is ranked among the top 15 players in his class. 247Sports and 247Sports Composite have him ranked No. 15 and No. 9 in the country. Meanwhile, ESPN has the Norcross (Ga.) rated as the sixth best player and Rivals list him at No. 10.
So, what is going to differentiate his four finalists? Boston told Ari Rosenfeld of ZAGSBLOG that his decision will come down to who really needs him the most, as well as a gut feeling of comfort.
“They’ve got to want me really,” he said. “They’ve got to need me the most, I’ve got to be comfortable with the coach and how they play, and just be all the way there with it.”
More recruiting nuggets
- 2019 Panola College (TX) Lennell Henry de-committed from Coastal Carolina on June 15. He will now look for other opportunities at the D-I level. Southern University appears to be an option for the former Northern Arizona player. He will have two years of eligibility left.
- Troy offered 2021 guard C.J. Noland (Waxahachie, TX) on June 16.
- 2021 forward Josh Farmer (Sharpstown, TX) received a scholarship offer from Houston on June 15.
- 2021 guard Matthew Cleveland (Pace Academy (Ga.) received a scholarship offer from Xavier on June 16.
- 2021 guard Tyrese Hunter (St. Catherine’s, WI) received an offer from Milwaukee on June 15.