Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (2/18)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Commits

Los Osos' fourth-quarter rally came up short as the Grizzlies lost to Riverside Arlington 82-79 on Friday in a Division I-AA playoff game. Sophomore point guard Kendall Williams scored 17 points to lead Los Osos (18-12). Senior forward Derrick Rodgers just missed a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and senior forward Mychael Blalock finished with eight points and 13 rebounds. SB Sun 2/14

The full roster for the 2008 McDonald's All-American Game will be released on Feb. 19. The McDonald's Game, the nation's premier high school basketball all-star game, will be held in Milwaukee on March 26 at 9:30pm EST. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN....The expected favorites to be named McDonald's All-Americans are Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Greg Monroe, Jrue Holiday, B.J. Mullens, Demar DeRozan, John Riek, Delvon Roe, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eloy Vargas, Tyler Zeller, Ed Davis and Elliot Williams. TransWorld News 2/14

Huntington Beach figured Kyle Caldwell would be big trouble, and Caldwell was just that. Caldwell, a 6-foot-9 center for Newport Harbor, scored 26 points. Huntington Beach held Caldwell's teammates to a combined 28 points, and the Oilers beat Newport Harbor, 63-54, Friday in a CIF-Southern Section Division I-A first-round playoff game at Newport Harbor.... Caldwell, who has committed to UCLA for volleyball, had 16 rebounds and six blocked shots. OC Register 2/15

A colleague told me the floppy-haired Reeves Nelson reminded him of former Gonzaga All American and current Charlotte Bobcats’ super-shot Adam Morrison. All such comparisons and build-up had me frothing for the opening tip-off and it took less than a minute for me to see what all the hoopla was about. On his team’s first possession, Nelson got the ball in the block, went baseline and spun in a reverse lay-up. Sweet, I thought. The next time down he buried a three-pointer. Adam Morrison, here we come. But the rest of the quarter, until he swooped in for a fastbreak hoop at the buzzer, Nelson played more like Adonal Foyle. Max Preps 2/16

Recruits

Ater Majok, a 6-foot-10 forward originally from the Sudan, will visit UConn on March 1 to see the Huskies take on West Virginia. Currently living in Australia, Majok is also considering Kansas, Maryland, UCLA and Baylor. Connecticut Post 2/14

Mason Plumlee grew up cheering for the University of North Carolina's men's basketball team. On Monday, the 6-foot-11 former Warsaw Community High School player was offered a full-ride scholarship by the Tar Heel's biggest rival - the Duke Blue Devils. "The offer from Duke wasn't something I expected," Plumlee said....Among the schools he's most interested in, Plumlee listed Duke, Georgetown, Michigan, UCLA and Indiana. Times-Union 2/14

The Pinewood Prep (22-4, 6-0) boys finished the regular season by knocking off SCISA rival Porter-Gaud, 59-52, behind 19 points and 10 rebounds from Milton Jennings, and 16 points by Ryan Steed. The win clinched another league title for the Panthers, who have won eight in a row. 5 News Live 2/14

It appears as if a couple of schools from the Big 12 Conference have emerged from a group of several powerhouse basketball programs as the early front-runners in the ongoing recruiting battle for Jordan Hamilton of Compton Dominguez, one of the most sought after prospects among the 2009 class. There's a couple of different reports circulating around the Internet leading me to believe Texas is high on his list. However, these quotes, right here, indicate Kansas is a major player as well. Plans for an unofficial visit to Lawrence could be in the works for the 6-foot-7 swingman. UConn and Syracuse have scholarship offers on the table. UCLA and USC are in the mix as well. But for the time being, it looks like everyone in the Hamilton sweepstakes is trailing the big boys from the Big 12. LA Times 2/15

If IU is banned from the NCAA tournament, current high school juniors who made non-binding oral commitments to IU or are considering playing for IU could decide to go elsewhere. Even the four seniors who signed a binding letter of intent in November could ask to be released. "I'm really concerned," said Stephan Van Treese, the state's top-ranked junior and one of the nationally ranked players in his class considering Indiana. "If they have violations that they can't go to the tournament, why would I want to go there? The main thing I want to do when I go to college is play in the tournament. I think a lot of players feel the same way. A lot of people won't want to go there if they can't go to the postseason." USA Today 2/15

Christ School junior Mason Plumlee was surprised to see the large number of Duke students camping outside Cameron Indoor Stadium in "Krzyzewskiville," got to tour the Blue Devils' new practice facility, had his name chanted by the Cameron Crazies and got to sit directly behind the bench for Wednesday's 77-65 victory over Maryland. Summing up the unofficial recruiting visit, the 6-foot-11 forward from Winona Lake, Ind., said Friday, "The (scholarship offer from Duke) obviously meant a lot, but it was pretty fun to actually get to visit the campus and look around. It was a really good visit, I learned a lot more about Duke and got to talk to more of the players and coaches." Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant Chris Collins flew into Arden on Monday and offered a scholarship. But Plumlee reiterated Friday that a commitment to any school, including Duke, is not imminent. Citizen-Times 2/15

The moment Colony's depth caught up with the San Gorgonio High School boys basketball team was exactly when the game got away. The seventh-seeded Titans ripped off a 14-0 fourth-quarter run to end the Spartans' hopes in a 76-63 win in the first round of the CIF-SS DivisionII-AA playoffs Friday night. Colony will play the winner of Sonora and No. 9 seed Vista Murrieta in the second round on Tuesday. Seven Colony players scored at least four points, led by sophomore Tyler Lamb's 20. SB Sun 2/15

(photo credit: Citizen-Times)

Comments

[BruinFan]

All u east coasters...who wouldn't want to come to the Sunny Coast???

Ok, I'm a local and die hard Bruin. Howland, has reached the Final Four the past 2 years...w/ Mata as a center (love ya Mata) and is not without superior talent. He turns marginal players into professionals!!!!!!!!!!!
All this guy needs is a title and we will be able to recruit across the United States of America.

Why?
1)Television games (all pro prospects want to b on t.v
2)Pac-10 the best conference in NCAA (the teams beat up on each other...now we won't have 6 or 7 teams, just 5 or 6 in the tny)...as we speak 9/10 have records above 500....need I say more...
3)If u r a PRO to be...think of the perks...u meet actors, models, people who u can PRODUCE WITH, etc.....commercials, cameos....

Howland=UCLA Dynasty
Defense wins games
His Leadership and mind set wins Championships....

C u in March...

[BruinFan 2005]

BBR whats the deal with Kyle Caldwell? Couldn't find anything on Rivals or the like sites.

[Seitz]

If he can pull in the #1 recruiting class without leaving the state, who cares if he can recruit east coast kids?

[Bruin Basketball Report]

Kyle Caldwell is a solid HS basketball player - a matter of fact he was nominated for the McDonald's All-American team.

- BBR

[ASK]

I thought Plumlee already committed to Stanford.

[willis]

What's the latest of Fairfax' Sidney?

[Bruin Basketball Report]

Mason's brother, Miles, committed earlier to Stanford. As for Sidney, its still wait and see. With everyone focusing on postseason, probably won't hear more information until its over.

- BBR

[Bare Gunner]

Hey BruinFan, you are preaching to the choir here! I agree wholeheartedly! UCLA should have a national following with ALL that we have to offer as you so admirably stated!

[dee]

yo BBR but Cladwell is commited to volleyball not basketball right? I remember Howland is not so hot on 2-sports athelete, he had Hollins decide on one sports, and I think Mercedes Lewis too (who decided to go with football). So my guess is Cladwell won't be playing on the basketball courts then?

[BruinFan]

true feelings come out with alcohol...note the time I wrote that...

[willis]

The v-ball/b-ball two sport star who did not work out was Matt McKinney about 5-6 years ago. Lavin recruited him to Westwood. A foot injury ended up derailing him in both sports.

[Bruin Basketball Report]

Yes, he's committed to volleyball but wouldn't be surprised to see Caldwell helping out with the team at practices next season.

- BBR

[LN23]

Although howland was able to pull the top class in the nation without leaving California, there are benefits to taking kids from the east. The main benefit would be exposure. If we steal an elite player from the east then we would have more people on the east coast watching UCLA games, maybe even getting some more games televised on ESPN. It would help with our tournament seeding and national rankings, as well as with our recruiting. Ideally, it would be like Texas and Kevin Durant. We all know how much positive exposure that brought for their program and the other players, i.e. DJ Augustin. Regardless, if Howland can raise another banner then i don't care where he finds these kids.

[Craig]

"Yes, he's committed to volleyball but wouldn't be surprised to see Caldwell helping out with the team at practices next season. - BBR"

I believe this would be a NCAA violation. A fairly serious one at that. Caldwell can be on a basketball scholarship and "help out" with the volleyball team, but he can not be on a volleyball scholarship and "help out" with the basketball team. The NCAA instituted this rule to prevent schools from loading up on players in the major sports by giving them scholarships to lessor sports.

[Bruin Basketball Report]

If the basketball team had 13 scholarship players on roster next year, then yes, if Caldwell played with the team in addition to the 13 then it might be a potential violation. But its doubtful the Bruins will have 13 on hand next year considering those players who may leave after this year.

- BBR

[Brew In]

Hey BBR, correct me if I'm wrong (which is alot when I've been in the suds) but don't we have at least one more scholarship for the B-Ball squad next year? If not, why would they even post interest in guys like Ater Majok and Krys Faber. If so, how about Caldwell? He sounds like a very gifted athlete ala Chase Budinger.

Also on the subject of recruits, isn't it sort of interesting that despite the multiple interest, NOT ONE university has put out an offer for Renardo Sidney? What is really up what that kid? Is there too much dirt under the rug?

[WVa's Bruin Fan]

While its always nice to compete for the 4 & 5 star kids from back here in the east, I'm sure there are plenty of the same in california...

That is one of the reasons I remain a UCLA fan, and not a Mountaineer fan, the coaching staff always manages to find a way to over look quality local players closer to home...seems Flordia is now the recruiting grounds for WVU...

After all who remembers what the staff said about a Kid from Pineville, WV...Not good enough to play D1 ball, but papa Joe did and he won a national championship for PSU...

I guess what I'm saying is keep those home grown kid home...

[Bruin Basketball Report]

With Collison likely leaving this year, UCLA will have enough scholarships for the four incoming freshmen. Its a pretty safe assummption Love will be leaving as well which would leave an open scholarship for a potential late signee.

- BBR