Fastbreak Friday
Fastbreak Friday is back and coming at you with a plethora of visits that are afloat in the coming days. Whether it is the lower-level programs trying to steal one from the big dogs, or the high-majors hosting some of its priority targets this weekend, you better believe that you can get the full cupboard of where everyone is this weekend. We dive deep into the giant weekend in Baton Rouge, the key visitor of the weekend that takes place in Winston-Salem, and some of the names that could potentially pop off the board before they are able to set foot back home on Sunday evening.
TIGERS ON THE PROWL
The Tigers meet the Tigers this weekend, that is, Auburn travels to LSU in what should be a great matchup on the gridiron. Coming off of a great win over Mississippi State last weekend, Les Miles and his crew hopes to go 2-0 within the deadly SEC with another victory over the program out of Alabama. However, Johnny Jones might have a similar weekend when it comes to the importance that the next two days look to be.
While they will bring in Jamal Johnson, a rising combo guard out of Spain Park High School in Alabama, along with Mitchell Robinson, a top-50 recruit in the 2017 class, all eyes will be placed heavily on the 2016 class. Duop Reath, an agile and high-upside forward out of Lee College, will head to campus. A native of Australia, the Tigers look to continue to tap into their ‘down under’ connections in bringing another Aussie on board. Next to Reath, the SEC program will host another international recruit as Abdul Ado, a 6-foot-9 center from Nigeria, who plays at Hamilton Heights in Tennessee, comes to campus. The big man didn’t have the best of summers on the travel circuit and while he suffered from a bad case of knee tendinitis, when healthy, the big fella is a premier rim protector. The Tigers get the first chance at hosting the senior big man this weekend and a commitment out of him would be a quality addition in the frontcourt for the next few years.
However, the main man on campus this weekend is 6-foot-3 senior guard and top-five recruit, De’Aaron Fox. Playing out his high school days in Houston but from the city of New Orleans, LSU will attempt to bring the elite recruit back home for his college days. Kentucky, Kansas, NC State, and a few others loom for Fox’s signature but getting the playmaker onto campus for his first official visit is huge. While the Tigers aren’t seen as the favorite heading into the weekend, Jones and his staff have been known for making up quick ground on prospects and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Louisiana State in even better ground with the Cypress Lakes High product come Sunday evening.
DEACS HOST THE ELITE
The best ballplayer in all of high school basketball comes back home for the weekend as Harry Giles trips off to Winston-Salem. Born and raised but now attending Oak Hill Academy for his senior year of play, the 6-foot-10 mammoth of a talent has a final, cut list of five that includes the elite of the elite with the likes of UNC, Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas, along with the hometown bunch. Many have perceived Duke as the clear frontrunner for his services with Kentucky not far behind, yet Wake Forest has gained some ground over the past few months and there are whispers that the ACC program isn’t that far behind Duke now.
Danny Manning made Giles a priority from day one whenever he was named the head boss in Winston-Salem. Many have compared the big man to Chris Webber back in his early days but as of late, the comparisons have been slowly drawn towards no other than the head boss himself at Wake Forest. Using his NBA ties and connections, past playing days and recollections, and selling Giles as the guy that could revive the program, while it may be hard to speak on championships that UNC, Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas has achieved in recent years, there is a lot more than meets with the eye. With good friend Brandon Childress already committed for next season, Wake Forest is a sneaky threat for Giles and this weekend could go a long way in bringing the top recruit in all of America to the Winston-Salem campus next fall.
WHO MIGHT POP?
North Carolina got its big man within the trenches last week in Tony Bradley and could walk away with another commitment this weekend in the likes of Peach State native and 6-foot-5 playmaking wing, Brandon Robinson. Louisville and Florida State are thought to the others in strong contention for him but UNC has always been the dream school of Robinson’s, hence something to watch these next few days.
Seton Hall brings in two local products in the backcourt with Bryce Aiken and Myles Powell heading to campus. The Pirates are the perceived leaders at the moment for Powell and after leaving Harvard last weekend still on the market, the Big East program looks to be in a good spot with Aiken.
Now healthy and back on the floor, Amir Coffey heads to Texas this weekend. The Minnesota native visited the in-state Gophers program two weeks back but look for the Longhorns to make a giant push for a verbal from the long and talented wing this weekend down in Austin.
It seems that it might be a two-horse race for Tyler Cook and his eventual home may be where he is headed this weekend. The 6-foot-7 forward heads off to Iowa and after visiting Florida last weekend, a commitment looms and the Hawkeyes might be able to escape with a quality commitment out of the top-100 big man this weekend.
Arkansas needs a variety of pieces in the 2016 class and locking down Eric Curry would be a great start in reloading the cupboard in Fayetteville. The mobile 4-man visited Iowa State but it is always hard to say no to the local program that is Arkansas.
Missouri is a school to keep an eye on this weekend as they host two frontcourt guys in Willie Jackson and Mitchell Smith. Jackson is one of the hardest playing forwards in the Midwest and would bring immediate toughness to the SEC program. Smith, who is the grassroots teammate of Eric Curry, has seen the greatest attention from Mizzou and it wouldn’t be shocking for the long and agile big man to come off the board for Kim Anderson’s program.
AAC
CINCINNATI
- Bashir Ahmed – 6-foot-6 wing – Hutchinson Community College (New York)
MEMPHIS
- Tyson Carter – 6-foot-3 guard – Starkville High School (Mississippi)
- Greg Floyd – 6-foot-7 wing – Desert Pines High School (Nevada) 2017
TULSA
- Travis Atson – 6-foot-4 wing – Notre Dame Prep (New York)
- Clifton Powell – 6-foot-3 guard – 22FT Academy (California)
UCF
- Jeremy Sheppard – 5-foot-11 guard – John Marshall High School (Virginia)
ACC
DUKE
- Marques Bolden – 6-foot-10 center – DeSoto High School (Texas)
MIAMI
- Brison Gresham – 6-foot-9 center – McDonough 35 High School (Louisiana)
- DeJon Jarreau – 6-foot-5 guard – McDonough 35 High School (Louisiana)
NORTH CAROLINA
- Brandon Robinson – 6-foot-5 guard – Douglas County High School (Georgia)
NOTRE DAME
- Jaren Jackson – 6-foot-7 forward – Park Tudor School (Indiana) 2017
PITTSBURGH
- Justice Kithcart – 6-foot guard – Virginia Episcopal School (North Carolina)
- Maliek White – 6-foot-1 guard – George Wythe High School (Virginia)
WAKE FOREST
ATLANTIC SUN
JACKSONVILLE
- Quan Jackson – 6-foot-3 guard – Godby High School (Florida)
ATLANTIC 10
GEORGE MASON
- Andre Wesson – 6-foot-6 wing – Westerville South High School (Ohio)
RHODE ISLAND
- Mike Tertsea – 6-foot-10 center – John Carroll School (Nigeria)
BIG EAST
CREIGHTON
- Jared Ridder – 6-foot-5 wing – Kickapoo High School (Missouri) 2017
GEORGETOWN
- Zach Norvell - 6-foot-5 wing - Simeon Career Academy (Illinois)
PROVIDENCE
- Jalen Johnson – 6-foot-6 wing – Wesleyan Christian Academy (North Carolina)
SETON HALL
- Bryce Aiken – 5-foot-10 guard – The Patrick School (New Jersey)
- Myles Powell – 6-foot-1 guard – South Kent School (New Jersey)
XAVIER
- Eddie Ekiyor - 6-foot-8 center - Canada
BIG SOUTH
LIBERTY
- Brock Gardner – 6-foot-7 forward – Tri-City Christian Academy (Arizona)
UNC-ASHEVILLE
- Brian Coffey Jr. – 6-foot-1 guard – Greater Atlanta Christian School (Georgia) 2017
BIG 10
ILLINOIS
- Te'Jon Lucas - 6-foot guard - Washington High School (Wisconsin) COMMIT
IOWA
- Tyler Cook - 6-foot-7 forward - Chaminade College Prep (Missouri)
INDIANA
OHIO STATE
- Dwayne Cohill – 6-foot-1 guard – Holy Name High School (Ohio) 2018
- Jerome Hunter – 6-foot-6 forward – Pickerington North High School (Ohio) 2018
PURDUE
- Carsen Edwards - 6-foot guard - Atascocita High School (Texas) COMMIT
- Sagaba Konate - 6-foot-8 forward - Kennedy Catholic High School (Mali)
- Kyle Young - 6-foot-6 wing - Jackson High School (Ohio) 2017
Atascocita High School
WISCONSIN
- JaQuori McLaughlin – 6-foot-2 guard – Peninsula High School (Washington)
- Tyler Herro – 6-foot-3 guard – Whitnall High School (Wisconsin) 2018
- Keyshawn Justice – 6-foot-4 wing – Madison East High School (Wisconsin) 2018
- Jordan McCabe – 5-foot-11 guard – Kaukauna High School (Wisconsin) 2018
- Jack Plumb – 6-foot-8 center – Bay Port High School (Wisconsin) 2018
- Adam Trapp – 7-foot-1 center – Esko High School (Minnesota) 2018
BIG 12
KANSAS
- Udoka Azubuike – 6-foot-10 center – Potters House Christian Academy (Nigeria)
- Mitch Lightfoot – 6-foot-8 forward – Gilbert Christian School (Arizona)
KANSAS STATE
- Josh Okogie – 6-foot-5 wing – Shiloh High School (Georgia)
- Breein Tyree – 6-foot-2 guard – St. Joe’s High School (New Jersey)
OKLAHOMA STATE
- Thomas Dziagwa – 6-foot-4 guard – Tampa Catholic High School (Florida)
TEXAS
CONFERENCE USA
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
- Jerome Merritt – 6-foot-5 wing – Oldsmar Christian School (Florida)
UTEP
- Leland Green – 6-foot-2 guard – Redondo Union High School (California)
IVY
CORNELL
- Josh Warren – 6-foot-8 forward – Downingtown West High School (Pennsylvania)
MAC
BALL STATE
- Dru Smith – 6-foot-2 guard – Reitz High School (Indiana)
OHIO
- Corry Long – 6-foot-2 guard – Hughes High School (Ohio) 2017
MISSOURI VALLEY
- Jarrid Rhodes - 6-foot-8 forward - Northern Oklahoma College (Florida)
MOUNTAIN WEST
UNLV
NEC
QUINNIPIAC
- Mikey Dixon – 6-foot-1 guard – Sanford School (Delaware)
PAC 12
ARIZONA STATE
- Mario Kegler – 6-foot-7 forward – Oak Hill Academy (Mississippi)
COLORADO
- Jayce Johnson – 6-foot-10 center – Santa Monica High School (California)
OREGON
- MJ Cage – 6-foot-10 center – Mater Dei High School (California)
- Malik Monk – 6-foot-4 guard – Bentonville High School (Oregon)
OREGON STATE
USC
- Jonah Mathews - 6-foot-3 guard - Santa Monica High School (California)
OVC
MURRAY STATE
- Alize Johnson – 6-foot-7 forward – Frank Phillips College (Pennsylvania)
SEC
ALABAMA
- Braxton Blackwell – 6-foot-7 forward – Oak Hill Academy (Tennessee)
- Ar’Mond Davis – 6-foot-5 wing – College of Southern Idaho (Washington)
- Darius Perry – 6-foot-2 guard – Wheeler High School (Georgia) 2017
- Terryonte Thomas – 6-foot-4 guard – New Hope High School (Mississippi) 2017
- Robert Woodard – 6-foot-5 wing – Columbus High School (Mississippi) 2018
ARKANSAS
- Eric Curry – 6-foot-9 forward – Southwest Christian Academy (Tennessee)
- Tre Evans - 6-foot-2 guard - Edmond North High School (Oklahoma)
GEORGIA
- Garrison Brooks – 6-foot-8 center – Auburn High School (Georgia) 2017
- Alex O’Connell – 6-foot-5 wing – Milton High School (Georgia) 2017
KENTUCKY
- Miles Bridges - 6-foot-6 forward - Huntington Prep (Michigan)
LSU
- Abdul Ado – 6-foot-9 center – Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Nigeria)
- De’Aaron Fox – 6-foot-3 guard – Cypress Lake High School (Texas)
- Duop Reath – 6-foot-9 forward – Lee College (Australia)
- Jamal Johnson – 6-foot-3 guard – JO Johnson High School (Alabama) 2017
- Mitchell Robinson - 6-foot-10 center - Pine Forest High School (Florida) 2017
MISSOURI
- Willie Jackson – 6-foot-6 forward – Garfield Heights High School (Ohio)
- Mitchell Smith – 6-foot-10 center – Van Buren High School (Arkansas)
VANDERBILT
- Anfernee Simons - 6-foot-1 guard - Edgewater High School (Florida) 2018
SOUTHERN
WOFFORD
- Kevon Tucker – 6-foot-4 guard - Dacula High School (Georgia)
SOUTHLAND
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
SUMMIT LEAGUE
NEBRASKA OMAHA
- Randy Haynes - 6-foot-4 guard - New Mexico Junior College (Virginia)
WCC
SAINT MARY’S
- Elijah Thomas – 6-foot-5 forward – Sunrise Mountain High School (Arizona)