Who owned the week?
To say that the past few days on the recruiting trail have been utter craziness might be a polite way in stating what we saw on the commitment front. We saw a busy few days early on from Monday to Tuesday, hit a bit of a lull on Wednesday and Thursday, but from the weekend on, the commitments came in like rapid fire. It was difficult for even recruiting analysts to assess and process and now entering another full week of what should be further commits on the trail, we asked the HoopSeen team as to who owned the week in bringing in an ideal talent coupled in with an ideal fit.
Garret Tucker: I love the fit and need aspects for Te’Jon Lucas to Illinois, De’Riante Jenkins to VCU and Romello White to Georgia Tech, but my biggest winner this week is an easy choice: Towson.
Towson reeled in a commitment from 2016 Millwood (VA) power forward JJ Mathews Saturday afternoon. Not only is that a steal for Pat Skerry and crew, but the schools the Tigers beat out for his services is impressive. Providence, Murray State, and Old Dominion were among the programs involved.
Matthews brings a solid, all-around post game to the Tigers. He is skilled and can score facing the basket or with his back to the basket, and he is mobile and can be used in pick-and-roll situations. The 6-foot-8 big man tore his ACL last week, so expectations will have to be controlled over the next year. Nevertheless, if Matthews can regain his full strength, this is quite the commitment for Towson.
Corey Evans: Insanity, just insanity. The commitments that rolled in on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning was nearly impossible to track and figure out with who was going where. It felt like the last few minutes before 4pm on the MLB trade deadline day. Looking back on it, I already spoke on the ideal fit and get for VCU in landing De'Riante Jenkins during the Commitments of the Week article posted earlier on Monday, but if I have to go a different direction, why not pick another non-power conference juggernaut in Wichita State.
The Shockers lose Tekele Cotton this season, the defensive stopper that has allowed for its killer duo on the perimeter in Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet to float freely and further focus in on the offensive end. The MVC program loses these two next year and the need for immediate producers out top is definitely there. Enter CJ Keyser. The 6-foot-3 guard is lauded as a killer defensive ballplayer and was sold on just that by the Wichita State staff. He is an electric, hard-nosed guard that can play multiple spots on the floor and on either side it. Play Angry is the motto for Greg Marshall’s bunch, something that Keyser exhibits each time that he plays the game. An ideal talent for an ideal situation makes CJ Keyser and the Wichita State basketball program, the owners of the week that was insanity.
Justin Young: There's just something about finding the right fit. If there is one big winner from this past week of college basketball recruiting madness it is this - college basketball. The sport won. When we look back at all of the schools that landed players, regardless of level, they landed players that fit their respective programs perfectly. I'm not just talking about what the players do on the court either. The players and the program did their respective research on each other. For the most part, the players understand their roles, the fit and the time it takes to make the rotation looking into the future. The programs, for the most part, also understand the players they are getting on campus next year.
In year's past, I've seen schools take players that they knew very little of on and off the court. Early commitments this season buck that trend. That's refreshing. There are established relationships between both parties. I hope we see guys that play four years and programs have success because of that.
I thought four players from Georgia all picked the right spot for themselves. Aaron Augustin to ETSU, Kevon Tucker to Wofford, Quintez Cephus to Furman and Martens Igbanu to Tulsa are all guys that should be multi-year starters at their respective schools. Fit mattered to each of them and I thought all four found exactly what they were looking for.