Things weren’t as busy as last week but still, there were a number of top flight prospects that came off the board. Schools like Texas A&M, UConn, Marquette and Michigan State receiving immediate contributors from the 2017 class but no one made a bigger splash than Georgia Tech and Illinois State as each cemented their case in landing the commitment of the week within their own respective level of play.

POWER CONFERENCE COMMITMENT OF THE WEEK

JOSE ALVARADO COMMITS TO GEORGIA TECH

Sure, there were a bevy of other programs that picked up higher ranked prospects but the immediate need for Jose Alvarado at Georgia Tech is evident, so glaring that he could contribute this fall if allowable. A 6-foot lead guard by way of New York City, the Christ the King star is your throwback type of ballplayer where he plays with unlimited toughness and confidence levels with the basketball in is hands.

Coming up through the ranks, Alvarado was primarily a score-first type of point guard that lacked the ideal size at the 1 and would sometimes struggle through inefficient outings throughout the course of any given weekend on the travel circuit. The New Yorker quickly had a coming of age this past summer on the Nike EYBL circuit and flourished as a playmaker that began to comprehend when to score and when to create for others within the half court setting, proof being the nearly 2.5-to-1, assist-to-turnover ratio that he sported.

Giving Josh Pastner his first commitment in his first full year as the head coach at Georgia Tech, Alvarado becomes a nice building block for the ACC program. Is he an end all, be all type of guy? No, but he is someone that, with the proper pieces around him, can really flourish as a four year program starter for a team in need of talent and some grit.

Battling the likes of UNC, Duke, and Louisville on the hardwood every year is never easy and fighting off the likes of Florida, LSU, and Kentucky is also never easy on the recruiting front. However, finding the proper pieces and fitting them accordingly can go a long ways for Pastner and crew in Atlanta, hence why the landing of Alvarado could create a chain of successful events ahead for the Yellow Jackets under its new coaching regime.

NON-POWER CONFERENCE COMMITMENT OF THE WEEK

ILLINOIS STATE LANDS ELIJAH CLARANCE

The DMV region, that is northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC, is always one ripe with talent. Regardless of your needs, if you come to the area, you’re due to find something that you might like and for some, a few sleeper candidates that are just waiting to bust out during their respective college basketball playing days. Illinois State may have done just that this past week in landing Elijah Clarance.

A 6-foot-3, bouncy and athletic guard that can play either the one or the two in the backcourt, the sky is the limit for the St. Maria Goretti product. Running on an absolutely loaded travel team with the DC Premier gang featuring the likes of top-100 prospects Prentiss Hubb, Naji Marshall, and Nate Watson, Clarance oftentimes didn’t get the full opportunity to show off what he had in his bag of tricks that would enable for a heightened college recruitment. However, the staff at Illinois State saw behind the veil of secrecy to a certain extent and still thoroughly pursued the high upside guard.

More of a scoring guard at the time being, the DC Premier product is someone that can slide over onto the ball and playmake when the time presents itself. The MVC bunch will lose its star guard Paris Lee upon the completion of this upcoming college basketball season so there definitely will be the opportunity for Clarance to step in and show what he has to offer immediately in Normal, Illinois.

The commitment of Clarance may not get all of the dues that it rightfully deserves and sure will not get all of the pub that most others have gotten in picking a power-conference program. However, in three years, we may look back at the commitment of the DMV native and realize it was a building block for an NCAA Tournament run for Dan Muller’s program.

AAC

CONNECTICUT

• Josh Carlton, 6-foot-10 center, DeMatha Catholic High School (Maryland)

MEMPHIS

• Jamal Johnson, 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Spain Park High School (Alabama) – STATE RANKING: 5

SOUTHERN METHODIST

• Elijah Landrum, 6-foot-1 guard, Tulsa Central High School (Oklahoma)

ACC

GEORGIA TECH

• Jose Alvarado, 6-foot point guard, Christ the King High School (New York) – NATIONAL RANKING: 85

MIAMI

• Sam Waardenburg, 6-foot-8 power forward, Rangitoto College (New Zealand)

ATLANTIC SUN

STETSON

• Kenny Aninye, 5-foot-11 point guard, Wheeler High School (Georgia)

ATLANTIC 10

DAYTON

• McKinley Wright, 6-foot point guard, Champlin Park High School (Minnesota)

DUQUESNE

• Darius Banks, 6-foot-5 shooting guard, St. Petersburg High School (Florida)

RICHMOND

• Jacob Gilyard, 5-foot-10 point guard, Barstow High School (Kansas)

BIG EAST

MARQUETTE

• Jamal Cain, 6-foot-7 forward, Cornerstone School (Michigan) – NATIONAL RANKING: 65
• Theo John, 6-foot-9 center, Champlin Park High School (Minnesota)

BIG SKY

EASTERN WASHINGTON

• Brendan Howard, 6-foot-6 small forward, Great Falls High School (Montana)

MONTANA

• Karl Nicholas, 6-foot-7 forward, Glenda Dawson High School (Texas)

BIG SOUTH

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

• Phlandrous Fleming, 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Cedar Shoals High School (Georgia)

HIGH POINT

• Caden Sanchez, 6-foot-8 power forward, DeSales High School (Ohio)

BIG 10

MICHIGAN STATE

• Jaren Jackson Jr., 6-foot-10 power forward, La Lumiere (Indiana) – NATIONAL RANKING: 25

NEBRASKA

• Nana Akenten, 6-foot-6 small forward, Bolingbrook High School (Illinois)

CAA

DELAWARE

• Ryan Allen, 6-foot-2 guard, DeMatha Catholic High School (Maryland)

CONFERENCE USA

MARSHALL

• Darius George, 6-foot-6 small forward, Lee High School (Virginia)
• Jarrod West, 5-foot-11 point guard, Notre Dame High School (West Virginia)

HORIZON

GREEN BAY

• PJ Pipes, 6-foot-2 guard, Lemont High School (Illinois)

MAAC

SIENA

• Prince Oduro, 6-foot-8 power forward, First Love Christian Academy (Pennsylvania)

MAC

BOWLING GREEN

• Derek Koch, 6-foot-8 power forward, Northwestern High School (Ohio)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

• Owen Hamilton, 6-foot-10 center, Prescott High School (Wisconsin)

MISSOURI VALLEY

EVANSVILLE

• Evan Kuhlman, 6-foot-6 forward, Lakota East High School (Ohio)

ILLINOIS STATE

• Elijah Clarance, 6-foot-3 guard, St. Maria Goretti High School (Maryland)

MOUNTAIN WEST

AIR FORCE

• Abraham Kinrade, 6-foot-6 small forward, Maquoketa Community High School (Iowa)

OHIO VALLEY

EASTERN KENTUCKY

• Dedric Boyd, 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Haywood High School (Tennessee)

JACKSONVILLE STATE

• Cameron Martin, 6-foot-9 center, Yukon High School (Oklahoma)

PATRIOT

NAVY

• John Carter, 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Summit High School (Tennessee)
• Cameron Davis, 6-foot point guard, Kickapoo High School (Missouri)

SEC

SOUTH CAROLINA

• Jason Cudd, 7-foot center, Socastee High School (South Carolina)

TEXAS A&M

• Savion Flagg, 6-foot-7 small forward, Alvin High School (Texas) – NATIONAL RANKING: 42

SOUTHERN

THE CITADEL

• Derek Webster, 6-foot-5 small forward, Seffner Christian High School (Florida)

WOFFORD

• Keve Aluma, 6-foot-8 power forward, Stephen Decatur High School (Maryland)

SOUTHLAND

LAMAR

• Avery Sullivan, 6-foot-6 forward, Pflugerville High School (Texas)
• Hayden Brown, 6-foot-6 forward, Byrnes High School (South Carolina)

NEW ORLEANS

• Damion Rosser, 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Henry County High School (Georgia) – STATE RANKING: 31

NORTHWESTERN STATE

• Caleb Starks, 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Lafayette Christian Academy (Louisiana)

SUN BELT

ARKANSAS STATE

• Travis Ingram, 6-foot-3 swingman, IC Norcom High School (Virginia)

2018 CLASS

BIG 10

WISCONSIN

• Tyler Herro, 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Whitnall High School (Wisconsin) – NATIONAL RANKING: 47

2019 CLASS

CONFERENCE USA

UT-SAN ANTONIO

• Darian Gibson, 6-foot-2 guard, Spring Woods High School (Texas)