Weekend wrap – Notes on Jefferson, Britt, more
Amile Jefferson still has a lengthy list of schools jockeying for position in his recruitment.
The Philadelphia forward and Terps target told NBE Basketball Report that he's hoping to "get up to Maryland" and several other schools this summer.
Jefferson did mention that NC State and Illinois are the programs likely recruiting the hardest. But whatever program does get him is likely going to have to beat out hometown program Villanova for his services, as Jefferson has many friends on the team now and in the future, including Class of 2012 commits Savon Goodman and Daniel Ochefu.
• The Terps are seriously in the mix for Gonzaga (D.C.) point guard Nate Britt.
“Virginia, Maryland, Villanova, Arizona [and] Georgetown,” said Britt when asked what schools were recruiting him the hardest.
• Houston Defenders shooting guard Aaron Harrison was named a top performer at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando by SLAM.
He’s very confident in his shot and proved to have range that goes well beyond the perimeter. In the championship game, Harrison had a game-high 18 points. He can also easily step in and draining mid-rangers. Putting the ball in the floor and distributing is also in his repertoire.
• CBSSports.com's Jeff Borzello offered a scouting report on Terps small forward target Jake Layman based on his play at the AAU nationals.
Layman has broken out as much as anyone the past few weeks, with some saying he’s a future pro. The King Phillip (Mass.) product is very long and skilled on the wing, but is athletic and quick enough to guard any perimeter position.
• The Washington Post's Josh Barr spoke to Arnaud Moto's high school and AAU coaches about the four-star forward cutting Maryland from his list.
“The rest of the staff was hot on him, but [Mark] Turgeon was shaky because he didn’t really see him play,” said Keith Stevens, who coaches Adala Moto on the Team Takeover travel team. “Which I think is a bad move.”
• Danuel House, a 6-foot-6 wing from Sugar Land, Texas, gave Scouts Focus' Joe Davis a Top 5 list sans Maryland.
Danuel House of Texas Pro gave me a top 5 of Houston, Texas, Baylor, Arizona & Louisville.
Comments
Matt,
Thanks for the update, great job like always! By chance, have you heard of a possible Cleare (with parents) and the Harrison twins (with Harrison Sr of course) visiting College Park in a couple of weeks? It's a rumor I've heard floating around. Thanks!
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Jon Van: Thanks for the kind words. I haven't heard that definitively, but it wouldn't surprise me if true. I think Cleare wanted to visit before the end of the summer, possibly with some family. -- Matt
Posted by: Jon Van | August 1, 2011 10:37 AM
Matt
Thanks as always for the update. Any thought on when our targets will decide?? Getting nervous, while most of our targets are still on the board, I know 40% (+/-) of top 100 have committed. With the staff working so hard, would be terrible if we don't get at least one of our top targets.
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Don I: Hard to say. I could see something happening before September, but then others closer to the early signing period in November. -- Matt
Posted by: Don I | August 1, 2011 2:28 PM
Matt great coverage as always. So we hire these assistants to mend the fence with AAU coaches and now we have one of them bad mouthing our head coach already. Perplexing. I hope for Coach Turge's sake he lands some major talent for next year. I want to give him a chance but we know this year is lost and I fear if he can't get something going by year two or three the natives will be more than restless...
Posted by: Tenn Terp | August 1, 2011 10:44 PM
This is my fab 5 for 2012! Due to the fact we have excellent Guards....
#5 Mitch McGary F 6-10 250
#29 Shaquille Cleare C 6-9 285
#32 Robert Upshaw C 6-11 235
#33 Amile Jefferson F 6-7 185
NR Steph Allen G 6-2
Then another Fab 4 for 2013!
#1 Andrew Harrison G 6'6 205
#9 Aaron Harrison G 6'6 210
#16 BeeJay Anya C 6'8 250
#33 Nate Britt G 6'2 160
With this class we reload the wing but pick a big in waiting.
Posted by: Coach Hall | August 2, 2011 10:20 AM
You've got comment from CBSportsline that states that Jake is quick enough to guard any position.....I heard comments directly from a tournament he's participated in that he is not quick enough to guard any position on the wing. Who do I believe, Matt? I love Paulsson; is Jake any different than Paulsson?
Posted by: OrioleFan1 | August 2, 2011 10:47 AM
Now I get why they were recruiting Layman. With Palsson gone, Jake would be a nice replacement for him.
Posted by: OrioleFan1 | August 2, 2011 11:09 AM
just read that hank paulson is not returning and is playing pro in europe. hadn't read about that ... whats up??
Posted by: pepper | August 2, 2011 12:07 PM