2008 Recruits

[Admin]

Post information and discussion for class of 2008 recruits here.

[RDF]

Jamison Morgan took a recent visit to Alabama with his mother and mentioned he'll likely decide before end of Summer. Hoyas were mentioned among his list and as was mentioned here prior, it's a Kansas-GU battle from those who are close to him with Jayhawks holding upperhand as of now. He attends same HS as current Jayhawk player Darrel Arthur (South Oak Cliff in Dallas area) and seems to be intrigued by staying/playing in Big XII.

As of today, with class of '08 targets, I'd say the names to focus on in addition to current commits are:

Greg Monroe
Michael Dunigan
Jamison Morgan
Gus Gilchrest--don't know whether GU is involved or not, but could be?

Monroe is saying he'll narrow his list soon--to 5 schools and those he'll visit--he says he might commit during Fall period but not sign until Spring to protect against his future Coach leaving for another job.

Dunigan has been rumored to be a possible package deal with fellow Chicagoan Matthew Humphrey--but some are saying that isn't as reliable as once was. Illinois, Purdue, from Big 10 are going to be in it until the end, and he's got good feel for both schools and Hoyas are said to be high on his list--with interesting twist being that he's now listed as having an OFFER from Hoyas--which wasn't shown until this weekend. If we've offered, I believe we'll be in his final decision with schools above and maybe some others--UConn, Duke, Florida are some who have tried to get involved recently.

Morgan--see above comments.

Gilchrest is set to attend Notre Dame Academy--which I believe had Michael Beasley last year. Don't know if it's a sign Bob Huggins placed him there--as we know where Beasley ended up last year and WVU was rumored to have been team who was in his ear about leaving Va Tech, but it's something to think about.

If other names become more serious/receive interest from GU, I'll add them, but these are primary 4 to focus on as of this time as serious contenders to round out '08 class. Kids like the 7'4 kid from Carroll are being evaluated at this time and could move from being evaluated to being a priority recruit.

The evaluation period heats up this month and you'll start to get a lot more info/kids eliminating/added schools or word will leak as to which teams they are leaning towards. July is always a busy month and sets tone for what is ahead--see Macklin/Wright for proof-rumors started to leak that Hoyas were heavy favorite and we saw how that ended up--and we also started to see GU show up for Omar Wattad and he was a surprising addition.

[SFHoya99]

I like the tack we are taking on the '08 class. We have a great core already committed, so we seem to be shooting for the stars with the remainder of the class. If we can't get the guys you just listed RDF or of equal quality, I wouldn't mind saving scholarships for '09.

I don't think the Humphrey-Dunigan package deal is going to hold up. They rarely do, and it's even rarer they do when one player is rated superior to the other (Dunigan is rated much higher) and also when the lower ranked player is the only one talking up the package deal.

What about this John Riek? Seems like he could be high on everyone's list.

[prhoya]

JTIII's staff should keep a closer (Kenner) eye on Gilchrist... sounds like he's taking care of business in KL.

[idhoya]

I will be @ Peach Jam next weekend. Check i95ballerz.com for updates on Monroe, Dunigan and whoever else is relevent in the hoya scheme of things.

[MJGHoya]

Riek is a top 5 player in the class of 2009.

I will be at Rbk U (formerly the ABCD camp) in Philly this weekend and will post player evals and recruiting info.

[RDF]

ID, all of the kids listed above are Nike guys--I believe. Morgan's team is only one I'm uncertain about--but I know Dunigan and Monroe will be there.

MJG, look forward to your recaps as always--and appreciate them.

[idhoya]

Morgan plays with Dallas Mustangs, which is an Adidas team. My texas guys will be at PJ, so I'll get info from them on the latest with all the TX recruits Hoyas are after.

[SFHoya99]

Rivals updated their top 150: rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1617

Of note, Braswell and Sims dropped a bit but basically stayed neutral at #53 and #61. Jason Clark, however, jumped up to #97, making him a four star.

The usual caveats with rankings apply.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Braswell went from 43 to 53 so a decent size fall
Sims went from 65 to 61 so improved
Clark went from 107 to 97 so made a signifigant leap.
this is based on the numbers from the scholarship table last updated on the 28th and these new ones you linked.

I much prefer the current scout rankings:
Sims 40
Braswell 47
Clark 82

[idhoya]

Do you think Morgan/Dunigan are fighting for one schollie, given that Monroe is slated for the other.

[RBHoya]

Going off of HSB's comparison of Scout rankings with Rivals rankings, its important to remember that Rivals does their rankings based on perceived professional potential, which isn't really the criteria for Scout. For our purposes, we're mostly just interested in who will be the best college players, so in that sense the Scout ratings are a little more relevant (again not that any of these player ratings promises anything). From what I know, I think the only one of our 3 '08 recruits who has potential to be an impact player at the NBA level is Henry if he can bulk up, considering that he's 6'10 and can go inside and out, block some shots etc. Projects well to the NBA 4 spot if he can develop over the next couple years. Clark is caught between positions and would have to really work on his point skills during his time at GU to be an NBA point. He seems to project more like Jessie, though their skill sets are a little different--solid college guard for 4 years, backing up for a few and maybe starting toward the end of his time here, making few mistakes and working nicely as a complimentary piece. As for Braswell, I mean, anybody's guess, but I've lost some faith in him as a prospect, at least in terms of him being what we all hoped he'd be this time last year. Maybe he'll come around, but for a 6'8 PF he'll need to really get it all going to be a pro.

idhoya said:

Do you think Morgan/Dunigan are fighting for one schollie, given that Monroe is slated for the other.

Something like that, I'd guess. I don't think they'll take both Morgan and Dunnigan. Too similar, and we've already got Chris AND Henry coming in. IDK if you can say that they're "fighting" for one schollie since its not a sure thing that either wants to be here. But I do think that the ideal scenario for the staff is to land one of those two and Monroe to round out the '08 class. If Monroe goes elsewhere or both Dunnigan and Morgan decide to go elsewhere, then I think they start looking at guys like Gilchrist, Goode, Big Jakub and maybe a few others who we don't know a ton about yet to give us some more inside help in '08. Just a guess.

[SFHoya99]

I wouldn't lose faith in Braswell yet.

He's recovering from an injury and he hasn't been in real games in a while. The injury is concerning, but if he does recover 100%, he's a special player. Not a dominant scorer, but he's a great rebounder, is quick with bulk, can score, handle a bit and is definitely a good passer. It wasn't so long ago he was a Top 20 player.

[RBHoya]

Seems like a long time ago though doesn't it? No doubt that the main reasons he's "slipped" are injuries and academics. He still has potential to be quite good. But I'm just hoping he makes it here and makes it here healthy before I get my hopes up that he'll be a really good player.

[MCIGuy]

Braswell has been tearing it up the last two or so months by all reports and has had better showings than Simms (whom I agree may have the most potential). Rave reports from Scout and Rivals concerning Braswell have appeared over that time with the writers claiming that Braswell was playing himself back to the lofty ranking he had coming into his junior season. So it makes no sense for him to have dropped (if that happened) in any recent ranking updates. I don't worry about Braswell's on the court game. I worry more about his ability to focus off the court. Hopefully the info about him finally getting his act together as a student is true.

[prhoya]

Any links?

[RDF]

One thing I'll give Scout--Dave Telep goes out to see players during the year as well as in the Summer--and he pays attention--he called Beachball Classic games this past year and was very high on Jason Clark and Henry Sims. So that might explain why they are ranked higher in Scout's rankings.

Monroe is a SF recruit for Georgetown's system. Which means he'll be the "Jeff" forward if he decides to come here.

Dunigan, Gilchrist, Morgan, Goode, Jakub, etc.... are all battling for other spot--unless Monroe eliminates us this Summer, then you have interesting development--do you take 2 more bigs, look elsewhere in '08 class for WF/WG, or do you save for '09?

As for the post below--Wallace Judge's recruitment won't be effected at all by Greg Monroe--Monroe's going to be an early entry candidate--maybe not 1 and done--but he'll likely be gone before his SR year--and Dajuan Summers could be as well--if one/both of them leave--plenty of room for Judge. Hoya Staff will have info for the recruits and it'll sort itself out.

[RBHoya]

Agree Monroe is the "Jeff forward". So is Judge, I think.

Don't want to touch off any big debates over scholarships, but still nobody sure about Omar, and so you might see us give out 2 more and have 2 for sure going into '09, with the possibility for 3 if DaJuan leaves early. That oughta be enough, I think. Even once Jessie leaves our backcourt will still be a little crowded. I'd like to see us just go after Monroe and Centers from now on in '08. Get huge. Go Monroe, Dunngan, and Jakub with the 3 'ships left. Redshirt Jakub a year. Then in '09 land Judge with the scholarship Monroe vacates, BPA with Jessie's and maybe an additional BPA if DaJuan makes the jump. Then in '10, it's GUARDS. The guards in this area in 2010 are just silly.

That's the ideal scenario in my opinion, and is maybe similar to what the staff is hoping for.

[hoyainspirit]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does BPA stand for?

[RBHoya]

Best Player Available. Some people use BAP, best available player. My bad for not making that clear.