I know we have been pretty good about keeping people up to date on recruiting that Buzz has been doing but I thought it was about time to put an update out on what the rest of the conference has been doing alongside Buzz in recruiting for the 2015 class.
I am going to list them in the order 247Sports currently has them ranked as a team. Not surprising, the ACC is thoroughly stacked in terms of recruiting. The surprise may be where certain teams are.
Updated as of 1/8/2015
#4 Louisville
Three commitments, All four stars. All three players in the top 33 in the country. Louisville has a SG, SF, and PF coming in, of which the star is Raymond Spalding, the Power Forward, likely to fill the shoes of Harrell as he departs for the NBA. He is 6'9, 210 lbs, averaging 19 ppg, 11 rpg in high school so far this season.
#5 Florida State
Four commitments so far, one five star, two four stars and a three star. They have managed to get commitments from three of the top 40 shooting guards in the country, two of them in the top 10. The last member of their class so far is a 7 foot center that is still developing his game after coming to the states from Africa only recently. The star of the class is Dwayne Bacon, out of Oak Hill Academy. He is arguably the best pure shooter in the country for this class.
#8 Syracuse
Boeheim continues his winning ways with a class that has four four stars in it. These guys are ranked from 56-94 in the country. Syracuse is bringing in a SG, a SF, and two PF's. The most well known around here is Franklin Howard, SG for Paul VI. He has helped Paul VI terrify opponents in the DC area for the last three years. Malachi Richardson is probably the best known nationally, as a SF he has made many of the top all star teams for the high school level.
#16 Duke
Two commitments, two five stars. Wouldnt have expected any different for Duke or UNC. Both players in the top 21 in the country, Chase Jeter, the Power Forward, being the one expected to make the instant impact at Duke. He comes in at 6'11, 235 lbs and is considered to have a pro ready offensive game in the lane to go along with top shot blocking skills. His development will come in the rebounding arena as he hasnt had much in the way of challenges to help improve his skills here.
#18 Wake Forest
Danny Manning has had an instant impact on Wake Forest, similar to that of Buzz at Tech. Wake is expecting two four stars and a three star, led by Doral Moore, a 7' center out of Montverde Academy in Florida, they are also bringing in a top PF and PG.
#19 Virginia Tech
We have Blackshear, Clarke and Robinson coming in as has been discussed, giving us a two four stars and a three star so far.
Six of the top 20 recruiting classes for 2015 for the ACC Conference. Not shabby but a bit surprising considering UNC and UVA were not amongst these six.
#45 Notre Dame
The Irish are expecting one four star and two three stars so far in this class. The fill big holes from graduation at the SG and SF positions, while also bringing in a big PF. None of these players will likely make an instant impact on the starting rotation but will provide good depth initially.
#47 Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh got a commitment from four star shooting guard Damon Wilson, 6'4 about 170 lbs and capable of playing both the primary guard positions. Has good ball control off the dribble. They also signed three star center, Rozelle Nix, 7' and 230 lbs. He is coming out of a top junior college so will be a formidable load come next season.
#57 Clemson
Clemson only has one signing truly from this class, in PG Ty Hudson, who seems to have a great variation in how he is ranked. 247 has him as a three star, just over the 200 mark in this class but his consolidated ranking has him much higher, almost in the top 100.
#59 Boston College
BC is bringing in a surprisingly strong class for the Eagles. They have three three stars signed, including a SF and two SG's. The overwhelming leader is A.J. Turner at SF. He is ranked just inside the top 150 for the class. BC stole his commitment out from under Florida State and Michigan State, who both offered Turner early. He also spurned Michigan and Indiana as part of his recruitment.
With the recent update, now included in these rankings is the commitment of a top five Juco player in Legend Robertin. He is a 7' center that will have three years of eligibility left. Robertin only started playing basketball at the age of 16 so his development curve has been enormous thus far.
#87 UNC The Tar Heels only have signed one three star power forward, Luke Maye, 6'7 22lbs, from Cornelius, NC. He is the son of Mark Maye, a former Tar Heel Quarterback
#89 LOLUVA - The Wahoos have one three star power forward coming in with this class. He is 6'8, 235 Jarred Reuter, coming out of one of the top prep academies in the NorthEast, Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
#92 Miami - Larranaga is adding one three star small forward in Anthony Lawrence, 6'7 200 lbs. Lawrence is coming to Miami from Lakewood High School down in St Petersburg, Florida.
#107 Georgia Tech - The Yellow Jackets didnt have much need for a new class with all of the transfers and signees from this last class so they have only signed one three star at power forward, Sylvester Ogbonda, 6'8 220 lbs signed out of National Christian Academy based in Fort Washington, MD.
NC State has not yet taken any commits for the 2015 cycle.
Comments
No surprise Manning is bringing in 2 big guys pretty quickly. He's hands down the best big man coach in the country, give Wake 2 or 3 years and he'll have them playing top 10 basketball. Wouldn't be surprised if he's at the top of the Duke or UNC list when they're looking for new coaches.
I can't see Manning moving to in-state in-conference schools even if they are UNC and Duke. He has ties to neither and he's set up well at Wake. Wake has money, is in a city and is the only team in that city, he already coaches in the ACC, big name NBA alums, fertile recruiting ground, and a lot less pressure than at the other two schools. He might leave for a blue blood/high major program in another conference, I think Indiana will target him if he has success at Wake. The only sure fire place he would leave for is Kansas.
FSU out-recruiting UofL, Duke, and Syracuse in basketball?
Looks like their sleazy ways aren't relegated to football anymore.
Well considering they had a great season in 2011-12 and it's extremely early in the recruiting process, no they're just becoming a good program.
Doesn't Seth Allen count towards 2015?
Not as a recruit, he is a transfer along with LeDay. 2015 is just when they are eligible to play.
Thanks,Rob. We appreciate your work. When should we find out about Chris Clarke?
Not Rob, but I saw somewhere on the interweb that it would be the first part of November or sooner. He's done with official visits, now he's just digesting everything and trying to decide. Also possibly reviewing who else has gone where. Figure a window of two weeks, maybe?
Thanks, I do believe he is a big key for next year.
While I like Clarke's game, I dont actually see him playing a large role next year. I think that he will have a difficult time as a freshman trying to beat out incumbents at either the two or three spot on the floor so I could see spot minutes at best.
At the two there will be the combination of Ahmed Hill and Adam Smith as major impediments to Clarke seeing the floor. At the three, Justin Bibbs and Zach LeDay will likely be established. You will also have Jalen Hudson floating between the two positions I would imagine. I anticipate that Clarke may need to put on some pounds before he will be consistent on the college level. Currently he is only 170 lbs, which for his height, means he would consistently be getting knocked about. I am not questioning his talent level but I also dont see Buzz being in a hurry to use him. He may even try to get Clarke to redshirt, to have another year of separation from him and the current freshmen this season. All of this is assuming Clarke picks Tech.
Clarke reminds me of a typical Buzz player. He may take a couple years to develop physically but once he does then he has a chance to be a special player.
Oh, I agree he might not be a big part of next year's lineup. I was referring to 2015 recruiting class being stronger with him.
considering LOLUVA swept VT in basketball last year, I wouldn't mind if they end up with ZERO recruits.
If they do, its because they are already heavily involved in the class of 2016. They have two commits from that class so far, both point guards, one just outside the top 100 in the class and the other, Kyle Guy is ranked in the top 50 of the class after a really strong summer. There is talk he may be top 10 by the time he really signs with LOLUVA.
They also have a 6'10" around 200 pound PF coming it seems
Can't wait till the day VT becomes a big time program. Buzz will make it happen. Everyone across the country knows its coming. UVA knows its coming but won't admit it. Soon enough we'll be dominating UVA in both football and basketball.
I like how you think!! Total domination!!!!!
It appears Buzz is expecting massive attrition after this season, he just offered another 2015 player, 6'10" 305lbs Center Levi Cook according to 247. Seeing as we already have more people signed than scholarships to offer next year, my guess is we see a fairly different roster next year. As long as Justin Bibbs is back I will be ok with any move Buzz sees necessary. #InBuzzWeTrust
http://247sports.com/Player/Levi-Cook-20008
Appears a little chubby, may be the uniform. Anyhow, Buzz will run that off. :-)
If he commits then that means at least two players will leave. I have a good idea about who one might be, not sure who the other will be.
Shaq II?
We should hope.
Wow, Cook had been committed to the Cousins for quite some time, long enough that I didnt even bother to look into whether he signed an NLI to WVU. Tech becomes an option so that his family can see him play fairly regularly in person as that was one of his big concerns and why he had committed to WVU so early (sophomore year I believe). Cook is coming out of one of the top ten prep schools in the country so I doubt that his being in shape is the question here. Here is a video of his highlights as a sophomore at the Super Sophomore Camp, which brings in the top 100 Sophomores to play in front of college coaches. He has had two years since this to improve. He would be a big get and might put Pierce to the bench next season since he is more balanced on both ends than Pierce is now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ue_uWFYukY
+1 leg for the background. What are the odds you think Buzz is able to snag him from the cousins?
If we have the space for him, then the odds are good. It appears he has turned off going to WVU which makes me think that they proposed some sort of Greyshirting idea with him and he didnt want to go that route. Buzz seems to get the guys he really wants in the program into the program, so I cant imagine him letting Cook get away.
If we have the space for him, then the odds are good.
305 lbs??
We would probably need to get rid of 2 or 3 players to make space for this guy...
Crystal Ball prediction on 247 from January 6th has Cook choosing the Hokies.
He definitely needs to get in better shape to handle Buzz' Bootcamp.
Thats not the right statement... The right statement is "when a guy of his size can handle Buzz's Boot Camp, he'll be unstoppable.
Seriously, if you can get a guy with his size able to move up and down the court at the pace Buzz demands, even if that means he has to shed a few pounds to get there, that's a deadly weapon to have.
With the addition of Chris Clark Tech is up to 19th according to 247
I don't really follow recruiting but that has to be one of, if not the best classes we've ever pulled for hoops.
Its certainly one of the best sets of back to back classes we've ever had, and it should pay off mightily in the future.
Within the next couple years, VT vs UVa could end up being one of the better rivalry matchups in the country..... in basketball....
I think the best classes that Greenberg ever had were a couple in the 25-30 range. The Delaney/Allen class & one other I can't remember right now. So yes, this would be better than those two, which would also make it the best class for us in twenty years or more.
A huge difference is that it seems like this might be more the norm with Buzz, instead of a once in a decade thing for us like in the past.
The 2011 class which featured DFS was ranked within the top 15....unfortunately things with that class never panned out. The only person still on the team from that class is JVZ, and well right now he isn't on the team.
http://247sports.com/Season/2011-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1234324#rank
That class also evaporated quickly with transfers and non-quals, so I'm not really sure that one still counts.
If Buzz's standard recruiting class in Blacksburg is what he's done this year (19th so far) and last (17th) then he is going to have us playing at a very high level very quickly. If he can land a huge recruit from time to time and come close to or crack the Top 10 classes every once in a while while normally treading water at classes like we've seen, he will have us reaching levels that Virginia Tech basketball never thought possible within a short time.
I have updated the thread for where all the ACC teams stand today. Only NC State so far has not taken at least one recruit.
Wow, 6'7" and 22lbs?! Get that boy something to eat! ;)
Any chance we go after Nick Noskowiak, I know he was a Buzz commit at Marquette and was recently released from his NLI. I know we need bigs more than guards but a PG of his caliber could not hurt adding to the team.
http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021315aaa.html
http://247sports.com/Player/Nick-Noskowiak-23497
It would seem wasteful, since we have Seth Allen in fold, and we REALLY need to spend scholarships on bigs, not a 3rd/4th PG option.
Not saying I know anything specific or that any decisions are set in stone, but a good rule of thumb with a Buzz Williams team is to never get too attached to individual players. If Buzz sees someone who will help his team more than a guy who is already on the team, he'll pick the benefit of the program over the player every single time.
Exactly my thinking on Noskowiak, I think he would be instant upgrade over any of our current PGs.
At the same time, I would rather have a couple big bodies down low than any more guards.
Size matters in the ACC. Right now, we're the asian in a German male review.
Uhhh.... yeah.
Anyways, there's nothing saying we can't have both. If Buzz decides to "vacate" a couple of scholarship spots on next year's team, he'll be able to nab another PG in addition to one or two more bigs.
FWIW 247 is reporting that we have at least shown interest in him since his release.
http://virginiatech.247sports.com/Bolt/California-trending-in-Crystal-Ba...
From that article....
...which is a quality we would greatly mock if it was a coach for another school.
One man's heartless-running-a-player-off is another mans for-the-good-of-the-program.
It would definitely be nice to see Buzz add another PF/C in this year's class.
On that note, is there any news on Levi Cook? I heard he visited the Cocks a couple of weeks ago.
Cook has been on quite a few visits recently. South Carolina, Pitt, Missouri and Oklahoma I believe. I would say Buzz needs to really get serious about Cook if he wants a commitment, especially as perennial Top 25 squads start to get involved.
Thon Maker reclassification is back in the news.
Did he ever make a trip up from Danville when we has living in VA?
Where is he headed? Kentucky? China? Post-grad? I'm interested in how this all shakes out. Mudiay bolted to China when it was very apparent he wasn't going to get the NCAA thumbs up. From my very limited knowledge, Maker doesn't have any expected NCAA restrictions. Is the limelight and potential to build a brand enough to head to the college circuit?
A fan can dream, right?
We're not likely to take him. Is he talented? Hell yes, but the thing is, Buzz doesn't want to deal with his "handler," which will probably lead Thon to wherever could get him to the NBA the quickest. The big name basketball schools like Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, and others probably have the best shot at landing him, but Buzz left the sweepstakes a while ago.
Gonna be Kentucky or Kansas
I dont think either of the Maker boys will be making trips to Blacksburg anytime soon unless they end up playing for one of Tech's opponents. Edward Smith, the boys "guardian", is all about how it helps him, hence the move to CAI from Carlisle. He was offered a better position as an assistant coach at CAI. The next step will likely see him offered a basketball operations job whereever Thon Maker commits to. Buzz isnt going to do that with his staff for a one and done player. Buzz is however recruiting other players from CAI, primarily through their AAU squad, Canada Elite.
Shaun Kirk committed to NC State last night. He has reclassified to the 2015 class. I believe he had an offer on the table from VT for 2016, not sure if VT was pursuing him once he reclassified.
http://virginiatech.247sports.com/Bolt/Virginia-Tech-lands-four-star-juc...
What a great name.
An Outlaw you say?
Welcome to Hokie Nation Ty!
That means someone else is leaving
yup
ATTRITION!!!!!!!!! EVERYBODY PLACE YOUR BETS!! DO WE HAVE ODDSMAKERS FOR THIS EVENT?
Edit: we do not have attrition yet, Ty Outlaw has not yet committed.
Devin Wilson
That is who I think would leave as well. Doesn't seem to fit in our offense like Buzz would want him to.
I second Devin Wilson
Wilson or Mueller.
henry
At this point, nothing would surprise me. His lack of offensive skills may end up being his ticket to a mid-major program. Of course, his defensive and rebounding abilities are very much needed on this team, so....
Hmmmmm....