Hereâs the latest recruiting article from Thad âthe Mummyâ Mumau. Thadâs column runs over at www.smartnewsnc.com , and he graciously allows us to reprint it here. Thanks Thad!
Virginia and Maryland grew taller over the past week, while the waiting game continued for college basketball coaches everywhere.Prospects aiming for the Nov. 14-21 early signing period have three more weeks to take campus visits before making their decisions official. Commitments, of course, are not binding. Letters of intent are.
The Cavaliers and Terps both received promises from big men. Virginia landed 7-footer Assane Sene from South Kent (Conn.) School, where he is the teammate of Maryland commit Jin Soo Kim, a 6-7 small forward.
Sene is the second insider to choose Dave Leitoâs Wahoos in the past two weeks, joining 6-10 John Brandenburg of St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet Jesuit.
The Terpsâ latest addition is no stranger to Atlantic Coast Conference followers. Gus Gilchrist, a 6-10 power forward from Temple Hills (Md.) Progressive Christian Academy, had committed to Virginia Tech last year.
Gilchrist was supposed to be part of the Hokiesâ current freshman class, but said he did not want to attend college in Blacksburg because of the shootings that took place on campus last April.
As a result, he enrolled at the Progressive Christian prep school and re-opened his recruitment. He chose the Terps over Georgetown, West Virginia and Kansas State.
Gilchrist, who is ranked No. 42 among the nationâs high school seniors by prepstars.com, plans to enroll at Maryland in January. But he has not decided whether to join the Terps for the remainder of the upcoming season and lose a full year of eligibility or just wait until the fall of 2008 to play.
Wait and see
It is a wait-and-see process for coaches as the fall signing deadline nears. Several big names are still out there, and many are considering ACC schools.
Florida State hosted some prominent prospects last weekend, including No. 13 Chris Singleton and No. 100 Xavier Gibson.
Singleton, a 6-8 power forward from Dunwoody (Ga.) High, had visited Kentucky the previous week and Tennessee the week before that. Those schools, along with Georgetown, comprise his final four.
Gibson, a 6-9 power forward from Dothan (Ala.) Northview, is apparently down to the Seminoles and Alabama.
Purdue got the last visit from No. 10 Tyler Zeller, a 6-11 center, whose brother plays hoops at Notre Dame. The Irish and Indiana provide three in-state possibilities for the product of Washington High School. North Carolina is probably a long shot to win this race.
Duke fans have been upset about losing No. 1 Greg Monroe to Georgetown and are afraid on missing Elliot Williams as well.
Williams, who is ranked No. 16, is a 6-4 shooting guard from Collierville (Tenn.) St. Georgeâs. It is believed Memphis and Tennessee have an edge over the Blue Devils and Virginia. He will announce next week.
Ralph Sampson III really likes Paul Hewitt and Tubby Smith. They are the main reasons the No. 61 prospect is pondering Georgia Tech and Minnesota, respectively. Sampson is a 6-10 center from Duluth (Ga.) Northview.
No. 54 Wesley Witherspoon may not sign until the spring. The 6-7 small forward from Lilburn (Ga.) Berkmar is considering Clemson, George Washington, Illinois, Memphis, LSU and Texas.
Ohio State continues to reel in the big ones. And Thad Matta keeps on working ahead. The Buckeyes have received a commitment from a member of the class of 2010.
Sophomore Trae Golden, a 6-1 wing guard from Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern, said he will play for Ohio State.