Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Headed to Providence?

The Friars aren't normally atop the lists of many major recruits but two 5 star prospects are headed to Rhode Island. Point guard Kris Dunn started the trend when he first committed back in late August and was shortly followed by 6'5 shooting guard Ricardo Ledo yesterday.

Providence native and 5 star SG Ricardo Ledo
Ledo committed under former coach Keno Davis but opened up his recruitment after Davis was fired back in March. Ledo grew up in Providence and the Friars had been his favorite throughout the entire recruitment process, but he opened up his recruitment to just check out what some of the other options were. Davis is ranked as the 8th best recruit for the 2012 class by Rivals and 22nd by ESPN. He chose Providence over other top programs like UConn, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Maryland, Syracuse and Louisville.

Dunn is another highly touted star and is a 6'3 point guard from the Northeast. Dunn surprised many when he choose Providence over instate favorite UConn along with other offers from Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Boston College and Louisville. Dunn is ranked as the 10th best recruit on Rivals for the class of 2012 and 29th by ESPN.

Providence's new coach Ed Cooley should be all set in the back court for the 2012-2013 season but this year could be a struggle after losing the Big East's leading scorer Marshon Brooks. The future looks bright for one of the lesser known schools in the deep and dominant Big East conference.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Andre Drummond to UConn

One of the nation's top recruits for the 2012 season has reclassified and is now going to play for the Huskies this winter. With the addition of Drummond to an already young but talented roster the Huskies look to get back on top of the College Basketball world.

Drummond playing some AAU ball
Drummond decided to stay in the northeast despite other offers from the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Georgetown, Duke, Pittsburgh and many others.

The 6'10, 260 pound center is a huge addition as UConn looks to win back to back National Titles. The addition of Drummond should put the Huskies securely in the preseason Top 5 with the likes of North Carolina, Ohio St and Kentucky.

Despite this good news the Huskies also have some problems for the upcoming season.

UConn can't replace All American Kemba Walker and will need to find a new leader. Walker was the leader from their Maui Championship all the way to the National Championship but decided to skip his senior season and head to the NBA, where he was drafted 9th overall in June. There is also a lot of are uncertainty about Jim Calhoun's status and whether he will be able to coach this upcoming season.

Jeremy Lamb will be the star while Shabazz Napier and Roscoe Smith look to contribute early and often.  Drummond will likely compete with last years starter Alex Oriakhi for time down in the low post.