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The A-10 Recruiting Haul
By Guest | July 15, 2008
By: Guest Contributor, Julian Gompertz
The Division I college basketball recruitment process is the cornerstone of a program’s success. For the BCS conference schools, recruiting the elite in high-school basketball is often as fierce as the rivalry between those same teams playing each other later in the year. For the programs given - whether justifiably or not - the “mid-major” moniker, it is rare to see four and five-star recruits suiting up. Yet with the resurgence of the Atlantic 10 this past season, assistant coaches in the league have landed some of the most talented recruits in the country for their programs.
In fact, for the first time since 2003, the league has seven recruits ranked in the Rivals.com top 150. It is not coincidental that the quality of this incoming talent directly correlates with the improved play in the league during the past year.
Atop the list of 2008 recruiting classes, is the class, itself, of the Atlantic 10, the Xavier Musketeers. Sean Miller, and New York recruiting boon Book Richardson, have amassed one of the most talented incoming classes in A-10 history, led by four-star center Kenny Frease (Massillon, Ohio). Frease, ranked 42nd on the Rivals list, is the highest rated A-10 player since Kevin Lyde (Temple), Lloyd Price (Xavier) and Rasual Butler (LaSalle) were all top 50 recruits in 1998. Joining Frease is four-star guard Terrell Holloway, who rescinded his commitment to Indiana earlier this spring, as well as three-star guards Mark Lyons, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh. The historic class makes Xavier a favorite to repeat as A-10 champs even with the loss of seniors Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan.
Fordham and Duquesne each also have a high profile recruit arriving on campus in Joivanny Fontan and Melquan Bolding, respectively. Fontan,a 5′11″, 165 lb. point guard who was recruited by Jared Grasso, played for the top high school program in the nation (St. Anthony’s, NJ) and accompanies teammate Alberto Estwick as two of the most talented incoming Rams since Jeff McMillan and Liberto Tetimadingar in 2000. Bolding initially gave a verbal to Louisville, but de-committed from Rick Pitino’s program and opted to play for Ron Everhart in Pittsburgh. He played for two seasons with George Washington recruit Tony Taylor at archbishop Stepinac and, by snubbing a Big East program for the Atlantic 10, the 6′4″ guard from Fitchburg, MA, is taking the proverbial road less traveled in the college basketball recruiting process.
Massachusetts and Saint Louis also have top 12 recruits in their respective high-school regions as David Gibbs and Brett Thompson will be mainstays in the league for years to come. Gibbs, the 7th highest rated prospect in New England, replaces Gary Forbes for the Minutemen, and should provide some additional scoring punch for new head coach Derek Kellogg this season. Thompson, the 12th highest rated prospect in Illinois, replaces center Bryce Husak for second-year coach Rick Majerus and will compete with Xavier’s Frease for best incoming center in the conference.
When all is said and done, in combining these incoming recruits with two former four-star standouts in transfers Anthony Gurley (UMass, via Wake Forest) and Vernon Goodridge (LaSalle, via Mississippi State), the conference is poised to repeat its strong play shown last year; with this incoming talent at the forefront of the revived Atlantic 10.
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The breakdown of Rivals Top 150 by conference:
SEC 33
ACC 24
PAC-10 22*
Big East 21
Big 10 16
Big 12 12
A-10 7
CUSA 5
Others: WAC (2), Mountain West (2), WCC (2), MVC (2), uncommitted (2)
* Brandon Jennings (Arizona; overseas)
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Topics: Guest Columns |
July 15th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I’d like to see the minimum age raised to 21 for the NBA. It would produce more students at the BCS schools - not just a 1 year training period before going into the NBA draft. It would also give the smaller schools more talent as the BCS schools would not be able to re-load every year as they do now.
Minimally they need to raise the age by an additional year so nore kids earn at least an associates degree… something they can use when their basketball dreams end.