Collegiate Hoops

Clyde Santee Still On the Board

2012-01-11T15:23:00.000-06:00

At 6-foot-8, Yates High School (TX) standout, Clyde Santee, has seen his stock roar over the years. Playing with the Houston Defenders allowed Santee to get evaluated by more coaches and programs got involved.

Santee described himself as a," long lefty scorer, good defender, winner, great passer and playmaker."

He listed Dayton, Fresno State, Long Beach State, South Carolina and Texas Tech. With the late signing period emerging faster than ever, Santee is contemplating more than just a college decision.

"Before the end of the basketball season," he said of making his final decision. "If not, I could go the prep school route."

He went on to include, "If I'm not sure about making a decision I will just prep and play again this summer instead."

To help with his possible decision, Santee does plan to take a few visits over the course of the basketball season. "Yes, [I'm] trying to plan [visits] around the basketball schedule now," he said.

While on the visits, he looks for certain thing in a college basketball program. "Playing style, the head coach ad player development history," he said.

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Aquille Carr Picks Seton Hall

2012-01-06T13:12:00.000-06:00

One of the nations most hyped point guards regardless of class has picked a school. The 5-8, 140-pound Aquille Carr (Patterson, MD) decided to end his recruitment with a verbal commitment to Seton Hall.

Scoutfocus.com broke the story saying, "Aquille's prep coach has confirmed the selection of Seton Hall."

Carr selected Seton Hall over offers from Baylor, Connecticut, Loyola Marymount, Memphis, South Florida, Texas and Xavier.

He becomes the first commitment in the 2013 class for the Pirates and a big one. Carr brings so much to the table as a point guard. He has a ton of heart, an ability to take over games, as well as being able to create oppurtunities for his teammates.

Seton Hall has a great one in Carr. He's going to sell tickets, win games and bring some excitement to the Seton Hall basketball program.

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Stevie Clark Drawing Attention

2012-01-04T18:57:00.000-06:00

Stevie Clark (Douglas, OK) has seen his recruitment rise over the past couple of months, due to strong performances he's put together this year. Clark, a 5-10, 170-pound point guard has proven that he's more than a elite scorer.

Clark has the ability to take over games with his deep-threat ability. He also has proven his ability to create off the dribble, make his teammates better and finish around the rim.

His playmaking ability was definitely on display at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest where he wow'd spectators with his 40-point performance.

In addition, in his most recent game, Clark posted 34 points, 13 assist and four steals.

School's that he's interested in right now are Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Marquette, Memphis, Missouri and Vanderbilt. He's also heard very briefly from Duke and would like to hear more from them.

"Jeff [Capel] offered him when he was at Oklahoma," she said. "He finally called us after the Thanksgiving game."

Arizona State, Georgia, Florida and Memphis are the newest programs involved, with the Gators coming out to his high school over Christmas break to see him play. Florida secured a commitment from Kasey Hill and it's unclear if they will continue recruiting him.

But, with his game continuously rising, I can see more colleges contacting him. Two schools have already made Clark a top target with much of their 2012 recruiting done. "[Oklahoma State] has probably come at him more than anybody besides Vanderbilt," his mother said. She also mentioned Louisville as a possible destination. Clark is a big on Louisville, despite not hearing from the Cardinals yet.

Nonetheless, despite narrowing his list down to a manageable number, he's still going to allow teams to get involved.

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Luke Fischer to Indiana

2012-01-01T11:58:00.000-06:00

After taking an unofficial visit to Indiana and taking in their upset loss of No. 2 Ohio State, 2013 forward Luke Fischer (Germantown, WI) decided to end his recruitment with a commitment to the Hoosiers.

Fischer is a strong player in the post and should be considered an early steal for Indiana. He still has to continue developing his face-up and jump shot, along with adding weight, which will help his college transition.

He's long, athletic, and energetic and is a great addition for Indiana.

Fischer, a three-star rated prospect by Rivals, held offers from Boston College, Creighton, Dayton, Green Bay, Iowa and Marquette.

He becomes the third Indiana commitment in the 2013 class joining forward Devin Davis and Collin Hartman, two in-state talents.

Kasey Hill Announces for Florida

2011-12-31T16:38:00.000-06:00

Kasey Hill (Montverde Academy, FL), a 2013 point guard, ended his recruitment today with a commitment to the Florida Gators and Billy Donavan.

Hill sent out a tweet saying, "I am a GATOR!!!" while many reported he was on an unofficial visit to take in the Florida game against Yale.

It must've went well because it was enough to secure a commitment from one of the top guards in the country, regardless of class.

Hill held other offers from many schools around the country but had a top three of Florida, Louisville and Kentucky. The guard would have fit in either of the systems perfectly but elected to stay home and play for the legendary Billy Donavan.

Hill is the first commitment in the 2013 class for the Gators and certainly not the last.

Hill is one of the more explosive guards in his class that is deadly off his first step. With the success of guards coming through Florida, it will more than likely turn out to be a great fit for both parties.

Troy Williams Down to Five

2011-12-30T11:28:00.001-06:00

Troy Williams (Phoebus, VA), a 2013 small forward, has whistled his list down to a manageable five schools. After picking up a North Carolina, it was destined for the Tar Heels to make his top five.

North Carolina, along with Kentucky, Georgetown, Virginia Tech and Villanova made his top five.

A surprise to some, Louisville was not mentioned as a school still in the mix. DePaul, Florida, South Florida, Alabama and Texas, to name a few, were some of the others that missed out on his top five.

Louisville received a visit and nothing indicated that it didn't go well. He is still taking in the Kentucky-Louisville game this New Years day, however.

Williams, a top 10 player by ESPN, has a college ready game and it's easy to see by the school's tracking him.

"They're school's that fit my style of play," Williams told Jeff Borzello. "They're also not that far away for my family."

Mario Onoh Recruitment Picking Up

2011-12-21T17:04:00.003-06:00

Mario Onoh, a unknown name in recruiting circles, but not unknown in coaching circles.

Onoh, a 6-2 guard, from Jamaica Queens, New York, is now prepping at Hebron Academy in Maine before spending four years at Lewisville High School in Texas.

So far he's been a coaches best friend. He's a great student in the classroom that has a good GPA and also a good person off the court.

"I was TABC [Texas Association of Basketball Coaches] academic all-state last year," he said. He's continued that level of success in the classroom and that is why so many prestigious universities are give him a look right now.

Onoh listed interest from American, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Cal Poly, Hartford, Manhattan, Mount St. Mary, NJIT, Richmond, St. Francis (NY) and UCSB.

He also recently visited Hartford last weekend and NJIT earlier this week.

This is what many athletes find attractive about prep school. Not only can you go up one class, but you can also have that extra time to develop your game. Onoh realized that and that was one of the many reasons why he chose to go prep.

"A lot of schools wanted me because I went prep," he said. "In Texas, I had a defensive role and I always guarded the other teams best player. I had to sacrifice a lot of my offense but I had no problem with that because we won a lot of games."

Playing in that role helped him out a lot. His energy dictates his game and once he gets energized, he a good defender. But since going prep, it's been more energy on both ends. Just this past week, Onoh was named Athlete of the Week in Maine after averaging 22 points and nine rebounds per game.

The kid certainly has talent and is a player deserving of a look.

Shabazz Trims His List

2011-12-21T16:47:00.001-06:00

The nations top player, Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman HS, NV) has trimmed his list again.

Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Arizona and UNLV are the school's he mentioned. But according to other reports, Muhammad's father also reiterating that USC still has a shot at landing the No. 1 overall player in high school basketball.

"I narrowed my list down to like six," Muhammad told FiveStarBasketball.com. "I think it was a good thing for me to narrow it down because a lot of schools were calling that I wasn't really interested in."

Each of the schools that are still in the mix are more than likely going to send a full out blitz to get the nations top ranked senior. There are rumors that Kentucky leads and UCLA is right there but Muhammad never confirms that.

He has committed to signing late and continuously said that he doesn't have any favorites.

Anton Gill to Louisville
Gill, a 2013 6-2 combo-guard, ended his recruitment with a verbal commitment to Louisville. Gill is the No. 43 player in his class according to Rivals.com and No. 48 according to ESPN.

Gill is a nice pickup for the 'Cards and should make an impact immediately. He's a great scorer from the backcourt but has the ability to play the one if he chooses. He gives the 'Cards a solid backcourt presence that they thought they were getting from Rodney Purvis before he decommitted and went on to NC State.

The Ravenscroft school guard pick Louisville over offers from Charlotte, East Carolina, North Carolina Greensboro, North Carolina State, South Carolina and Wake Forest. He is the first commit in Louisville's 2013 class.

Khem Birch Leaving Pitt

2011-12-16T18:51:00.001-06:00

The speculation is over. Khem Birch is transferring from Pittsburgh.

The news came as no surprise as many sources have indicated that the 6-8 forward was thinking about transferring for sometime now.

"I enjoyed my time at Pittsburgh," Birch told CBSSports.com. "I love coach [Jamie] Dixon, had no problem with the staff and the players. It just wasn't the right fit for me."

In 10 games this season, Birch averaged 4.4 points and five rebounds per game along with 1.9 blocks in 15 minutes of action per game.

Before making his decision to go to Pittsburgh, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Ohio State, Providence, Texas, St. John's and West Virginia were all in the picture for the 6-9 Canadian big.

It's unclear where Birch will transfer to next but many rumors have already started that he could be Kentucky bound. We'll have to wait and see.

Jabari Brown to Visit Georgia Tech

2011-12-16T04:09:00.001-06:00

In two games at Oregon, Jabari Brown saw the starting lineup as well as getting around 25 minutes per game. He averaged just six points, two rebounds and 5.5 turnovers per game.

It was then when Brown decided to say no to the Ducks and transfer elsewhere.

There were rumors out there that Brown to San Diego State seemed like a sure thing but then some believed that the Aztecs denied his transfer.

Then came Missouri. Missouri already has an impressive list of newcomers, including Pepperdine transfer Keion Bell and Auburn's Ernest Ross. Adding another talented wing in Brown would be ideal for the Tigers. He visited last weekend but walked away uncommitted.

He then has another visit scheduled. This time with Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will welcome in a three-man class that features some of the top in-state talent and adding another guard to the backcourt with sharpshooter Chris Bolden could be what Brian Gregory is trying to do with Brown.