Nobody who's currently available in the Class of 2017. However, there are two 2018s who might reclassify:
Sidney Wilson, SF: 6-foot-7, 180 lb from the Bronx who plays at Brewster Academy with MAL. Super-athletic, but still developing as a basketball player. Maybe more of an undersized PF than a true SF at this point. According to most journos we're working hard to get him to reclass for 2017, as is Texas. If he does reclass, we'll be the frontrunners. He's already visited us once and has said he's going to come back for another visit (unofficial at this time, but that may change) in March. Considered a 4-star, top 75 recruit in 2018.
Here is a scouting report from our very own
@Ricker that is not glowing.
Eric Ayala, CG: 6-foot-4, 190 lb from Delaware who plays at PSA, of Diarra & Diallo fame. He's got a herky-jerk athleticism and a good IQ, though he does tend toward hero-ball. More of a scorer than a shooter at this point in his career, and not a pure distributor by any stretch. Syracuse is also on him HARD and are promising him lots of PT as their point guard next season -- which has to be somewhat attractive, given that they're barren at that spot. Considered a 4-star, top 1oo-ish recruit in 2018.
I suspect that the bulk of our 2017 recruiting will be aimed at those guys, as well as late decommits from other schools (a la Christian Vital last year), JuCo shooting guard Shawn Olden, and a kick of the tires on
a postgrad big man.
Main targets include those two guys above, who I'm sure we'll keep recruiting even if they choose to stay in 2018.
Top Target
AJ Reeves: 6-foot-6, 4-star SG from Boston who appears to love us with all his heart. Generally regarded as a top 60 talent and he's come into his own as a shooter. Unlikely to be a game-breaker as a freshman but is a future NBA player if he fulfills his potential. Louisville, Providence & Maryland are trying hard.
Inside Track
Emmanuel Dowuona: 6-foot-10, 4-star center from Miami. He's long & unpolished but has a higher IQ than most realize and still brings all the defensive stuff you'd expect from someone with his physical profile. Gorgui Dieng is probably the right comp, and that makes sense since it seems like it's already down to us vs. Louisville (tho obviously it's far from done). I
think (but am not certain) Nantambu has AAU connections.
Jalen Carey: 6-foot-3, 4-star CG from North Jersey who's supposed to be more of a scorer than a floor general. Generally considered a top 100 player, and generally considered to get his points by being a heady, high-IQ player rather than a knockdown shooter or elite finisher at the rim. Haven't seen him play, but generally sounds like a bigger, rich man's Vital to me. Virginia & Notre Dame have offered, but no one huge.
Jahvon Quinerly: 6-foot-0, 4-star PG from Jersey City who's a borderline 5-star, so basically a top 30 player in the class. Pure floor general who's not going to blow by anybody or pull of some of Jalen's acrobatics, but he makes zero mistakes. Villanova and Virginia are recruiting him hard. I frankly find it difficult to imagine a PG committing to us for 2018 given that we'll have 2 freshman PGs in 2017 (Alterique & MAL), and we seem to have backed off of him a little bit since Alterique took a redshirt.
Shoot for the Moon Big Men
Naz Reid: 6-foot-10, 5-star PF from Newark who is basically a left-handed Chris Webber. 7-foot-3 wingspan, top 10 player in the class. Incredible rebounder, passer and finisher around the hoop, he protects the paint and has the vision of a guard. Doesn't play particularly hard and is coming off an ACL tear, but god I love watching him play. UK have made him a priority so don't hold your breath.
Simi Shittu: 6-foot-9, 5-star PF from Canada who is a point forward in the Draymond Green or Nigel Hayes mold. Generally considered a top 10 prospect. Not as long as either of those guys, but built like a brick ****house and he can get off the floor
quick. Rebounds, passes, defends, runs the break, finishes on the break, and I'm going to assume he can help the #icebus. Lack of length means he's not an ideal NBA candidate so UK probably won't recruit him, but everyone else will (UCLA & Louisville & Washington have already offered). Plays hard.
Moses Brown: 7-foot-0, 5-star C from from Queens. Kind of unpolished but a super athlete with great length and a quick second jump. Rebounds, protects the paint, etc etc etc. Everybody under the sun -- including Duke & UK -- has offered and made him a priority. Want to go head-to-head with the big boys again? Here's your guy.
Shoot for the Moon Wings
Louis King: 6-foot-8, 196 lb 5-star SF from NJ who's regarded as anywhere from top 10 to top 30 in his class. Big and powerful for the spot, he's a lot like Rudy (though not nearly as big or as explosive). Has a really nice and quick release, and the usual suspects -- minus Duke, UK and UNC -- have all already offered him. It seems like we're in a very good position for him.
Cam Reddish: 6-foot-7, 5-star SF from Pennsylvania who's a top 5 player in the class. Imagine Daniel Hamilton with more athleticism and explosiveness -- that's Reddish. He's excellent. Nobody would think he'd be interested in us, except he's spoken absolutely glowingly of Ollie in just about every interview. Some insiders on our board suggest we're a distant third behind Duke & Nova. UK, Arizona, etc etc have all offered as well.
Khavon Moore: 6-foot-8, 5-star SF from Atlanta who's a top 10 player in the class. Very Rudy-esque in terms of his ability on the break and power finishing at the rim. Super athlete. 100% pick for UK on the crystal ball so let's not get our hopes up too much, ok?
Shoot for the Moon Guards
Immanuel Quickley: 6-foot-3, 5-star PG from Maryland who's generally regarded as a top 15 player in the class. Super long, super-high IQ, very smart player. Doesn't shoot it all that well, isn't great at finishing at the rim, but makes everybody better. Offers from everybody including UK, Duke, UNC, Arizona, UCLA, etc. I think we have no shot.
Brandon Willimas: 6-foot-1, 5-star PG from LA who's generally considered a top 20 player in the class. Super fast, especially on the break, and while his jumper is sketchy at the moment his form is good. He'll be a shooter. Maybe a little more of a combo guard at this point, I think he'll become a real PG. Very right-handed, so he's really a lot like Jalen in almost every aspect.
Others
Cole Swider: 6-foot-8 SF from Rhode Island who may be the best shooter in the class. Top 150 (and rising) recruit, who's drawing interest from Duke, UNC, Villanova, etc. We haven't offered but I really *****ng want us to.
