Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (9/25)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Recruits

But one school Kyle Singler will not visit is Washington. The versatile 6-foot-9 forward from South Medford has removed the Huskies from his list of finalists, which now includes Duke, Arizona, UCLA and Kansas. "It was hard, but Kyle called coach (Lorenzo) Romar and told him he wouldn't be going to Washington," said Kyle's father, Ed. The Oregonian 9/20

Ed Singler, the father of highly regarded Oregon high school forward Kyle Singler, said Arizona remains on his son's list after an enjoyable visit to Tucson last week. "It is evident that he can get a quality education from U of A, that the basketball facilities, staff, community and fan interest, academic support and the school opportunities are awesome at U of A," Ed Singler wrote in an e-mail. "More than anything, Kyle felt the people were great that he met from the coaching staff, school administrators and students he had a chance to meet while on his visit. U of A has a great story to tell, and Kyle saw that first hand." Ed Singler said his son will visit Duke (this week), Kansas (Oct. 14) and possibly UCLA before deciding. Arizona Daily Star 9/21

The first visit came Sept. 9, when Gordon and Derrick Rose, a point guard from Simeon High in Chicago, visited and scrimmaged with IU players. At least one recruiting service -- Rivals.com -- has listed Gordon (No. 2 nationally) and Rose (No. 3) ahead of the former king of the Class of 2007, guard O.J. Mayo (No. 5). Rose has included IU in his five final. DePaul, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA are the competition. Courier-Journal 9/21

Singler in-home: Self, who has been out recruiting the past two weeks, on Tuesday had an in-home visit with Kyle Singler, a 6-8 senior forward from South Medford, Ore. Singler will visit KU for the Oct. 13 Late Night in the Phog. The No. 4 player in the Class of 2007 will visit Duke this weekend. He’s already visited finalists Arizona and UCLA. “The visit with the KU coaching staff certainly improved my feelings about Kansas. I was able to get a better feeling for the school and program,” Singler told rivals.com. Lawrence Journal- World 9/22

When Mac Koshwal made his verbal commitment to DePaul's Jerry Wainwright today, what exactly did he say to him? “He said ‘Coach, what is Derrick Rose’s phone number?’,” Jackson said, referring to the elite Class of 2007 point guard from Chicago Simeon High School. “Mac is trying to get in touch with Derrick.” WeAreDepaul 9/22

Luke Babbitt has some heavyweights interested to be sure, and it's my guess that he'll stay somewhere out West, which could include Nevada, Stanford, Gonzaga, UCLA, Arizona and Washington.He can't go wrong with any of those schools, as all are perennial NCAA Tournament teams. He also is scheduled to visit Duke when Galena High's team goes to South Carolina for a tournament later this year. Babbitt visited Texas two weeks ago, and was lucky enough to watch the Texas-Ohio State football game. Nevada Appeal 9/23

As for Derrick Rose, an unofficial visit to Notre Dame last weekend may have been as much to visit with friend and former Morgan Park football standout Demetrius Jones. The Irish were not on Rose's final five list announced in late August, though he did not leave campus without meeting with Irish coach Mike Brey. Chicago Tribune 9/23

Vaccaro and Rose: Fact, Fiction: Argument: Vaccaro is now a confidant to the Roses. Counterpoint: Actually, that's true. The Roses are leaning on Vaccaro to some extent, but then again, the guy has been doing this for 40 years.Vaccaro and Reggie Rose have spoken about "shoe things," as Vaccaro says, and they stay in touch regarding Derrick Rose's recruiting."I feel very close to them in a strange way," Vaccaro says. "Because I think they trust me. And I think the reason they trust me is, I've never told them what to do." Chicago Tribune 9/23

Boys To Men's Mac Koshwal, a 6-9 center, gave an oral commitment to DePaul. On Thursday, Dar Tucker, a 6-5 shooting guard from Michigan, orally committed to DePaul. Both players are rated among the top 50 in the country. ''You now have the greatest college basketball buzz in Chicago since Pat Kennedy first arrived on the scene,'' said Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye Report. ''DePaul is on the verge of a stellar class. I really think this enhances their chances with [Simeon guard] Derrick Rose. Chicago Sun-Times 9/23

Justin Holiday from North Hollywood (CA) Campbell Hall High School has committed to Washington. His father Shawn just confirmed to us on the phone that he committed on his trip to Seattle over the weekend. Husky Digest saw him playing pick-up with the team on Friday and Shawn also confirmed that Quincy Pondexter was his host on the trip. Holiday took in the Washington football team's win over UCLA and took the visit with his mother Toya. HuskeyDigest 9/24

The Washington men's basketball team has received a commitment from Justin Holiday, a 6-foot-6, 170-pound swingman from North Campbell Hall High School in North Hollywood, Calif. Holiday committed after taking a recruiting visit to UW this weekend. He has been described as a player in the mold of former UW forward Bobby Jones and also reportedly had offers from the likes of Arizona State, Nevada, Texas Tech and USC. Holiday is the older brother of Jrue Holiday, a high-school junior who is rated as the No. 2 shooting guard in the nation for the recruiting class of 2008 by Scout.com. Jrue Holiday is also being recruited by Washington. Seattle Times 9/25

(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: Mail Tribune)