Sunday, September 21, 2008

Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (9/22)

By Bruin Basketball Report


Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.


Commits


Former Colony High School basketball player Tyler Lamb has officially transferred to Santa Ana Mater Dei. There was speculation the 6-foot-5 junior, who committed to UCLA on Aug. 25, would transfer to the Orange County basketball powerhouse, but Lamb wouldn't confirm it until he began school this week. With all that is being written about the transfer, much of it untrue, according to Lamb, the family is guarded about the details of the decision...."Tyler is going to be a good basketball player no matter where he goes," Terry Lamb said. "This was about preparing him academically. Basketball had very little to do with it. "Nothing against the program at Colony. We actually liked (Colony) coach (Jerry) DeFabiis very much. But Tyler did most of his basketball development outside of school anyway." "It's a decision he, his mom and I made and there's no two ways about it," Lamb's father Terry said. "People can speculate all they want but we're moving on with it." San Bernardino Sun 9/17


Sylmar basketball prep star Tyler Honeycutt announced he has verbally committed to play at UCLA. He is currently ranked in the top thirty of his class by various recruiting services. The senior wing now joins forwards Reeves Nelson and Brendan Lane in UCLA's 2009 elite recruiting class. Honeycutt will sign a national letter of intent with UCLA during the early signing period in November. Bruin Basketball Report 9/18


As for recent UCLA commitment Tyler Honeycutt, he is a savvy, multi-skilled wing who can play multiple positions. Although a couple inches shorter and without the freakishly long arms, Honeycutt reminds me of another Southern Californian - Tayshaun Prince. Like Prince, Honeycutt plays stronger than he looks, has a great feel for the game and can make plays with the ball in his hands. With small forward being Honeycutt's primary position, he does have the skills and potential to play the off guard position. He also has the potential to move up a position to the four if he demonstrates the toughness to defend in the post and rebound. The game of basketball is getting smaller and faster rather than bigger and slower. With coach Ben Howland's penchant for putting multiple guards on the court, don't be surprised to see Honeycutt stretch the defense for the Bruins as a skilled, face-up four man. Rivals 9/19


Jrue Holiday – 6'4 Point Guard (UCLA); Ben Howland couldn't have found a better fit for his program than Jrue Holiday. For a program that is making yearly appearances in the Final Four Holiday will fit right in thanks to his competitiveness and desire to win. Holiday is a complete player that will be able to contribute right away. Like Kevin Love he may not be there for more than a year, but a backcourt combination of Holiday and Collison should help lead the Bruins to another Final Four. Hoops World 9/19


Recruits


Coveted point guard Abdul Gaddy has rediscovered his love for the Arizona men’s basketball team and recommitted to the Wildcats. The 6-foot-3 Gaddy told fellow UA recruit Solomon Hill that he made his decision Monday. The two communicated through text messaging. “It’s going to be good,’’ said Hill, of the thought of playing with Gaddy, Scout.com’s second-best high school guard for the 2009 class. “I’m looking forward to it. I’m glad he got the recruiting out of the way. We’ll just work on getting better.’’ Gaddy turned down UCLA after visiting the Bruins last week and UA over the weekend. He also was thought to be considering Memphis. “The rumor is true,” Gaddy’s AAU coach Gary Ward told Scout.com. “Abdul Gaddy recommitted to Arizona. He talked to Lute Olson.” Tucson Citizen 9/16


Greg Hamilton, the father of Compton Dominguez basketball standout Jordan Hamilton, said Tuesday he was in the process of seeking a hardship waiver from the Southern Section that would grant a fifth year of athletic eligibility for his son. The Southern Section has not received paperwork from Hamilton, section spokesman Simmons said. Hamilton was expected to sign a letter of intent in November. He is considering Texas, USC, Connecticut, Syracuse and California. LA Times 9/17


Avery Bradley, one of the top-rated high school guards in the nation, has verbally committed to play for Texas, his AAU coach Garry Ward said.
Bradley, ranked No. 8 overall in the 2009 class by Rivals, is a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 26 points a game last season for Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, Wash. Bradley picked UT over UCLA and Kansas. He was scheduled to make an official visit last weekend, but postponed those plans because of Hurricane Ike. Ward said Bradley will visit UT next weekend, but was ready to make a commitment. “He's been to camp down there, and really fell in love with the whole thing,” said Ward, who coaches the Northwest Panthers AAU team. “Texas has always been the school he's wanted to go to.” San Antonio Express News 9/17


Lawrence North big man Stephan Van Treese said this afternoon he will play college basketball for Louisville. Van Treese, a 6-9 post player, has been a two-year starter for the Wildcats. He averaged 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds as a junior. “I’ve always like Louisville, the school and the coaching staff, obviously, with coach (Rick) Pitino,” Van Treese said this afternoon. Van Treese had made several unofficial visits to various schools, including to Indiana University’s Midnight Madness. He said he was considering “Notre Dame, Michigan State, IU, UCLA and Kansas the hardest toward the end.” Van Treese said Pitino sold him on how he would fit into the Louisville system. Indianapolis Star 9/17


Xavier Henry, who had planned to make an unofficial visit to Kansas University this weekend to attend a private dinner in which the 2007-08 Jayhawks receive their national championship rings, has decided to skip the trip. That doesn’t mean Rivals.com’s No. 2-rated high school basketball player has soured on co-finalist KU, says Xavier’s dad, Carl, KU’s leading scorer in both the 1982-83 and ’83-84 seasons. “No. It doesn’t mean anything. He’s been to both schools. He knows all the coaches. He knows the players. He’s decided to make one visit to both schools and then make a decision,” Carl said of Xavier, a 6-foot-6 senior guard from Putnam City (Okla.) High who will play college ball at either KU or Memphis. Xavier has been rehabbing knee and ankle injuries sustained playing AAU basketball for Oklahoma Athletes First last summer. He should be fully healed by the time his senior season begins. Henry also should be committed to either KU or Memphis by then. KU Sports 9/18


I've felt for a long time that Renardo Sidney is USC's to lose, and I still do. However, keep a close eye on how the Brandon Jennings experiment in Europe goes. Sidney has many of the same ties that Jennings has, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if Sidney forgoes college for Europe. Rivals 9/19


(photo credit: ESPN)

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12 Comments:

At Sep 21, 2008, 7:25:00 PM, Anonymous Bee said...

I've just watched several videos of Gaddy's play, and I don't think Gaddy's commitment to AU is a big deal. He exhibited a fair-to-decent stroke from what I saw, but the rest of his game is little more than average.
I suspect that he would be beaten for PT quite easily by Jerime Anderson (not considered a one-and-done), who is quicker, more explosive, and better defensively, and would have a year in Coach Ben's program under his belt to boot.
I'd much rather have Snaer, even though he is presently a longshot...

 
At Sep 22, 2008, 7:06:00 AM, Anonymous BruinFan said...

Thanks BBR,
Does Howland have some "under the radar recruits" up his sleeve??? If so, can you share some insight about these guys or not? I bet if u do, then the whole nation will go after these guys.
Long live Coach BH and his coaching staff....
keep up the stellar reporting....oh, and never ever retire....

 
At Sep 22, 2008, 9:05:00 AM, Anonymous Dan-O said...

I look forward to this report every monday. I am set to ship off to Fort Benning tomorrow and will miss the weekly updates. Keep up the great work BBR. BTW how is the recruiting of Stover and Durand Scott going?

 
At Sep 22, 2008, 11:14:00 AM, Anonymous Bruin Basketball Report said...

BF, it all depends how the early signing period goes, you never know.
Dan, proud to have you as a BBR reader, thanks for serving our country.
Stover is visiting UCLA again and we shall find out soon. Howland has developed a good track record at UCLA with developing his big men, Ryan Hollins, Kevin Love. In addition, a good education and playing for a winning program seems to be important to Stover and his family, but they're likely weighing it against the fact that Morgan, Gordon, Lane, and Nelson will also be vying for time at the 4/5 spots when he arrives in '09.
Durand Scott is a probability. He recently narrowed his choices to five including UCLA.
- BBR

 
At Sep 22, 2008, 12:30:00 PM, Anonymous Rob said...

Dan-O: Thank you for your service. I'm sure you have the gratitude and admiration of everyone who posts here, even those obnoxious USC fans. But please tell your superiors that you should at the very least have access to BBR at Fort Benning. It's the least they could do.

 
At Sep 23, 2008, 12:26:00 AM, Anonymous franklinb said...

Hey BBR,
Could you tell me anything about Deniz Kilicli, the turkish prospect the whole nation seems interested in. I've heard that a UCLA assistant coach said that he was more skilled than Kevin Love! If you could shed some light on this, that would be great. Thanks
And thank you Dan-O for everything you've done for this country.

 
At Sep 23, 2008, 1:42:00 AM, Anonymous bruin66 said...

Good luck, Dan-O, from a Vietnam Vet

 
At Sep 23, 2008, 5:41:00 AM, Anonymous cc said...

Dan-O: thank you for serving this country... we all salute you!

 
At Sep 23, 2008, 11:09:00 AM, Anonymous Bare Gunner said...

Dan-O,
We all salute you!!!!!

 
At Sep 23, 2008, 11:38:00 AM, Anonymous Bruin Basketball Report said...

Frank,
Stover is visiting UCLA this weekend and Howland definitely covets him, but if he decides to go elsewhere then he may consider Deniz Kilicli.
Kilicli is getting a lot of attention from many colleges including elite programs such as UCLA, Kansas, and Texas. He's a skilled 6'9 250 PF/C from Turkey. Here's a link to a story on Kilicli from the Register-Herald in West Virginia. LINK
- BBR

 
At Sep 24, 2008, 11:10:00 AM, Anonymous Rob said...

I read Stover is going to Arizona.

 
At Sep 25, 2008, 6:29:00 AM, Anonymous KDL1984 said...

My predictions (worth nothing):
Michael Snaer and Anthony Stover both decide to go to UCLA. I also predict that they announce in the next week or two.
Durand Scott will opt to go elsewhere.
Honeycutt, Lane, Reeves, Stover, and Snaer- Not too bad of a lineup in itself, wouldn't you say?
When you wish upon a star...a "five star", that is!

 

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