Tyler Honeycutt Commits To UCLA 2009 Frosh Class

By Bruin Basketball Report

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.

The 6'8 195 lb Honeycutt increased his stock over the last year while becoming one of the most improved players on the West Coast.

Honeycutt has improved his shooting significantly with the ability to hit consistently out to the three-point arc. Despite his lanky frame, he is active on the boards and has improved on his defense.

"I just think he felt he'd have a good opportunity at UCLA and it's been his dream school since he was a little kid," Honeycutt's mother, Lisa Stazel told the LA Times.

As a junior last season, Honeycutt averaged 16.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.

Honeycutt took his time before making a decision, opting until the start of the school year. He had also considered USC, Texas, and Memphis, but at the end, he decided the proximity of the Westwood campus and the winning tradition at UCLA suited him just fine.

UCLA still has enough scholarships to potentially fill two more spots in the class of 2009. The Bruins would still like to add a guard and possibly another big man to the class. Earlier this week two potential recruits committed to other schools: Abdul Gaddy to Arizona and Avery Bradley to Texas.

(photo credit: AP)

Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (9/15)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Commits

Patrick Murphy, president of Santa Ana Mater Dei High, confirmed Wednesday that 6-foot-4 junior guard Tyler Lamb of Ontario Colony had filed paperwork to enroll at Mater Dei and was going through the admission process. A final decision should come this week. Lamb, who averaged 27 points last season for Colony, committed to UCLA last month. His arrival at Mater Dei would give the Monarchs one of their most talented starting fives in school history. Brothers David and TravisWear have committed to North Carolina. Andy Brown is being recruited by Arizona and junior Gary Franklin is another top prospect. It would be a very formidable team," Coach Gary McKnight said. Lamb would have to change his residence to be eligible immediately. LA Times 9/10

MODESTO CHRISTIAN AT ORESTIMBA: It's the debut for Reeves Nelson, MC's 6-foot-7-inch, 240-pound receiver who has verbally committed to play hoops at UCLA. He's a dream come true for QB Isaiah Burse, a nightmare for defenses. Modesto Bee 9/12

Recruits

Most Division I scouts are enamored with the 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard from Rancho Verde. In fact, Michael Snaer went from a middle-of-the-road recruit to one of the most sought-after prospects in the nation, right up there with Southern California counterparts Jordan Hamilton, Renardo Sidney and Tyler Honeycutt. And with more than 10 scholarships on the table, it appears as if Snaer is ready to begin narrowing down his list of potential suitors. He took his first official visit over the weekend, according to PowerMizzou.com, making the trip out to Missouri to see what Coach Mike Anderson and the Tigers had to offer. LA Times 9/8

Xavier Henry, a 6-foot-6 senior guard from Putnam City (Okla.) High, held in-home visits with coaches from Memphis, then Kansas, on Tuesday night. Henry’s father, Carl, told Rivals.com it remains “50-50” between KU and Memphis. Carl Henry said his son will make his college choice after visiting both KU (Oct. 17) and Memphis (Oct. 24). LJ World 9/10

UA coach Lute Olson is making a final effort this week to re-install the potential cornerstone of his 2009 recruiting class, point guard Abdul Gaddy.
Olson was expected to visit the home of the Tacoma (Wash.) point guard this week, and have Gaddy visit the UA this weekend, according to Greg Hicks, Scout.com's West Coast recruiting analyst. Gaddy spent last weekend visiting UCLA, his other finalist, and has also entertained Bruins coach Ben Howland for an in-home visit. Gaddy, who committed to the UA in August 2007, decommitted in May largely because of wholesale changes on Olson's staff.
"My sense is he grew up liking Arizona, and then the uncertainty caused by last year caused him to re-evaluate, along with the success UCLA has had, and their guys going pro every year," Hicks said. "I think if Arizona was the program it was five years ago, it would be over." Arizona Daily Star 9/11

Duke’s Mike Krzyewski was one of roughly a dozen head and assistant basketball coaches, including Iowa State’s Greg McDermott, in the Ames High gym to watch Little Cyclone junior Harrison Barnes in action. This week marks the beginning of when coaches can visit players in home and view open gym and weight room sessions. “It does feel nice to have big-time names like Coach K come into your gym and watch you play,” Barnes said. “It does show the interest (coaches) have in me.” Barnes is considered by many scouting services as the top small forward in the country in the Class of 2010. The 6-foot-6 wing boasts an offer list that’s a who’s who of college basketball.
Barnes said he didn’t feel any nerves as he’s been playing in front of an audience of coaches all summer. Go Cyclones 9/11

Avery Bradley, one of the top high school basketball players in the country, will visit the University of Texas on Sept. 27-28, according to his AAU coach, Garry Ward. Bradley was scheduled to visit this weekend but postponed his trip because of Hurricane Ike. Bradley, 6 feet 3 inches and 175 pounds, averaged 25.7 point a game last season at Bellmarine Prep in Tacoma, Wash. He is widely regarded as the top perimeter defender in the senior class. Rivals.com ranks Bradley the eight-best senior in the country. He is rated No. 10 by Scout. com. Bradley has narrowed his list of prospective colleges to Texas and UCLA. “I would say Texas is in the lead,” Ward said. Bradley recently transfered to Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., in an attempt to boost his grades. Austin American Statesman 9/11

USC's men's basketball program is using Saturday's Ohio State-USC football game to bring in more top talent on recruiting visits than ever before in the Tim Floyd era. "It's probably the biggest recruiting weekend from a basketball perspective," assistant coach Bob Cantu said. Scheduled for official visits, among others, are 6-foot-5 guard Shaunessy Smith from Macon, Miss., 6-3 guard Kenny Boynton from Plantation, Fla., and 6-6 guard Noel Johnson from Fayetteville, Ga. Among the unofficial visitors expected are Tyler Honeycutt from Sylmar, Renardo Sidney from Fairfax, Jeremy Tyler from San Diego and Kyle Caudill from Brea. LA Times 9/11

The game was short and the body language was minimal. Abdul Gaddy played pick-up ball Friday with a group of Wildcats who had already been through a full week of short drills and training. Two of the Arizona’s best players, Nic Wise and Chase Budinger sat out, with Budinger resting a sore ankle. Before the game, UA assistant coach Mike Dunlap ran four players (the maximum under NCAA early semester rules) through a few drills, with Lute Olson adding instruction. Gaddy wasn’t visible during most of that, though his mother was.
So it was pretty tough to see enough through this tiny window of Gaddy’s official visit to tell whether the Wildcats were gaining ground on him. But these things we do know: UA may be beating the odds just by getting Gaddy on campus, after he decommitted in May because of unfamiliarity with Olson’s all-new staff and opened up to UCLA, Memphis, Oregon and Washington. He has since narrowed it down to UCLA, which he visited last weekend, and Arizona. Arizona Daily Star 9/13

Texan Roger Franklin hasn't made an official visit to Oklahoma State, but the power forward has already made up his mind. Franklin, a 6-foot-6, 217-pound senior at Duncanville High School, committed to OSU on Friday night. It wasn't sight unseen as Franklin was in Gallagher-Iba Arena last year when the Cowboys upset Kansas. The Rivals.com four-star recruit was being recruited by a number of top-tier schools and had plans to visit UCLA, Arizona, Oklahoma and Michigan State. The Oklahoman 9/14

Nobody has raised his stock over the summer higher than Lake Forest's Matt Vogrich, according to the City/Suburban Hoop Report. Once a mid-major prospect being pursued by St. Louis and Miami (Ohio), Vogrich's eye-opening performances have piqued the interest of Stanford, UCLA, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Michigan. He has shot up the Hoops Report prospect rankings to No. 4 in the state's senior class. Chicago Tribune 9/14

(photo credit: HS Gametime)