Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (11/09)

By Bruin Basketball Report 

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday 

Commits 

Tyler Lamb, one of three Mater Dei players selected to the first team, was third in the balloting with 330 points and six top prospect designations.
Lamb - who is expected to sign a national letter of intent with UCLA on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's fall signing week - is one of 10 players from Southern California who landed on the 15-member BIW first team. Press Telegram 11/7

Recruits 

Harrison Barnes recaps his trip to UCLA last weekend:  After practice I had dinner with the assistants and the players, and my mom had dinner with Coach (Ben) Howland and his family. Then I went out with the players and had a chance to enjoy some of the social aspects of the university. Since it was Halloween there were a lot more things going on, especially at some of the frat houses. My hosts were Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt, and they were cool guys. Dime Magazine 11/6

It was equal parts Iowa State men’s exhibition basketball and Harrison Barnes love fest Friday night at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones beat North Carolina-Pembroke 106-54 on a night Barnes, who some call the No. 1 high school recruit in the country, made his unofficial recruiting visit. He sat in the front row behind the basket closest to the Iowa State bench. Next to him was Ames High School teammate Doug McDermott, the son of Cyclone coach Greg McDermott and a Northern Iowa recruit. Barnes wore a warmup suit with “Jordan” on the back, and didn’t turn down anyone requesting an autograph. Des Moines Register 11/6

The very best of the Best in the West is once again located in the Pacific Northwest.
Six-foot-eight Terrence Jones of Jefferson High in Portland topped the results of the voting from among 64 coaches and scouts who cast ballots for the latest edition of the Press-Telegram's yearly survey on the best college prospects among the current crop of seniors in the western portion of the country. Press Telegram 11/7

This weekend, the Bruins are entertaining Terrence Jones, a 6-foot-7 forward from Jefferson High in Portland, Ore. Jones has a reputation for being a versatile player, able to operate from three-point range as well as down low with his back to the basket.  The Bruins are thought to be competing against Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma and Kentucky. LA Times 11/7

Now that Kentwood's football season is over (the Conquerors were eliminated by Issaquah last night), it shouldn't be long before Joshua Smith announces whether he plans to continue his basketball career at Washington or UCLA. But he's apparently not ready yet. I saw Smith this morning at the West Central District 4A volleyball tournament at Kentwood -- the 6-foot-10 senior is here supporting the K-dub team that still has a chance to qualify for state. I asked him when he was going to announce his decision, and he said he didn't know. I asked him if he's made his decision and he said no.  Seattle Times 11/7

Let the anticipation build. Fans of Duke, North Carolina and four other schools that remain finalists for the services of top-ranked recruit Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa, will learn his decision Friday. Shirley Barnes, the player's mother, said in an e-mail that Barnes will announce his school choice Friday. No decision has been made on a possible broadcast of the announcement. Barnes spent the final weekend before his announcement on an unofficial visit to his hometown school, Iowa State, his mother said. Shirley Barnes works in the music department at Iowa State. A 6-foot-6 forward, Barnes is rated the top recruit in the nation by scout.com. In alphabetical order, his finalists are Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and UCLA. News and Observer 11/8

Michigan point guard Ray McCallum is expected to select his college basketball choice Wednesday — Arizona, Oklahoma, UCLA, Florida or Detroit Mercy. It is a monumental decision as it relates to the point-guard-needy Wildcats. I wonder: Why wouldn't he stay home and play for his father, also named Ray, in Detroit? Some of it could be that Detroit is a midmajor or less.  Arizona Star 11/8

The Division I early signing period starts Wednesday, Nov. 11. That's for the lucky few, but two of the state's best are skipping it, Mount Pleasant's Trey Zeigler and Country Day's Ray McCallum. But that's by choice. For most other prospects, they'll be playing through their senior seasons trying to prove themselves college worthy. And they may supply a hidden bounty. MLive 11/4