Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (8/16)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup is published every Monday.

Recruits

Branden Dawson was watching a classic matchup between Purdue and Michigan State on Wednesday on the Big Ten Network when the thought that had been crystallizing in his mind for weeks popped into his head. Shannon Brown and Jason Richardson were playing for the Spartans and Dawson likes their style. He could see himself playing for that team. It was around 3 p.m. on a balmy afternoon and he just made up his mind. He was going to East Lansing to play basketball at Michigan State for Tom Izzo. "It was just a feeling I had," he said. "It was like Michigan State, here I come." Post-Tribune 8/6

Josiah Turner, the No. 12-ranked player in the college basketball recruiting Class of 2011, will attend the Oct. 15 Late Night in the Phog as part of his official recruiting visit to Kansas University. Turner’s mom told Rivals.com on Sunday that her son’s Oakland Soldiers AAU teammate and good friend, No. 13-ranked Jabari Brown, also could visit the same weekend. Turner, a 6-foot-3 senior point guard out of Sacramento (Calif.) High, has a list of KU, Arizona, Connecticut, Louisville, Oklahoma, Oregon and UCLA. Turner — he averaged 27.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last year — will visit Louisville the weekend of Sept. 4. He also attended KU’s Late Night last year. LJ World 8/9

Potential Class of 2011 recruit Nick Johnson, a 6-2 guard from Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep by way of Gilbert, let Rivals.com know this weekend that he will unofficially ASU and Arizona this month and will officially visit Louisville and Kansas in September. Johnson has not decided if he will take his other three official visits. Kentucky, Oklahoma State and St. John’s are among others recruiting him. “I don’t want to play my hand yet,” Johnson told Rivals.com. “I want to see how these [recruiting visits] go first.” Tucson Citizen 8/9

Quinn Cook, 6-0 rising senior point guard, Oak Hill (VA), USA 2011: Transferring out of famed DeMatha (MD) for his final year of high school (following the path of fellow D.C.-area native and “big brother” Nolan Smith, who was also in attendance), Cook’s polish, ability to run the show, shooting range and heady demeanor all look ready for the rigors he’ll encounter in rural VA. SLAM 8/9

Much of the Bruins' improvement will hinge on whether Howland's recruiting class can figure these things out quickly enough to make a positive impact. The most talented of Howland's newcomers is 6-foot-9 power forward Josh Smith, a near-300-pounder with surprisingly soft hands, quick feet, and and intuitive knack for the game. Smith, the No. 20 overall player in ESPNU's class of 2010, is currently working out three times a day with UCLA training staff in an attempt to get him in the best shape of his life. If Smith can improve the Bruins' offensive rebounding even marginally, that'll be contribution enough. Likewise, shooting guard Tyler Lamb, the No. 28-ranked player in 2010 class, will be expected to contribute right away. At 6-foot-4, Lamb adds depth and polish to the Bruins backcourt. ESPN 8/9

Brea Olinda center K.C. Caudill has committed to Boston College, Wildcats coach Bob Terry confirmed on Tuesday. Caudill, who will be a senior in the fall, committed Monday. He had offers from Harvard, Northwestern, Oregon State and Penn. Caudill had committed to Arizona State as a sophomore but decommitted. Caudill averaged 17.5 points and 12 rebounds as a junior. OC Varsity 8/10

Sacramento High's Josiah Turner wound down a hectic summer by playing for the United States West team in last weekend's Nike Global Challenge in Hillsboro, Ore. The 6-foot-3 senior guard made all six of his free throws and finished fifth overall in the tournament in assists with 14 during the three days in which four U.S. regional teams competed in an eight-team field with teams from Asia, France, Canada and Brazil. SacBee 8/11

Josiah Turner, this area's biggest basketball recruit since the days of Elk Grove's Bill Cartwright, has narrowed his list of scholarship offers to seven schools and also has set his five official visits for the fall. Doris Ward, Turner's mother, says the Sacramento High senior guard, rated the No. 3 point guard prospect in the country by Rivals.com, will visit Louisville Sept. 4, UConn Sept. 11, Oregon, Oct. 2, Kansas Oct. 15 and Arizona Oct. 22. Ward also said that her son is still considering UCLA, in which he already has taken several unofficial visits, and Oklahoma, a school that he may visit unofficially the weekend that he attends the Late Night in the Phog ceremonies at Kansas. SacBee 8/12