Post by Lawdog on Jul 8, 2011 18:36:48 GMT -5
Almost every year a dominant player emerges from a high school class and becomes THE coveted recruit of the year. In 2009, it was John Wall. In 2011, it was Anthony Davis. 2010 was a little more scattered, with the best player by some rankings (Josh Selby) not necessarily coveted due to personality factors and the other top player (Harrison Barnes) going with the Tar Heels.
This year’s dominant recruit is easy to identify. Shabazz Muhammad is the best player in America and as the summer goes on, it is clear that the race isn’t even close. Shabazz has dominated on every occasion and has analysts comparing him to some of the best of the best. He can get to the rim with ease and is able to score better than anyone in the class. He oozes potential and has gotten demonstrably better over the past season. He is John Calipari’s #1 target and will end up being the overall #1 player by virtually every scouting service.
The question of course is where he will go to school. Most analysts believe that UCLA leads for his services, due to what they call the “three stripe” affiliation. Shabazz has been loyal to the Adidas brand, skipped the Lebron James Nike camp this week and focuses on Adidas events when given the choice. UCLA is the leading Adidas school for his services and most believe that will end up being the final deciding factor. But not everyone is certain. Today Jeff Goodman was on my show and said that he believes UCLA and Kentucky will be the final warriors for Shabazz’s college choice. Muhammad has agreed to visit Kentucky in September and at this point, the UK visit is the only one he has scheduled. Shabazz also mentioned that Calipari’s ability to support the “one and done player” makes Kentucky appealing, as does the open style of play.
The recruitment is fascinating to me. UK’s connection with Nike opens up the door to most of the top recruits, but in this case, is probably the only hindrance to getting Shabazz. Without the Adidas connection, Shabazz is likely a Cat and overcoming it will likely be the biggest obstacle for Calipari. If he does so and gets the consensus best player in America for the third time in four years…well at that point, we should just assume that he can get virtually any player he wants at almost any time.
-KSR
This year’s dominant recruit is easy to identify. Shabazz Muhammad is the best player in America and as the summer goes on, it is clear that the race isn’t even close. Shabazz has dominated on every occasion and has analysts comparing him to some of the best of the best. He can get to the rim with ease and is able to score better than anyone in the class. He oozes potential and has gotten demonstrably better over the past season. He is John Calipari’s #1 target and will end up being the overall #1 player by virtually every scouting service.
The question of course is where he will go to school. Most analysts believe that UCLA leads for his services, due to what they call the “three stripe” affiliation. Shabazz has been loyal to the Adidas brand, skipped the Lebron James Nike camp this week and focuses on Adidas events when given the choice. UCLA is the leading Adidas school for his services and most believe that will end up being the final deciding factor. But not everyone is certain. Today Jeff Goodman was on my show and said that he believes UCLA and Kentucky will be the final warriors for Shabazz’s college choice. Muhammad has agreed to visit Kentucky in September and at this point, the UK visit is the only one he has scheduled. Shabazz also mentioned that Calipari’s ability to support the “one and done player” makes Kentucky appealing, as does the open style of play.
The recruitment is fascinating to me. UK’s connection with Nike opens up the door to most of the top recruits, but in this case, is probably the only hindrance to getting Shabazz. Without the Adidas connection, Shabazz is likely a Cat and overcoming it will likely be the biggest obstacle for Calipari. If he does so and gets the consensus best player in America for the third time in four years…well at that point, we should just assume that he can get virtually any player he wants at almost any time.
-KSR