John Wall, the No. 1 prospect in the nation according to Rivals, told Jerry Meyer that Memphis is now the “leader” for his services.
The 6-foot-4, 184-pound Wall has paid official visits to Kansas and Memphis and this past weekend he visited Baylor. He still plans to trip to Miami officially and may still take unofficials to Duke and N.C. State.
With 6-10 big man DeMarcus Cousins of Mobile (Ala.) LeFlore High committing to Memphis over the weekend, that could help the Tigers land Wall, who has said he would like to play with a dominant big man.
Memphis’ recruiting class is already stacked with five star-prospects Cousins and Xavier Henry and four-star recruits Will Coleman, Darnell Dodson and Nolan Dennis.
Cousins reportedly called Wall after he committed to help recruit the point guard to Memphis.
If Tyreke Evans remains at Memphis, Wall likely would not pick the Tigers. If Evans jumps to the NBA after one season, Memphis would be a likely destination for him.
Wall is targeting the week of the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden on April 18 for his announcement.
UNC, FLORIDA SCOUTING IRVING
North Carolina assistant Steve Robinson and Florida assistant Rob Lanier attended St. Patrick’s victory Monday over St. Mary of the Assumption in the North Non-Public B semifinals.
Both schools are involved with junior combo guard Kyrie Irving, who transferred prior to the season from Montclair Kimberley.
“Both are great schools that are showing interest,” Irving wrote in a text message.
St. Patrick guard Dexter Strickland is headed to North Carolina and is apparently encouraging the staff to recruit the multi-talented IRving.
St. Patrick will meet Paterson Catholic in the North Non-Public B final Wednesday night at the Rutgers Athletic Center. PC stunned defending national champ St. Anthony 60-55 Monday night.
DocBean / March 11, 2009
how much is Callipari paying these kids?
it must be enough that they are willing to hurt their draft chances. Henry, Wall, and Cousins could be enough to win a championship, but they’ll be sharing a lot of points.
Maybe 1 of them will still be drafted in the top 5; the 2nd best will fall down, when he could be a top 5 or 10 anywhere else; and the 3rd leading scorer will most likely fall out of the first round altogether, when he could be a lottery pick as the number 1 guy at another school.
It helps that Memphis never plays anyone, so they should score a lot, and not ever need to learn how to play defense.
The 4 star guys are probably getting a little nervous at this point.
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dwdva / March 12, 2009
put down the pipe son.. there’s plenty of room in the nba’s top ten for three players-
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Dat.B.Me / March 12, 2009
Memphis does not play defense? I pity the fool who spews out erroneous info when the truth is one right click away. May I Suggest this website… kenpom.com for your edification.
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DALLASt / March 14, 2009
What kind of nutcase is this Docholeinthebean. If Wall goes to Memphis he will have a chance to learn from one of the best coaches in the NCAA. He’ll be learning how to play defense and play with a group of equal talented guys, the sort of thing he’ll do in the NBA dufus! Remember Michigan and the Fab Five? All five went to the NBA for the big bucks.
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