I spoke with Grassroots Canada coach Ro Russell today after he returned home from Las Vegas.
He says Cory Joseph, the No. 3 point guard in the Class of 2010 out of Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep, has “cut” his list to 16 schools.
Asked how long the list was before he cut it, Russell said, “About 30.”
So here’s Joseph’s list, in no particular order: Villanova, UConn, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Cal, Mississippi State, Memphis, Syracuse, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Minnesota, UNLV, Texas A&M and Ohio State.
“He’s wide open,” Russell said. “He’s going to cut it down to 10 in early August and then cut it to five in late August.”
Joseph has taken unofficials to Cal, Memphis, Ohio State and Louisville.
Wherever he ends up, Russell said he can make an impact right away.
“He’ll be an impact player,” he said. “He has real good size and he plays real hard. He brings a unique blend of high level offense and high level defense. He can shoot the ball and get to the basket and make plays. He’s athletic. He’ll be an impact player for whatever school he goes to.”
Brady Heslip is a 6-2 combo for Grassroots Canada, which already produced guards Devoe Joseph, Junior Cadougan and Joseph. Russell said Helsip picked up offers from Rice, Fordham, Duquesne, Fairfield and Louisiana Tech and has interest from Cincinnati, Miami, Boston College and UCLA.
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NinedenLtD / July 28, 2009
He also took an unofficial to Memphis, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. It is worth noting that Russell and Pastner are reportedly close friends who played with/against each other in AAU in Houston.
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pastaboy / July 28, 2009
I’m hearing a lot about this guy on some Memphis blogs ……to the point he may make them stop with their total fixation on Joe Jackson
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NinedenLtD / July 29, 2009
JJ keeps insisting he will wait until next spring to pick a college. It only makes sense that if Memphis can sign a Joseph or a Selby before then, they will, even if it means passing on the latest kid from Memphis to assume the mantel of “the next Penny.”
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pastaboy / July 29, 2009
Or the mantle of the next Paris London …..these local Memphis kids got hyped thru the stratosphere during the Finch era …I’m afraid the program is headed back in that direction .
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Terp4life / July 29, 2009
Cut your list to 16 schools?!!! This is crazy. What is the matter with parenting and advising these days? Tell the kid listen you have to make choices. Narrow your list down to a handful that you can visit and then go from there. There is no way 16 schools have what you are looking for.
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pastaboy / July 29, 2009
Maybe the kid should increase his list to 64 so Maryland can be on a list . (snickers)
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NinedenLtD / July 29, 2009
I am going to wait and see what Pastner does with a full season and a full year of recruiting before I say I am worried. Pastner has reached out to local kids and coaches in a way Calipari never did.
I’d like it if what Calipari did for the program (building it into a powerhouse that recruits and schedules nationally) was not erased. I wouldn’t be bothered too much, though, if Pastner did return at least in a small way to the pre-Calipari notion that the top Memphis talent should stay in Memphis. That is, as long as they are good enough.
The bottom line is, as long as the team wins, I really don’t care where the players come from. If we can get to the Final Four with 11 guys from Memphis like we did in ’85 that is awesome, but if it takes kids from Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, wherever, to be involved in the discussion on a yearly basis then that is fine too.
Also, the “next Penny” comment was in sarcasm. I made it with guys like Paris London and Marcus Moody in mind. I like JJ and would be happy to have him, but he’s no Penny. Interesting fact: JJ wasn’t even “Best Athlete” this year at his high school. That title went to my little brother, a baseball player.
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pastaboy / July 29, 2009
The problem as I see it is that its fine to recruit locally if as you say the kid is good enough . But then these local kids start getting hyped when they are in the 8th grade and by the time they are seniors in HS everyone thinks just get these 3 guys and we’ll win it all ……then they don’t pan out …..I hope Pastner doesn’t drink this kool aid and continues the Cal tradition of recruiting nationally .
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NinedenLtD / July 29, 2009
That is why I say I’m not worried, because I don’t think Pastner will “drink the kool aid.” Right now he’s a young coach in his first gig as a head coach. For a couple of years it makes sense to expect that he’ll go after some local kids and have an “inside-out” approach. Once he gains a foothold nationally, I am confident he’ll recruit the best players regardless of where they come from. And I don’t think it’ll take him long. He recruited nationally at Arizona and he came to Memphis to be a part of Calipari’s national program. He’s very obviously ambitious and not afraid to get into the fray with the big boys.
Don’t forget that in Cal’s early years the Memphis team had a lot more local products than we’ve had in the last three or four years.
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OldTerp / July 29, 2009
I thought you might have said he’s already a lock for Coach Cal, so his list is just a facade – but I should have known you need to start something to spend the rest of your day trading insults with everybody.
Maryland has verbals from two Guards in the class of 2010 – they either blew it or nobody else wanted them, right?
You’re entertaining Pasta, I’ll give you that …..
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