St. John’s, Arizona, USC, SMU Among Those Recruiting JUCO Forward Luis Montero

By ZACH SMART

Special to ZAGSBLOG

A late growth spurt and a new, more prominent role involving an uptick in ball handling and a score-first mentality has shaped Westchester Community College’s Luis Montero into one of the nation’s fastest-rising recruits.

The ceiling on Montero, a transcendent 6-foot-9 guard/forward, is still unknown. The St. John’s target has played only half a season of JUCO ball, attracting a full menu of Division-I interest from across the country.

After practicing with the Dominican national team this summer, the hounding intensified.

Christian James to Oklahoma

By JACK LeGWIN

Christian James has committed to Oklahoma.

James is the third commit for the Sooners in the class of 2015 with Rashard Odomes and Akolda Manyang. 

D.J. Harvey: ‘Arizona Stands at the Top’

By JACK LeGWIN

One of the top sophomores in the nation, D.J. Harvey, has a frontrunner.

“Arizona stands at the top,” Harvey told SNY.tv. “Georgetown, Memphis, Texas, Houston, Tennessee, NC State, Miami and Xavier have offered, UCLA, Duke, Kansas, Stanford, Villanova and Louisville are all showing heavy interest.”

Harvey played a high level of basketball from a young age. Starting at Christ School (N.C.), a program that has produced Mason and Miles Plumlee, Harvey played varsity as an eighth-grader, before leaving to attend DeMatha (Md.) starting his freshman year.

Ivan Rabb Announces Top 5; Will Visit Kentucky

Ivan Rabb, the 6-foot-10 2015 big man

Recruiting Roundup: Weekend Visits & Tidbits

Here’s an early look at this weekend’s recruiting visits. This list will be updated throughout the weekend.

**Diamond Stone will visit Wisconsin on an official, according to Mark Miller of the Wisconsin Yearbook. The 6-foot-10 Milwaukee (WI) Dominican big man will then trip to UConn next weekend. He has already visited Maryland and Oklahoma State. Stone’s father, Robert, told ESPN.com that there is no set date for an announcement, despite previous reports he would announce Nov. 12.

**UCLA will host 2015 big men Brandon Ingram and Stephen Zimmerman. Both Ingram and Zimmerman have been at Kansas and Kentucky the previous two weekends.

**Indiana will host an impressive group for Hoosier Hysteria, including 6-10 Huntington (W.V.) Prep big man Thomas Bryant for a second consecutive weekend, according to Inside the Hall and other reports. Bryant was at Indiana last weekend after previously visiting Syracuse and Mizzou. Indiana will also host Miles Bridges and Curtis Jones of Huntington Prep, according to Inside the Hall, while Queens (N.Y.) Christ the King guard Rawle Alkins is also expected. The 6-5 Alkins will visit Villanova Friday night and Indiana Saturday.