Kentucky continues to target Nick Richards as one of its top priorities in the Class of 2017.
“Cal’s probably done more in-person visits than anyone else with Nick,” St. Pat’s coach Chris Chavannes said of Kentucky coach John Calipari Wednesday on The 4 Quarters Podcast.
The 6-foot-11 Richards told SNY.tv last week that Calipari speaks with his family once or twice a week, and that he hopes to visit the campus this summer.
Calipari visited Richards twice this year at St. Patrick’s, a school where the Kentucky coach has found a lot of success. The Wildcats snagged guards Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dakari Johnson from the New Jersey Catholic powerhouse that also produced former Duke star Kyrie Irving.
Richards is ranked No. 8 on the ESPN Top 100 recruits for the Class of 2017. He’s received offers from Kentucky, Syracuse, UConn, Kansas, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Oklahoma, to name a few.
“North Carolina has been there since day one,” Chavannes said. “Syracuse has spent a lot of time visiting and seeing Nick and reaching out.”
As for a timetable on a decision, Chavannes isn’t aware of one.
“I don’t have a timetable on when he and his family are going to make a decision,” he said. “I think they’re going to take the process very slow; that’s how their family has always handled things since I’ve known them.”
ST PAT’S ADDS MYLES CALE, VALDIR MANUEL
Roselle (N.J.) Catholic took out St. Patrick’s this past season in the New Jersey Non-Public B South semifinals at Rahway High School.
The teams met four times during the season, splitting them two apiece.
The way the arms race is headed, the two Non-Public B powers will continue to battle it out for a shot at the Tournament of Champions title in 2016-17.
The latest salvo out of Elizabeth came when St. Pat’s added Myles Cale, a 6-4 shooting guard committed to Seton Hall for 2017, and Class of 2018 big man Valdir Manuel, a transfer from Sunrise (KS) Christian. The additions were first reported by SNY.tv.
“Valdir is a 6-10 very powerful player,” Chavannes said. “Great hands, great touch. He’s a stretch four, handles the ball pretty well, finishes right and left pretty well. He can score on the block and he can step out from the outside as well. He’s a good rebounder, I wouldn’t say he’s a great rebounder.
“For a kid from Africa, you don’t see too many kids that come from Africa that are as physically gifted as he is, and he’s pretty strong.”
Cale, meantime, transfers from Middletown (Appoquinimink) Del., to be closer to his future college home. He is ranked the No. 26 shooting guard in the Class of 2017 by 247Sports.com, and currently ranks third on the Under Armour circuit in scoring at 20.3 points per game.
“He’s just a scorer,” Chavannes said. “He just finds ways to score buckets. He’s about 6-4. He’ll post shoot, he’ll go by you, he’ll go over you. He moves well without the basketball, he’s good off the bounce. He can create opportunities for himself and others and he doesn’t need the ball in his hands at all times to hurt you. And he’s a wonderful, wonderful kid.”
McCLARY, HARRIS TAKE VISITS
Marcus McClary, a Class of 2017 guard from St. Pat’s, visited Monmouth over the weekend.
“He’s the glue to our program,” Chavannes said. “He’s a leader by example.”
McClary is also being recruited by Ivy League schools, as is fellow Class of 2017 guard Jamir Harris. Harris visits Boston College Thursday (today), UPenn on Monday and Minnesota on June 27.
“[McClary] is being recruited by Ivy League schools so he has to evaluate that situation very carefully,” Chavannes said. “I think the Bryce experience has given our other players another perspective to look at, in addition to a basketball perspective but from an academic and a future longevity perspective.”
Bryce Aiken chose Harvard over Seton Hall and Miami last October.
CHAVANNES IMPRESSED BY PIKIELL
It’s no secret that Chavannes wasn’t a fan of the former Rutgers staff led by Eddie Jordan, often saying that he never saw the staff in his gym.
But under new coach Steve Pikiell, Rutgers is trying to make inroads into one of the most tradition-rich programs in the state. Rutgers went four deep into St. Pat’s earlier this spring (and to Roselle Catholic, too).
“They’re doing really well,” he said. “They’ve actually been in touch with us quite a bit over the last couple of weeks, trying to get a number of our guys visit all a once and we’re trying to work that out with all of their schedules. They’ve been in contact with us almost on a dialy basis over the last couple of weeks, especially Brandin Knight. We have a relationship with Brandin going back quite a bit.
“There’s about four kids that they want to have come down — Nick, Bul Ajang, Jamir Harris — and spend some time down there.”
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