Shamorie Ponds could be closing in on a college decision. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Under Armour)
Shamorie Ponds did not make a college decision Monday night and is still focusing on his original four schools: St. John’s, Creighton, Minnesota and Providence.
As of now, the Thomas Jefferson guard is still planning to visit Providence Sept. 11-13 and Minnesota Sept. 18-20, his father told SNY.tv on Monday. He has already visited Creighton.
That, of course, could change in the coming days if Ponds pulls the trigger following his successful St. John’s visit.
Meantime, Arizona was among those who tried to make a late push, Thomas Jefferson coach Bud Pollard said late Monday night, but ultimately won’t be part of the mix.
“He’s not adding any schools,” Pollard said.
Appearing Monday on The 4 Quarters Podcast, Pollard compared Ponds, nicknamed Slick, to two former NBA standouts.
“My best analogy is he has a little bit of Kenny Anderson in him and a lot of Nick Van Exel in him because he’s active on defense, he’s crafty with the ball like Kenny, he shoots it like Nick,” he said. “He distributes like Kenny. He has a combination of those two guys. He’s a lefty. You might even throw a little bit of Brandon Jennings in there.”
Here are a few more recruiting notes:
**Frank Jackson will make his college decision Tuesday at 6:30 EST and at this point I think we’ll all be shocked if it’s not Duke. The point guard from Utah is coming off an official visit to the reigning national champions this weekend, and coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff went three deep for Jackson in July at the adidas Uprising All-American Camp on Long Island. If Jackson pops for Duke, it will be interesting to see the domino effect it has on other 2016 guards, including Dennis Smith Jr., who also has a Duke offer. The Blue Devils have freshman point guard Derryck Thornton, who reclassed to 2015 from 2016 to suit up for the national champs.
**Marques Bolden is considering eight schools, not seven, his father Melvin Bolden told SNY.tv. The 6-10 center from DeSoto (TX) is considering Baylor along with Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, TCU, Alabama and Wake Forest. Bolden visits Kentucky Wednesday, Duke Sept. 18 and Kansas Sept. 25.
**Villanova is currently hosting 6-6 point guard Kevin Huerter on his official visit. He also visits Maryland (Sept. 4-6), Michigan (Sept. 12-14) and Notre Dame Sept. (24-26). Iowa, Indiana, Creighton and Davidson are also still in the mix.
**Wenyen Gabriel will have school visits with Kentucky and UConn on Sept. 10 at Wilbraham & Monson (MA) and with Providence, Duke and Maryland on Sept. 9, his AAU coach confirmed to SNY.tv. The 6-10 Gabriel recently cut his list to five and will take officials to Maryland (Sept. 4-6), Kentucky (Sept. 25-27) and Duke (Oct. 16-18).
**Thon Maker will host Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley for an in-home on Sept. 11 and will then meet Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey on Sept 14, his guardian Ed Smith told SNY.tv. Arizona State appears to be the frontrunner for the 7-foot Maker, with Indiana also in the mix. Notre Dame is also attempting to get involved, and Kentucky lurks in the background.
**Team Thad point guard Jaylen Fisher takes an official to Arkansas this weekend, per his coach.
**Justin Kitchart has received an offer from DePaul. The 6-1 point guard from Virginia Episcopal also has offers from Providence, Creighton and Pitt, among others.
**2016 guard Myles Powell of South Kent (CT) took an unofficial to Seton Hall on Monday, while 2016 forward Chuba Ohams of Putnam Science (CT) visited Providence.
