In the down time between the end of the college basketball season and the NBA Combine, players decide whether to enter the NBA Draft or transfer from their programs, colleges recruit and bring in said transfers (we got 3 in case you haven’t heard) and the coaching carousel spins (we lost a top assistant, still looking for a replacement). The similarity between all of those occurrences is that they don’t have to affect every program every season. The one aspect that is left over that is also a constant is recruiting. Last year, the incoming class was stellar, however the following class was nonexistent. The class of 2018 remained that way through the cycle as a dark cloud of the FBI investigation loomed over the Canes Hoops program. As I stated earlier, not every program has players leaving the program for the NBA, or has coaches leaving their program. But this season, Miami had BOTH of those things happen. Players leaving for the draft makes recruiting more important, and coaches leaving makes recruiting more difficult. Perfect scenario.
Since the class of 2019 is so crucial to the program, we should start looking at how the class is shaping up. Here is your crash course on everything basketball class of 2019 recruiting for Canes Hoops:
Quick Specs (courtesy of 247sports.com)
Commits: 0 (most of the top recruits are still uncommitted)
Offers: 20
- Florida (5)
- 1 from South Florida
- New Jersey (4)
- Georgia (3)
- New York (2)
- Pennsylvania, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia (1 each)
Offers by Position
- Point Guard - 2
- Shooting Guard - 2
- Small Forward - 5
- Power Forward - 2
- Center - 4
- Combo Guard - 3
3 offered already committed (Kentucky, Butler, and Villanova)
Top South Florida Prospects:
- Vernon Carey, PF, University School in Ft. Lauderdale (offered)
- Damari Monsanto, SG, American Heritage in Hialeah
- Aristide Boya, C, Calusa Preparatory School in Miami (committed to Boston University)
Available Scholarships for 2019: 4-5
This was a very superficial look at what recruiting has been done so far, yet it still tells us many things. So far, the only prospect (out of 20) that has shown serious interest in the Canes is Vernon Carey, the #1 (or #2) recruit in the country, and a local product. If there was one recruit we wanted to see extensive activity with, it would be Carey, as he would be a transformative addition to the program, while also addressing the need to lock down local talent. However, as literally one of the top-2 recruits in the country, the competition will be extremely tough, so to have little direction otherwise is concerning. He’s also announcing his top 5 this week, and that announcement could change much of the outlook of this whole article.
Nation's #1 2019 basketball player, and premium #Canes target, will announce his top 5 this week. https://t.co/BcwlIblauW
— StateOfTheU.com (@TheStateOfTheU) May 14, 2018
Of the top 20 recruits in Florida, 3 are from the South Florida area, we’ve offered one (Carey), nothing is reported with another (Monsanto), and the third is committed already. While the Boston commit may have been an extenuating circumstance, we should be offering 2 out of the 3. It’s reported that Monsanto has received interest from Miami, but for a 4-star rated guard with an NBA-body (6’5”, 200lb) to be sitting in nearby Hialeah, we should have him in a much stronger position. Of the other 17 top 20 recruits, 10 are from the Orlando area. We’ve offered 3 of them. While Orlando isn’t quite South Florida, it’s close enough where Miami should take advantage of the wealth of talent there.
It’s clear that Coach L continues to work his pipeline in the Northeast, with plenty of offers going to New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The Northeast is a great region for basketball, but the rise of Villanova will only complicate our efforts up there. That area is slowly becoming the equivalent of South Florida for football, and every major program in the country will have their hands in that region. Still, it’s great to see Miami still going in to compete for top talent like Bryan Antoine (NJ), Scottie Lewis (NJ), Cole Anthony (NY), and Isaiah Wong (PA) (although we’ve been eliminated from Antoine’s top 5).
Overall, there has been plenty of effort by the coaching staff to make something happen for 2019. They’re shooting for the stars (Carey, other 5-star prospects), working the numbers game (20 offers), and establishing/maintaining pipelines (Northeast). No one is sitting on their hands, but that doesn’t mean more can’t be done. The state of Florida should be hit harder. We need to establish more than passive interest from more than one recruit. Overall, we need more urgency. We had a solid couple of years bringing in the likes of Lonnie Walker IV, Chris Lykes, Bruce Brown Jr, and Dewan Huell. This staff is capable. Let’s make the effort to regain some of that recruiting momentum.
What would you like to see happen in the coming months from the Canes Hoops’ staff as far as recruiting? Let us know in the comments.