Recruiting Round-up: At least the season is starting!
by: Griffin Bennett
As we enter the early signing window (when recruits can officially sign letters of intent), Coach Romar and his staff don’t have any verbal commitments which has many people worried.
Romar has stated that next year’s recruiting class (2013) is more of a priority for him than this year’s (2012), but being the only Pac-12 school without a commitment in November is still worrisome.
I’m not in panic mode yet as I believe in Romar’s recruiting ability (he’s very underrated). There is still 6+ months left and he always seems to get great last-minute gems (Ross, Breunig, Aziz, etc).
TheHuskyHaul.com has been doing a great job on keeping up with recruiting this summer/fall and i urge you to head there if you want the latest and greatest.
Here is a recruiting update with who is being reported/rumored to have interest with UW or vice-versa.
Landen Lucas – PF, 6-8 240lb:
A three-star PF prospect from Portland who just visited Romar and the Dawgs last weekend for the SPU game. Lucas is down to his final four schools (UW, Cal, Stanford, Tennessee) and will announce his choice on November 16th, the last day of the signing period.
Most people feel that UW is in the lead for his services and I believe he is our best bet at landing our first commit/signee.
I’m not a huge fan of Lucas after watching his highlights but I think that he can evolve into a league-average PF. He lacks athleticism but makes up for it in fundamentals. He jumps a little early when contesting shots which needs to be worked on.
It’s never a good sign when your highlight reel doesn’t have you taking one jump shot. I looked high and low for his junior year highlights but they don’t seem to exist.
He is an average to above average passer but his real value is finishing around the hoop and playing defense. He’s basically the ‘yang’ to Breunig’s ‘ying’.
Chances on landing him: 60%
Zena Edosomwan – PF, 6-8 225lb:
Zena is the type of player whose highlights ‘wow’ you. He’s a four-star prospect from L.A. considering Cal, UW, Harvard, USC, and Texas. He also visited UW a few weeks ago but most believe that he will be headed elsewhere.
Between Zena and Lucas, Zena is the far better prospect. He plays much more like MBA and his mid-range game is vastly superior to that of Lucas’. With that said, Lucas does have an edge, it seems, on the defensive end.
Like I said, don’t hold your breath on this one. It seems to be a race between USC and Harvard (so weird).
Chances on landing him: 10%
Anthony Bennett – SF/PF, 6-7 230lb:
He is the type of player that we all dream of watching wear purple and gold. His highlights make you drool. A guy that size who can shoot and jump like that? Incredible. He brings back memories of He Who Shall Not Be Named in terms of size and skill.
Unfortunately, UW is probably not going to land this big fish. He has all of the big schools going after him (Kentucky, Connecticut, West Virginia, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Florida, Missouri, UNLV, Ohio State) which doesn’t bode well. However, he has kept his recruitment very quiet so no one really knows who is in the lead.
He is Canadian, which may help UW, and he has stated that he loves coach Romar (who hasn’t said that). I know that I’m guilty of getting too excited about this guy, so don’t follow in my footsteps. He’s probably not coming here.
Chances on landing him: 5%
Jordan Tebbutt – SF, 6-4 205lb:
Once a budding star, Tebbutt’s stock has taken a large fall as he’s one of those “tweeners”. He’s a little too small for play forward and not quick enough to play guard.
I still like his upside, especially if he were to get into Romar’s system. He’s got a great base to build off of and I think he could be a huge sleeper in this class. He’s got a decent shot but he’s very good at finishing around the rim.
It’s still unclear on whether or not UW has even offered him a scholarship. There’s still a lot of unknowns in his recruitment and I think many schools are waiting to see how he performs during his senior year at Oak Hill before they extend an offer. Don’t expect him to commit anywhere until February or later.
Chance of landing him: 10%
Anrio “Rio” Adams – SG, 6-2 160lb:
He has jumped between the 2012 and 2013 classes but now has stated that he is 100% in the 2012 class and will play his senior year at Garfield.
Adams is a prototype shooting guard whose game is very similar to that of Andrew Andrews. He’s a high-volume scorer who can do a little bit of everything.
After jumping between schools the last few years, many teams are waiting to see how Adams performs during his senior year. While early reports were that Adams wanted to leave the state, it now appears that Romar and Co. are growing on him.
We won’t know more about his decision until February or so. I think UW’s odds are growing and now that he is a 2012 candidate, Romar might put more of his attention on him.
Chance of landing him: 15%