2013 Recruiting Wishlist – Part II
By seanleroy
This is part 2 of a 2 part series on highlighting a few of the Husky targets in the 2013 class. The first part covered the guards ; the second part covers the big men. The poll below allows you, the reader, to weigh in.
Bigs
In my opinion, and I don’t think I’m alone, Aaron Gordon has to be at the top of your list if you’re a Husky fan. Gordon, the brother of former New Mexico Lobo Drew Gordon, is a beast, plain and simple! He’s led Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, CA) to back to back state championships, and garnered comparisons to Blake Griffin and Derrick Williams along the way. His athleticism is called “elite” and at 6’8”, he can go inside/outside with the best of them. If you haven’t had the time to check out some of his mix tapes, do so; but be ready to pick your jaw up off the floor!
In terms of national notoriety, it’s tough to top Jabari Parker of Simeon out of Chicago. I’ve seen a couple of his games and the one word that comes to mind is “polished”. Recently, Parker was named Gatorade National Player of the Year and had a really nice feature done by Time Magazine, which revealed a seemingly grounded and very humble young man. In the Time feature, Derrick Rose – the man everyone thinks of when they think of Simeon basketball – stated that he felt Parker is farther along than he was at the same point in his development. High praise indeed.
One recruit whose stock is rising is Marcus Lee of Deer Valley High School (Antioch, CA). Lee demonstrates a good grasp of the fundamentals necessary for impact in the paint – great timing, great spacing and, at 6’9”, great length. Film indicates he is shot blocking force, too. In a day and age, when “big men” love to show they can shoot the 3 (kinda like the short stop that always wants to go deep), I love to see a big man that can do the things that give his team a presence down low, both offensively and defensively. It’s no surprise then that everyone from Duke, to Kansas, to Washington have Lee on their radar.
Jordan Bell, Polytechnic High School (Long Beach, CA), is another recruit whose stock is rising, due to his athleticism and uncanny timing, both as a shot blocker and a rebounder. Interest in Bell was and is strong from the majority of the PAC 12, but he now has the attention of programs as diverse as Alabama, Gonzaga and UConn. Bell seems to be a bit of a project offensively when it comes to post play and mandating position for his own shot, but his ceiling is high and he has another year to improve upon those skills.
Kyle Washington out of The Hotchkiss School (Lakeville, CT) displays a nice face-up game to compliment his post game. He has a feathery touch from the left side and knows where to be on the floor as a big man to help his team. Washington is solid defensively, too, and has had a few strong AAU performances, one against Brandon Ashley’s team, and another against the Oakland Soldiers. ESPNHS (CT) has Washington listed first team all-state and ESPNU has him rated #55 for the 2013 class.
As one would expect, each of the players highlighted above would fit well into Romar’s system. But is there a must have, gotta get recruit? For me, it’s Aaron Gordon, especially as he’s recently declared UW to be at the top of his list. Who would you like to see in purple and gold from the class of 2013?