2012 Pac-12 Recruiting Breakdown

Oregon

• Dominic Artis is a flash and dash point guard. He loves to show of his ability to dribble the ball and he has great court vision and a will to win. (4-star) They also added another point in Willie Moore, my guess is that he finds the red-shirt the first year because of Artis (3-star).
• Damyean Dotson is out of Texas and I don’t know a lot about him. He is a 3-star forward that will find himself playing out on the wing the most as he is only 6’6.
• Ben Carter is their big man that they added in this class. However, he likes to play outside for his 6’8 frame. He likes to shoot from mid-range and will even find his way to the perimeter. I am assuming he is buried on the depth-chart his first season. (3-star)
• They also added a JC guy in Devon Branch (shooting-guard).

Adding Artis was a big-time grab for the Ducks but overall their class won’t impress much next season. It isn’t something that provides a ton of immediate impact except from Artis and even then it may take some time.

California

• Tyrone Wallace is a guard. Not sure where Cal plays him right away but he can play either the point or out on the wing. He has good ball-handling and passing but isn’t an amazing shooter. He can hit it but that’s not his strength. I would guess his impact right away is minimal. (4-star)
• Kaileb Rodriquez is a good big-man for Cal. He is about 6’8, 200 pounds and while he needs to add weight has decent strength. He is a depth-chart guy for the Golden Bears. (3-star)
• Cal also added a guy I don’t know anything about in Kahlil Johnson. He is listed as a Power Forward but is only 6’7. As far as I can tell, I will be surprised if he even sees any minutes his freshman year.

The Golden Bears didn’t do as well in this recruiting class as they have in the past. They will need to ride their older players in order to stay in the top 5.

Washington State

The Cougars had a good year of recruiting for them. It isn’t a “wow” class but they were able to get some talent in this one, they even stole a guy from the Huskies. This class would have been ranked above a couple of the schools above them had Richard Peters qualified.

• Demarquise Johnson is the headliner, he can score and he is a very athletic freak. His biggest thing he will need to work on is that desire that takes an athlete like him to the next level. He actually, will have an immediate impact for the Cougars if they use him right. (3-star)
• Richard Longrus is going to come in and play the 2 or 3. He is 6’6 and is best known on the defensive side of the ball. He can help the Cougars immediately too with his ability to defend. (3-star)
• Brett Boese is another long wing for the Cougars. He is 6’7 but he may need a year to adjust. He isn’t overly impressive at either end yet. But with some development may be a good versatile player for WSU. (3-star)

Washington State did a great job in this class by landing guys that can help them immediately. They will use Johnson and Longrus to help guard some of the better players in the Pac-12 and Johnson can spot up or take it off the dribble especially when he shows the desire.

Utah

The Utes were terrible in basketball last year and their recruiting class won’t help much. To be fair they added five players but only a couple of them look to provide an impact. Unless, of course there is some unknown player that is a stud that we all missed. I don’t say this as sarcasm because it happens in basketball all the time but on paper the class isn’t much help for the struggling Utes.

• The best player in their class is 3-star local product Jordan Loveridge who could provide immediate help for the Utes. He is a 6’7 body that honestly needs a little bit of time to develop but considering the Utes lack of depth, he will play.
• Same goes with 3-star Justin Seymour. He is a shooting guard that can attack the basket.
• The other three are players I haven’t heard of but Utah liked and gave them a scholarship; Brandon Taylor, Dakarai Tucker, and Renan Lenz (not related to HuskyLenz). None are ranked.

Arizona State

Added a good class of depth and some guys that can help off the bench.

• Calaen Robinson is a 3-star point guard that could see some backup minutes his freshman year. He isn’t going to ‘wow’ anyone but he has the ability to provide depth as a freshman.
• Kenny Martin and Eric Jacobsen are two guys I don’t know much about. Both are listed at 6’10. They will add size to a school that is suffering from having only a couple other true big-men. If either Martin or Jacobsen can play minutes right away, that will already help the Sun Devils. Look for one of them to red-shirt. (3-stars)

Washington

With only one commitment that counts towards the 2012 class, it is wonder they aren’t listed at the very bottom. In fact, if this list was rated on impact the class would have on the next year, Washington would be ranked towards the top. However, in terms of recruiting classes it was pretty weak.

• Mark McLaughlin was the nation’s leading scorer last season and was one of the top players in Washington coming out of High School. But due to a couple of poor decisions and some unforeseen circumstances he ended up at Tacoma Community College. He now has two years to play two at UW. He is an elite talent and some even think he will start for the Huskies because of his ability to score almost at will.

USC

The Trojans will be much better this year but not because of their recruiting class but mainly because they will be getting their stars back from injury. Losing the majority of their starters hurt the Trojans big-time, last season. It will also help getting in transfers JT Terrell and Ari Stewart (from Wake Forest). If it wasn’t for Terrell being counted in this class, it would be the worst in the Pac-12 for recruiting in 2012.

• The star in this class is JT Terrell and while he is a transfer from Wake Forest he technically is in this recruiting class because he spent his last season at Peninsula College in Washington. Therefore, he is a JC Transfer. Terrell is an elite guard when he wants to be. He can score, shoot, and can guard.
• The rest of the 2012 class isn’t that impressive, they added 3-star big-man Strahinja Gavrilovic but don’t look for him to play too many minutes his freshman year. Unless of course USC injures their entire starting squad again.
• Lastly, they added a local PG in Brendyn Taylor, I don’t know much about him besides that he didn’t have many offers. He is listed as a 2-star guard.

Oregon State

• The two wings that committed are the two most likely to provide an impact, Langston Morris-Walker and Victor Robbins. Robbins is athletic player that loves to attack the rim. Morris-Walker can also rack up points using his jumper. Look for both to come off the bench. Oregon State likes Robbins as a replacement to Jared Cunningham. (3-stars)
• Jarmal Reid and Maika Ostling are a couple of 2-star guys that most likely won’t see action their first year. Ostling is a guy that Oregon State plans to groom and Reid is deep, deep depth for OSU. (2-stars)

A very underwhelming class but there could be a couple diamonds in the rough for Oregon State. Robbins is a guy that if he can keep his grades up can thrive in the Beaver offense.