April 11, 2008

Jerry Meyer
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst

Jerry Meyer is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. He tackles your questions in his weekly mailbag feature.
Previous mailbags
April 4: Rankings bump for Rosario?
March 30: Two more five-star Tigers?
March 21: Wilson sets a date

Could Derrick Favors be a possible answer for Duke's interior woes?

Who are some potential sleepers near the bottom of the Rivals150?

These questions and more are addressed by National Recruiting Analyst Jerry Meyer in this week's mailbag.

Jerry's Mailbag

Another Final Four finish? With the expected departure of Kevin Love and Darren Collison, can UCLA's new recruiting class take the Bruins back to the Final Four? How does this year's recruiting class rank compare to other schools? -- Thomas from San Francisco ----- As has been reported, the story claiming Love and Collison are headed to the NBA was premature according to UCLA coach Ben Howland. However, it is highly unlikely Love returns to UCLA since his draft stock appears to be late lottery. Collison, however, didn't help his draft stock with his poor play against Memphis, so there is more of a chance he might return. Personally, I think it is quite likely that UCLA loses Love, Collison and Westbrook to the draft, so I'll work with that assumption in answering your question. In our current team recruiting rankings, UCLA is No. 2 in the country. The backcourt should be in good shape even though the Bruins might lose all three starting guards. Three talented guards - Jrue Holiday, Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee - are on their way and will work well together in Howland's three-guard offense. The only problem is that they are all freshmen. To replace Love in the middle, there is incoming freshman Drew Gordon. A different player than Love, Gordon is a top-level athlete with a high motor. However, he is limited offensively. His game is centered on his ability to outrun opponents down the court and out work/out jump them around the basket. Can UCLA get back to the Final Four? I wouldn't put it past them as it appears they are making a serious habit out of getting there, but I don't expect it. Although they are talented, it is tough to go deep into the tournament with freshmen guards. Also, the roster is void of a post player to anchor the offense like Love did. Now, there is an interesting rumor involving J'Mison Morgan which is gaining legs. Word is circulating that Morgan would like to get out of his Letter of Intent with LSU and is looking at UCLA, which was one of his final schools before picking LSU. We will see if anything comes of this, but there would certainly be an opportunity for the five-star center at UCLA assuming Love leaves. If the Bruins were to land a post talent like Morgan, it certainly would help their chances of making it four Final Fours in a row.

Buckeye breakdown Hey Jerry, Could you give me the complete list of Ohio State's Class of 2008 and your take on each player? Thanks -- Billy from Columbus ----- Not many basketball teams get to finish their season with a win, but I'm sure Ohio State would trade a NIT championship for a chance to compete in the NCAA tournament. With the No. 6 ranked recruiting class right now, Ohio State has some players coming in who can help get the Buckeyes back into the NCAA Tournament with a chance to do some damage. The most talented recruit, B.J. Mullens, is presently ranked No. 4 in the Rivals150 but is expected to move up in the final ranking of the 2008 class. At over 7-feet tall, he is an exceptional athlete with a solid build. To go along with his athletic play around the rim and ability to run the floor, Mullens also has a soft shooting touch. He can score with a variety of moves with his back to the basket and also has a dangerous face-up jump shot. Expect him to anchor the Ohio State zone defense with an athletic presence in the middle ? something Ohio State was missing this year. Another five-star prospect headed to Ohio State, William Buford is a quintessential scorer from the shooting guard position. He can knock down deep 3-pointers off the catch and also has a dangerous midrange game off the dribble. There aren't many players, if any, who utilize the glass like Buford does in the midrange. He needs to build up his strength and improve defensively, but there is no doubt that Buford has the tools to be an all-conference player during his college career. Four-star prospect Walter Offutt provides a high level of athleticism from the shooting guard position. He has a tremendous first step and is an explosive leaper. Primarily a slasher, Offutt is the type of player who could bring a lot of energy to Ohio State coming off the bench. If he improves his range as a shooter, he could work his way into a starting role during his career. Three-star prospect Anthony Crater watched his stock drop since he came onto the national scene the summer before his junior season. A crafty point guard, Crater will have to build up his strength and improve his athleticism in order to be an impact playmaker at the point guard position.

Overachievers It seems that in years which produce a "weak" recruiting class, we tend to see more players than usual near the back end of the top 100 or just after it who turn into way better college players than they were originally projected to be. In the 2008 class, who are two or three such players to keep our eye on that could very well turn out better than where they are at right now. -- Zack from Waco ----- Good question, but a tough one to answer. If we knew which players were going to overachieve and outplay their rankings then we'd have them ranked higher. But I will throw out some names of players towards the end of our rankings who could cause some damage in college and also are likely to move up some in the rankings. Demarquis Bost of Hargrave Military Academy is headed to Mississippi State next year. The Bulldogs recently lost Ben Hansbrough and will likely lose Jamont Gordon to the NBA. A combo guard who is a good shooter, Bost should have the opportunity to put up some numbers next season. Xavier is getting a diamond in the rough in Mark Lyons of Brewster Academy. An ultra-athletic combo guard, Lyons just needs to refine a few aspects of his game. Finding a position will be critical for him. As a point guard, he needs to improve his decision making and be satisfied with making the solid play. As a shooting guard, he needs to improve the consistency of his outside jumper. Nonetheless, few players can slash and finish like Lyons does, and he will contribute with his athleticism regardless. Purdue coach Matt Painter is looking for a little more quickness for his backcourt, and he has it coming with Lewis Jackson. A speed merchant with the ball and a pest on defense, Jackson might not post impressive numbers at Purdue, but I expect him to be invaluable to their winning formula. Lastly, Terrance Henry is a 6-foot-9 combo forward oozing with potential. How soon he will find a position and also develop the body to succeed in the SEC are a couple questions surrounding his game, but Henry as the potential to be a big-time playmaker as a skilled four man. A long lefty, Henry has a versatile and somewhat unorthodox game.

Favors favoring Duke? With Duke in need of a "special" big man, do you think Derrick Favors will give Duke a chance? I know Mason Plumlee committed but has not even close the talent of Favors. -- Chuck from Oswego ----- No question that Duke could use a "special'' big man. In fact, he really doesn't need to be that special. What he does need to be able to do is defend the post, rebound like a man and provide at least a threat to score down low. Essentially Duke used a two combo forwards Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas as their post players. Along with playing out of position, neither player is known for their physical strength, putting Duke at a huge disadvantage on the boards and in defending the post. Plumlee is a talented player, but he doesn't fit the role of a burly big guy who can control the middle. Favors is an elite talent who can control the middle, but it is going to be tough for Duke to land him. Basically everyone in the ACC, SEC and beyond is fighting for Favors, but the word out of the Atlanta area is that the in-state schools such as Georgia and Georgia Tech are going to be tough to beat Kentucky and North Carolina State are also perceived to be high on his list.

Another recruiting coup for Huggins? What are the chances of WVU, at this point, landing Devin Ebanks? -- Anthony from parts unknown ----- Earlier this week Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Senior Writer Justin Young reported that Ebanks will take four official visits in April and May. His first stop will be West Virginia this weekend. The former Indiana signee will then visit Texas the last weekend of April before heading to Rutgers and Memphis on the first two weekends of May. During his second go-around in the recruiting game, Ebanks is staying quiet and letting his coaches do the talking. Prior to his visits it is difficult to get a gauge on how the schools stack up in his mind. From a West Virginia perspective, however, there is probably some room for optimism. Coach Bob Huggins is a high-powered recruiter, the team is coming off a successful season, Joe Alexander has declared for the NBA Draft and West Virginia is not too far from Ebanks' home. West Virginia faces some tough competition to land Ebanks, but it looks like they have as good a chance as any of the other schools. One interesting thing to note is that when Ebanks originally chose Indiana, he said he wanted to play for a tough coach who could make him better as a defensive player. Certainly Huggins fits that description.

Jerry Meyer is a national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Click here to send him a question or comment for his Mailbag.