In a word, disappointing, but there's hope. Going off rivals info, the class is currently ranked 74th in the nation. We have a 4-star point from Maryland signed, and a 3-star SG from Florida verbally committed. Our best chance of making a splash in this class looks to be 4-star PF Trendon Watford, from the Birmingham area. 6'8" kid who can run the floor and shoot from outside, Rivals has him ranked at #6 at his position, and #19 overall. They list him as a 60% lean to LSU, but 247sports leans him to Memphis, with Bama and Indiana still drawing interest. Another possibility is Lester Quinones, 4-star 6'5" shooting guard at IMG Academy. He's rivals' #44, #9 SG. He has us on a long list, with no favorites at this time. On the other hand, 247sports, which ranks him #64 nationally, has him 100% LSU.
It's been disappointing so far but I wouldn't be surprised to see WW make some noise later in the recruiting cycle if we make a run. That said, we are also a very young team so I wouldn't worry too much if we don't finish with a top 5 recruiting class this year. Some of it will depend upon who leaves and who stays. If Reid and Waters go then I would expect us to pick up some bigger names. Here is what we have coming back next year if no one leaves early: 21 - Courtese Cooper (JR) 6-8, 210 22 - Darius Days (SO) 6-6, 225 12 - Marshall Graves (SR) 6-4, 195 15 - Aundre Hyatt (RFR) 6-5, 225 4 - Skylar Mays (SR) 6-4, 200 13 - Will Reese (JR) 6-3, 205 0 - Naz Reid (SO) 6-10, 250 1 - Javonte Smart (SO) 6-4, 200 14 - Marlon Taylor (SR) 6-5, 210 3 - Tremont Waters (JR) 5-11, 175 24 - Emmitt Williams (SO) 6-7, 225 If Waters and Reid leave and we get the guys mentioned in McTiger's post, we'll be fine. I would expect us to pick up another if those guys leave though.
I really doubt if Reid will be back and Bigby-Williams is a senior so we need to sign some bigs to replace them.
Yeah, looks like we are in a good spot with the Watson kid from Alabama according to most of the recruiting services anyway. Cooper is supposed to be a rim protector but it looks like he needs about 20-30 pounds on his frame to play with the big boys. I agree we could use another big.
