Still a long shot, but LSU has crept back in the finalist list for 6'9" 235 PF/C Elijah Thomas from the Dallas area. Good article on his connections to LSU and his finalists, including SMU, Texas A&M, OK State, LSU, Illinois and UNLV. Definitely a lot of LSU buzz with some very good players, but when those targets all have big other options, this becomes truly a crapshoot. Could be the makings of a huge class if Ben Simmons gets his way. http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2014/08/strong_bond_with_jordan_mickey.html#incart_river
Ray Kasongo has popped on the radar once again http://zagsblog.com/articles/ray-kasongo-down-to-indiana-lsu/
Since we're posting "final" lists, Brandon Sampson, rated by most to be the best LA player in 2015, also just narrowed his final list to SIX, and yes, LSU is on it he plans to make LSU one of his official visit spots. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/169288/brandon-sampson http://247sports.com/Player/Brandon-Sampson-33647 http://future150.com/hs/basketball-profiles/brandon-sampson-sg-2015 Recent Articles on Mr. Sampson: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...sampson-ready-to-dive-into-recruiting-process http://www.nola.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2014/07/lsu_target_brandon_sampson_set.html
This kid has verballed to Baylor. http://www.ourdailybears.com/2014/8/7/5979725/juco-7-jospeh-acuil-commits-to-baylor
Noah Dickerson, the 6'9" PF/C recruit from Florida, recently commited to Billy Donovan and the Gators.... http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...lorida-lands-four-star-big-man-noah-dickerson May have made sense for him, given Florida's need for frontline players, and LSU's depth at the position, i.e., Elbert Robinson, Malone, Epps, not to mention potentially waiting for Martin and Mickey to go to the NBA. Now, our big man targets get narrowed down to Dallas native and 5* 6'9" PF/C, Elijah Thomas, who is now visiting LSU on September 6th, as his first official. Thomas was still the most desired target of the bigs targeted by LSU (Alex Owens, one time recruit, also committed to Providence some time ago), and I'm not sure LSU needed two bigs in this class. I still think the key is finding good shooting guard/wing depth, and potentially a recruit who is more of a "program" player, someone who has good potential, but will stay in the program for 3-4 years and develop. Not everyone in this class needs to be a 5* player....
So, interesting development.... Another 4 star shooting guard, Eric Davis, reports LSU on his final list and plans a visit September 6 or 7th. Looks like CJJ and staff want to line up something special when Elijah Thomas comes to town. http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...our-star-guard-eric-davis-favorites/14580899/ Certainly, the future at SG/wing is key in the class of 2015, and so there is no problem with recruiting several top-notch players at that position. Now, Blakeney, Sampson and Davis all have a little pressure to look hard at LSU and someone make a commitment. Coach Jones and staff... never stops recruiting. I like it.
Antonio Blakeney committed to Louisville yesterday so I fully expect CJJ to turn his full attention to Sampson...And as I post this Elijah Thomas is on his official visit...It's well known that Thomas and Mickey are really good friends but also Thomas and Josh Gray seem to have at least a twitter friendship... Thomas posted a few weeks back that he was going to cross Gray up on his OV...
Interesting..... Saw that, that should be good news for folks hoping that he goes through with his visit later this month. Also, Elijah Thomas the 6'9" big man out of Lancaster, TX who visited LSU earlier this month, had this to say on his blog that he's doing for USA Today. http://usatodayhss.com/2014/09/elit...all-offer-from-lsu-visits-to-schools-and-more More interesting stuff. Certainly we have the potential of having an amazing class.
