Interesting title "Felix still likes the Tigers" If anyone has a rivals account can you please give a summery!
Tigerbait has been active on the hoops news for sure (there's also an article about Johnny O'Bryant). For Tiger fans, we should be cautiously optimistic about Trent's recruiting of LA players. Clearly, there has been an emphasis by his staff to keep connected with Felix, Gathers, Morgan (article leaves in some doubt the situation with Troy Jones) and the LA kids of notariety. Particularly, the article goes into dispelling the feeling that with Hickey now in the fold, that the staff is not still pursuing Felix. They are and Felix is at least still giving decent lip service to LSU. I think you can kind of sense that all of these LA kids want to see something exciting some buzz out of LSU prior to committing. Morgan might sign late. Gathers also doesn't seem to be in a rush. Felix says he wants to commit early, but is also now sporting offers from the likes of Alabama, UCLA, Texas A&M, Butler and others. Again, there's just sort of this cautious optimism there... LSU with another good class and good solid coaching from Trent and team, is on the verge of the initial goal, which is a consistent spot in the SEC West elite. And, a primarily LA class of Felix, Morgan, Gathers and fill in the blank, would be nothing to sneeze at. We'll see how the summer goes. If LSU competes hard in Italy, good things come out of the summer development, the freshman to be come in and are excited and folded in well, and fall practices start to build enthusiasm, I could see Gathers going ahead and committing, which could play some in Felix's and certainly Morgan's mind. If Trent can land a couple of these LA players to go with a pretty good OOS player, this class will shape up to be nice.
For those who thought CTJ didn't have restrictions...This had to impact the type of players he recruited! TigerBait.com - Scholarship loss in basketball
Certainly, it's real. Sometimes folks forget that really some of the "character" issues really do lead to tangible program issues. In any case, things are a little slow as we wait for AAU ball to heat up. I found this old article that frankly, puts on the radar some of 2012's highest recruits from LA. It's no coincidence that LSU has offers to several of them, including right now, Felix, Morgan and Gathers. Could we get a "Fab 3" or 4 from LA this fall? Given some of the news from so long ago, you never know.... a PG, SG and PF from LA could very well go a long way to having another top 15 kind of class. New Orleans' version of the Fab Five making an impact on local high school basketball scene | NOLA.com Interestingly, with the APR news recently, I find it interesting that Trent has not only seemingly very much focused on New Orleans recruits, but also primarily kids from private and/or Christian based schools. Riverside, Country Day, John Curtis, St. Augustine. It's smart, given where the future LA talent seems to be entrenched. At the same time, ole Butch is coming into BR and making Oklahoma St offers to every BR kid sniffing the Rivals 150... I'm liking this kid Malik Morgan more and more. While I think Gathers has gotten more pub of late and is higher ranked, I could see Morgan very much in the mold of a Marcus Thornton, although probably a little less athletic, he's a scorer with a great shot and smarts, who could really gain a lot in Trent's system which helps good shooting guards.
New offer Don't always pick up on Scout/TSD news, but according to their LSU reporters, there's a new offer for 2012 prospect, Wannah Bail, from Houston. Scout.com: Wanaah Bail Profile Interestingly, another 6'7" SF with some serious athleticism and raw upside. He's a four star with a good number of offers and also adds to the TX inroads LSU is trying to make into Houston, a place that makes a lot of sense for LSU to hit.
Wanaah Bail is a very intriguing prospect... Rivials once had him listed as a 5 star guy... Taking a look at his highlights he has a very good skill set...Lefty who takes a lot of mid range jumpers and will dunk on you every chance he gets... This would be a nice pickup for CTJ! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TpmB-Lp4xE]YouTube - Wannah Bail - HardwoodElite.com‏[/ame]
Indeed. Looks like a Trent Johnson kind of player. a 6'6"-67" kid with a smooth stroke. A little thin at this point and not super skilled, but nice first step and seems pretty fluid. At this point, a lot of interest in kids with this kind of build and mold though. Devonte Pollard, this kid both have offers. And, I think the emerging trend is Trent would like to sign a PG, a SG/SF, a PF, and a Center. So, the dance continues: J-M Reese, Javan Felix at PG Devonte Pollard/Bail/Morgan at SF/SG Gathers at PF/SF Upshaw at Center, with others also in the mix here like Troy Jones perhaps, maybe a big out of TX. All great names, but the key is who and when is the first domino going to fall? You'd like for it to be Rico Gathers, who gets maybe Morgan thinking hard about committing. I'd love to see a TX kid also get the ball rolling to join. Speaking of Gathers, watch out for pub on him as AAU teams converge in Los Angeles for the EYBL event this weekend. TigerBait.com - What we're watching this weekend
Rico Gathers did nothing this past weekend to reduce his national attention. Who knows where this one is going to lead... Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - Nike wraps third session of EYBL More from the big tourney this past weekend in L.A. J-Michael Reese and Brian Bridgewater, also impressed with Houston Hoops. NIKE EYBL – LOS ANGELES: SUNDAY RUNDOWN | NBE Basketball Report 2011 Nike EYBL Session #3, Los Angeles | NBADraft.net Watch for both Louisiana Select and Houston Hoops at the Peach Jam tourney in GA in July... only 24 AAU teams are invited.
Another weekend and another tournament. This time it's the Pangos tourney in Los Angeles, and big men Ricardo Gathers, and Center prospect Robert Upshaw will be there. Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - Pangos event loaded with talent For those following SEC hoops, Rivals gives the SEC some love with Meyer's most recent mailbag. Seems like SEC basketball is going to be looking up. I also think that the breakdown of the divisional lines is good for the league, although probably makes things tougher for the SEC West as teams like LSU, Arkansas, Alabama improve. http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1227806
