Peach Jam Recap: Oladipo, Gbinije
NBE has part two of their Peach Jam recap, and they highlight two Maryland targets (and Team Takeover teammates) in Victor Oladipo and Michael Gbinije.
Oladipo is an absolute defensive menace. He is very active in the passing lanes and forces deflections and steals with his pressure and athleticism. He can also block shots and is excellent on the glass. Offensively, Oladipo is deceptively quick and can get to the rim and finish. He had multiple dunks after beating his man. Told NBE last week at the Reebok AA camp that he has in the proximity of 30 offers from schools big and small. Some of those offers have come from Indiana, Clemson, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Providence, Xavier, Dayton, UMass, VCU and Cincinnati. He also indicated he is expecting an offer from Pittsburgh very soon and he has been to see Georgetown.
He immediately stood out as soon as I started watching Team Takeover play. He is an outstanding offensive player who can score in so many ways. His jump shots were rimming out, but he was still able to get to the basket at ease. Gbinije was very tough to stay in front of, as he is very shifty with the ball and in the lane, with jump-stops and ball fakes. He had a very impressive move under the basket for a basket. Gbinije did not list any schools when asked about his recruitment, but said he is interested in playing in the ACC.
Terrence Jones Recap from NPJ
It apparently was not the best of performances from the Portland forward.
Terrence Jones, 6-9, I-5 Elite, 2010: The lefty admittedly did not have a very good offensive performance, but he was solid on the glass and played well defensively. However, I would have liked to see a lot more from him at the offensive end. Jones did not use his size very well, not taking advantage of his edge in height against smaller defenders. When he got the ball, he was not aggressive and did not look for his shot. Defensively, though, Jones blocked several shots and rebounded well. After his I-5 Elite squad picked up the win over the Arkansas Wings on Monday, Jones told NBE that Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Georgetown, Marquette, Maryland, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, UCLA, USC, Cal, Texas and Kansas are on his list. All have offered already, except Duke and UNC.
I wonder if this has any effect on his standing in comparison to Terrence Jones. I doubt it, but if the staff still feels that they have a legit shot at Harris, maybe they'll divert more attention after the offensive slaughter he's been performing.
Tobias Harris Article From Zags
Yeah, you're done not with Tobias Harris, and neither are we. Time for some more stuff:
"Even Calhoun had three broken ribs and he stayed to the end," Torrel, Tobias' father, said in a phone interview. "That's impressive."...
"We are wide open but the way we're going to decide is the schools that have been loyal to me and I've been loyal to them," Tobias said. "The way we're going to pick the schools is who's been showing interest and who's at most of the games."
Time to hope Gary's been following him hard. Apparently he watched most of Harris's games at NPJ, so there's a shot we could make the final five.
Blog Side of Harris Update
Zags footnoted his article with a blog post, adding in some information:
**The family is intrigued by John Calipari, who has sent numerous players to the NBA after one year, including Tyreke Evans this year.**They also have a relationship with Memphis coach Josh Pastner, who coached Channing Frye at Arizona. Frye is Tobias’ cousin.
**The family values loyalty and thus the coaches who have attended most of Tobias’ summer games will have the edge. "If the head coach ain’t recruiting Tobias, they don’t have a chance," Torrel said.
**They plan to cut the list to about five in August and then take official visits from there.
**Tobias heads to Florida later this month for AAU Nationals and the Super Showcase.
First, I'm shocked they think John Calipari was the thing that got Tyreke Evans into the NBA. Evans would've gone to the NBA after one year had he gone to Ohio. Second, and perhaps more importantly, does this mean Tobias now considers himself a one-and-done? Surprising.
LB Recruit Chooses Hokies over Terps
Hey, at least he wasn't in-state this time.
Robinson linebacker Brian Laiti on Friday morning committed to play for Virginia Tech, Rams Coach Mark Bendorf called to report. Laiti, a 6-foot-3 ½, 210-pound rising senior, picked the Hokies over Maryland, West Virginia, Boston College and Syracuse.
Not a big loss. Laiti was never a big priority for us.
Recruiting Report: Weekly recruiting roundup
Bracken's trusty weekly roundup. We generally link the same stuff, but he got quite a bit of stuff I missed this week, so definitely make sure to check it out.
We don't have a legit shot, but...
ESPN has an update on the Nike 7 on 7 tournament, and top RB Marcus Lattimore led "Zoom Blade" team (is that a real name?). And yes, he is technically listing Maryland.
Running back Marcus Lattimore was an important part of the passing game for Zoom Blade. In several other 7-on-7 events, Lattimore was known to open for deep passes by blowing past defenders, but he primarily worked underneath on Thursday and was quite effective. Lattimore has offers from all over the country, and has a working list of schools that includes Florida State, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Penn State, Clemson, Rutgers, Oregon and Maryland.
Let's just say that if Lattimore goes to College Park, the lead recruiter in that recruitment would have a life pass. There's a reason we're last on that list. But give credit where credit is due: at least we're there.