DMV Roundtable: Biggest Surprise Commitment, Under the Radar Backcourts, DMV Collegiate Prospects
This Friday, all teams in Maryland will officially be practicing and preparing for the 2019-20 season. It’s been a long, drawn out summer with plenty of activity. In this week’s roundtable, we cover surprise commitments, under the radar backcourts and…
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Continue ReadingThis Friday, all teams in Maryland will officially be practicing and preparing for the 2019-20 season. It’s been a long, drawn out summer with plenty of activity. In this week’s roundtable, we cover surprise commitments, under the radar backcourts and DMV collegiate prospects who have caught our eye early in the 2019-20 season.
1 Which prospect surprised you the most with their college decision? (from May until now)
Giacubeno: Jamal West to South Alabama. Head coach Rich Riley is building a nice program down there, but I’d be lying if I said I thought they could sweep West off his feet during his first official visit to any school. The 6-foot-5 St. Frances bulldozer was being courted by such as UMass, Delaware, Drexel, Coastal Carolina and Ohio just to name a few. Before he began his official visit tour, I figured he would wait out the entire process before deciding. Kudos to Coach Riley and his staff for landing a solid prospect who has the makings of being a versatile, productive college player.
Ayalew: Probably Earl Timberlake. There was a lot of momentum around schools like Providence, and he had been keeping his thoughts relatively close to his vest. Ultimately, his decision makes a lot of sense given the fact that the Canes play in college basketball’s top conference. He will also have plenty of opportunity to play with the ball in his hands and flourish in Coach L’s system.
Wilson: I think South Alabama is getting a major steal in Jamal West out of St. France’s Academy. West is a prospect that I think could have gone to some more known mid major schools and been a contributor right away in the low post. A lot of local mid major schools will be kicking themselves in the foot in few years for not going hard after West.
Sidwell Friends has a lot of momentum heading into this season coming off winning the DC state championship and they will be able to contend again for that title this year with the backcourt of Ryan Cornish and Afamdi Achufusi.
I went to see Maryland host Holy Cross last week and was super impressed with the amount of muscle Jalen Smith has put on. It was very crucial for the Terp’s success for him to come back for his second year this year but expect him to enter the NBA draft next year.
Matt Lewis has become the go to leader for a rebuilding JMU squad that was picked preseason fourth in the CAA this year. I watched him on Sunday evening play against Virginia where he led the Dukes in scoring for the second game in a row and looked ultra confident against the reigning national champions.