Barstool College Basketball: Major Recruiting News, Louisville Appeal, Coaching Extension

Basketball is starting to become a year round thing at all levels. We are seeing late recruits, transfers and changes to the game during the summer leading into preseason. My goal is to keep everyone updated with what’s going on across the landscape of college hoops. Consider this a cheat sheet, because God knows we all used one at some point in college. If there’s something specific you want to see or change in these notebooks, let me know on Twitter @barstoolreags. 

Duke Lands Tre Jones

If the name sounds familiar it’s because he’s the younger brother of former Duke standout Tyus Jones. Over the weekend Tre Jones committed to the Blue Devils as the first commit in the class of 2018. This is an important get as depth at the point guard spot in the class isn’t great and Jones is a top-10 player. Now, he’s not the same player as Tyus. To start Tre is a couple inches taller than Tyus and is more of the ‘combo guard’ feel to his game than the prototypical point guard Tyus was. Tre wants to get out and run, is one of the better on-ball defenders in the class and while he can shoot, he’s nowhere near the shooter that Tyus was. This is an important get though as Jones sets the tone for the rest of the class. K and his staff are still recruiting RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Darius Garland (another point guard) all of whom are rated in the top-15. Despite having Jones, don’t expect Duke to slow down on Darius Garland. Jones is a pass-first point guard, but can play off the ball with the right cast around him due to his ability to defend and attack off the bounce. You hope to see him continue his improvement shooting the ball, but Jones can get in the lane and finish with a floater.

Marvin Bagley Announcing Tonight

This is obviously important news for a couple of reasons. First, it means Marvin Bagley can enter the 2018 NBA Draft. This does not mean he was cleared by the NCAA at least publicly to play next season. That said, Bagley will announce tonight between what is pretty much a 3-team race of Duke, USC and UCLA. I said from the get go, my guess is USC with no real rhyme or reason as a lot of people I’ve talked to don’t have a feel for where he’s going to go. The common belief is Duke is the slight favorite as they’ve been recruiting him for the class of 2017 all along, but there isn’t a clear cut favorite and a lot of guys with great knowledge of this stuff are in the dark. I’ll have more on his announcement tonight after it happens, but if he goes to Duke or USC, they immediately become the No. 1 team in the country. If he goes to UCLA, they jump in the top-10.

Rutgers Continues to Recruit Well

I know, I know. It’s Rutgers basketball, who gives a shit? But, Rutgers is in a power-5 conference and I’m a big fan of Steve Pikiell and what he can do for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have always been in a weird spot, simply because they haven’t been good, yet they are one of the two major schools in Jersey. Why is that important? Jersey is an absolute hotbed for recruiting. Look at the names that have come out of the state in recent years: Karl-Anthony Towns, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Dakari Johnson, Steve Vasturia, Myles Davis, Malachi Richardson, Chris Silva, Isaiah Briscoe, Markis McDuffie, Wade Baldwin and more. Now saying Rutgers needs to be involved with all of them, but the fact they weren’t involved with one of them says a lot about how the program is viewed. This isn’t going to change unless Rutgers can start competing and winning. They are taking the right step with the commitment of Ron Harper Jr., a 3-star recruit from Don Bosco Prep and even more so when Montez Mathis, a four-star, picked Rutgers over UConn last week.

Louisville Appeals NCAA Decision

In appeal paperwork filed with the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, Louisville called the sanctions handed down earlier this summer “draconian”, “unjust” and “grossly disproportionate”. This is the appeal in which the NCAA found Louisville guilty of hiring hookers/strippers for recruits and players, which resulted in Rick Pitino being suspended for five games and the possibility of losing the 2012-13 title banner. The biggest takeaway from the appeal paperwork though is Louisville arguing they agree that Andre McGee acted inappropriately but that the self-imposed postseason ban a couple seasons ago was enough of a punishment. They also say none of the three players that were ruled retroactively ineligible were “properly deemed ineligible.” NCAA and COI has a month to respond to the appeal. Honestly, I don’t think anything will change just because it’s the NCAA. The five-game suspension for Pitino really isn’t anything as we’ve seen the NCAA Tournament factor that in when seeding teams or deciding who makes the field. The loss of the banner would suck, but it’s not like the game didn’t happen. Everyone knows Louisville won that title.

Monmouth Extends King Rice

One of the more recognizable mid-major coaches just got a five-year extension. King Rice and Monmouth agreed to that over the weekend keeping him under contract through the 2021-22 season. Rice has gone 55-15 the last two seasons and many thought a jump up would possibly happen. Now, that’s not to say it won’t just because of the extension, but it’s a sign of goodwill between the two sides. Monmouth does lose Justin Robinson but do return Micah Seaborn, who should be the next great player for the school.