CSZ Basketball Recruiting Notebook: 7/13/15

Here we go, the first official CSZ Basketball Recruiting Notebook of the 2016 recruiting season! A few days ago, I posted a preliminary one with just the list of names that would likely be in this first notebook. Just kind of something to get you informed on the players and what was to come. Now it is time to give a little more information on each of the targets for UofL and where the Cards stand with some of them.

If you kept up with us last year, you know that this is still pretty early in the recruiting season. As time goes on, things will begin to take shape and pictures will become clear. Players will commit to schools and be removed from the list, and things will start to narrow down. For example, there are already a couple of players that will be on this first list, and that is likely it for him unless something drastically changes.

At the time of posting this, Louisville has three scholarships for 2016. V.J. King has one of them. If Maverick Rowan commits to UofL and will be in 2015, then that will mean that there are only two for next season, with King having one. So that would mean there is only one more spot to fill. So that stuff will depend on what happens with Maverick Rowan, quite possibly this week.

Steve Rummage and I have split up the list and will each give our insight into those players. Hope you enjoy!

V.J. King (Commit) – Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

V.J. King showed this week at the Peach Jam why Louisville fans should be VERY excited about him being in a Louisville uniform. King had a great week with his Team Takeover team, finishing it off with a 26 point performance in the semi finals on ESPNU. The 6’7 King went 18-22 from the free throw line…………I’ll say that again, 18-22 from the free throw line. King got to the basket any time he wanted against a Georgia Stars team that posted the biggest line up in the Peach Jam tournament including 2017 5-star Wendell Carter. Look for King to sign with the Cards in the fall and no need to worry about a de-commitment with this one. Cards got a flat out gem! – Steven Rummage

Dennis Smith Jr. – Point Guard

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Smith is one of the most talented point guards in the class. He is from Faytteville, North Carolina and it looks like it will be hard to get him to leave the state. His list includes Duke, North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest. Louisville and Kansas are on the list, but that is a list full of Carolina flavor. He did also say that Ohio State has started to talk to him recently. NC State looks to be the favorites here. – Justin Renck

De’Aaron Fox – Point Guard

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Fox is definitely one for Cards fans to keep an eye on. He is a dynamic 6’4 point guard from Texas. If he can just be convinced to leave Big 12 country, the Cards have a great shot at him. The four schools recruiting him the hardest are Kansas, Texas, Louisville, and LSU. Fox says that he is one of the only point guards that UofL is recruiting, and they see him as a lead guard that also gets after everyone defensively. Kenny Johnson is in charge of this recruitment, and that usually means the Cards will be in the thick of things for a while. Fox is absolutely a name to watch right now. – Justin Renck

Kameron McGusty – Point Guard/Shooting Guard

ESPN: 4*

247 Sports: 4*

Scout: 4*

Rivals: 4*

Louisville recently offered the 6’5 SG out of Texas and had assistants out to watch him this past week. McGusty can fill it up and that is what Pitino is looking for. At this point, I don’t think McGusty is a priority recruit for the Cards but one they will continue to monitor if other names start coming off the board. – Steven Rummage

Markelle Fultz – Shooting Guard

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Fultz recently took time to visit the Cards and Louisville is firmly in the mix with the 6’4 SG. Fultz has a great skill set for his size and would fit great in the Louisville system. I’ll go as far to say that 2 weeks ago I would have pegged Fultz as the favorite to be the next person to take one of Louisville’s 2016 scholarships. A couple things have happened in the past week that has made me change my mind on that. First is the resurgence of Maverick Rowan. If Rowan picks Louisville like most believe, I expect Pitino to use the remaining scholarship on someone who can play the PG position. Secondly, Fultz received an offer from UK, a school he referred to as his “Dream School”. We will continue to leave Fultz on the list but not as confidently. – Steven Rummage

Terrance Ferguson – Shooting Guard/Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Ferguson is another recruit the Cards are looking at from Texas. He plans to narrow his list down to 5 by the end of the summer. Texas and new head coach Shaka Smart have made him a priority, but Kansas seems like the team to beat here. Louisville is still checking him out, but I wouldn’t say he is anywhere close to being a Louisville commit right now. – Justin Renck

Tyus Battle – Shooting Guard/Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

On Monday afternoon, Battle committed to Syracuse. So he will be removed from the notebook, but that needed to be included here for those who hadn’t heard. – Justin Renck

Josh Jackson – Shooting Guard/Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

I am going to make this short and sweet. Josh Jackson is one of the best players in high school basketball right now. Jackson recently said he is considering Kansas, Arizona, Auburn, Michigan St., and Louisville so we will keep him on the list. I don’t see any chance Jackson really ends up at Louisville but if he does….Look Out. – Steven Rummage

Mustapha Herron – Shooting Guard/Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Herron is from Connecticut but plays with the New York Rens AAU team. He is definitely aware of Coach Pitino’s prestige in the New York area. The Cards are keeping tabs on Herron, who said that his recruitment is “wide open.” – Justin Renck

Bruce Brown – Shooting Guard

ESPN: 4*

247 Sports: 4*

Scout: 4*

Rivals: 4*

Brown is a very intriguing prospect. At 6’5 with a 6’9 wingspan, Brown can play either the 1 or the 2 and that is exactly what the Cards are selling him on. Brown had an excellent week at the Peach Jam with Pitino watching. Brown’s best game came in a  24 point, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals effort where he showed just what all he can bring to the table. Brown told Jeff Greer of the Courier Journal that U of L, North Carolina, Indiana, St. John’s and Texas are all recruiting him as a point guard at this point. While I’m not sure Brown is priority number one for the Cards right now, he absolutely isn’t just a consolation prize. We will be keeping a close eye on Brown. – Steven Rummage

Rawle Alkins – Shooting Guard/Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Pitino was able to watch Alkins at the Adidas event this past weekend in Suwannee, Georgia. In the finals of the Adidas Gauntlet series on Friday, he scored 34 points and led his New York Rens to victory over the Atlanta Celtics. I would say that Kentucky leads for him right now, but Louisville is still in the mix. – Justin Renck

Miles Bridges – Small Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Bridges trimmed his list today and the Cards were not on it. Not a surprise, but just worth noting here. He will obviously be removed from our list. – Steven Rummage

Dewan Huell – Power Forward

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Huell was a kid Louisville got in on very early and looked to be in the driver’s seat. Over the past year though, Louisville has slowed on the 6’10 PF. Rick Pitino didn’t watch Huell this past week as the July evaluation period began and that may be good, considering Huell was ejected from a game. At this point, I don’t see Huell as an option but we will leave him on for now. – Steven Rummage

Juwan Durham – Power Forward

ESPN: 4*

247 Sports: 4*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 4*

Durham is currently rehabbing from a torn ACL and should be back and healthy around October. Louisville had shown interest, but without him being able to play this summer and with so many other priorities at the moment, I will go ahead and remove Durham from the notebook until further notice. – Justin Renck

Javin DeLaurier – Power Forward

ESPN: 4*

247 Sports: 4*

Scout: 4*

Rivals: 4*

We don’t even know if Coach Pitino will be taking a power forward in this class with the limited spots he has. If he does, he has the Cards in a good spot with DeLaurier at the moment. DeLaurier visited UofL on an unofficial visit at the end of June. – Justin Renck

Edrice “Bam” Adebayo – Power Forward/Center

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

As far as wish lists go, Bam is way up there on mine. Only way to describe Adebayo is Montrezl Harrell but a little more polished at this point. Bam is close friends with 2016 PG target Dennis Smith and at this point, both seem to be headed to NC State. Bam and Smith have expressed interest in playing together and the Cards are one of the schools that are looking at taking both, which puts them right in the mix. It isn’t probable Adebayo ends up at Louisville, but at this point it is possible so we will leave him on the list. – Steven Rummage

Abdul Ado – Center

ESPN: 4*

247 Sports: 4*

Scout: 4*

Rivals: 4*

Ado is on this list simply because he is a name that Louisville fans have come to learn over the last year or so. However, it appears that Louisville has stopped recruiting him. Therefore, he will be removed from the notebook, but that at least needed to be cleared up so people understood why we weren’t going to include him. – Justin Renck

Marques Bolden – Center

ESPN: 5*

247 Sports: 5*

Scout: 5*

Rivals: 5*

Louisville offered the 6’10 Bolden earlier this year but with the progress of Onuaku and Mangok, I’m just not sure the Cards will take a center in the 2016 class. We won’t remove Bolden just yet, though as talk of him and (top UofL PG target) De’Aaron Fox looking to package deal somewhere could intise Pitino to make some room. – Steven Rummage