In this week’s basketball recruiting notebook, Steve and I let you know that a couple of guys will be removed after they either committed elsewhere, cut the Cards from their list, or UofL simply moved on. Basketball recruiting for the class of 2016 is beginning to heat up. As always, this notebook focuses on the top targets for UofL.
V.J. King (Commit) – Small Forward
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
The Louisville commit participated in the Nike Global Challenge in Chicago this week. King finished with an 11.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg average for his USA East team, including a 21 & 9 performance against the USA Midwest. King just continues to show why he is one of the nation’s best players and remains solid to Louisville. – Steven Rummage
Dennis Smith Jr. – Point Guard
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Smith Jr. cut his list to six a few days ago: Louisville, Duke, Kentucky, Wake Forest, NC State, and North Carolina. The guard from Fayetteville, North Carolina is a big lean to NC State. Obviously, with the Cards being in the top 6, there is still reason to keep him on the notebook. But we don’t think Smith ends up at UofL. – Justin Renck
De’Aaron Fox – Point Guard
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Fox is one of the most coveted recruits in this class, especially for the Cards. The 6’4 point guard from Texas has had a great summer to this point. He averaged 20 points in 6 games at Peach Jam and led the EYBL in assists at 5.4 per game. This one could come down to Texas, Kansas, and Louisville. Can Louisville get Fox out of Texas and away from the Big 12? With Kenny Johnson heading the recruiting for Fox, you have to think there is always a good chance of that happening. Texas may not seem like a big threat traditionally, but remember that Shaka Smart is the new head coach. So the chance to stay in his home state and play for Shaka could be what Fox goes after. But for now, the Cards are still in a good spot. – Justin Renck
Kameron McGusty – Point Guard/Shooting Guard
ESPN: 4*
247 Sports: 4*
Scout: 4*
Rivals: 4*
McGusty committed to Oklahoma today. He will be removed from the notebook. – Steven Rummage
Markelle Fultz – Shooting Guard
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Fultz is quickly becoming the fastest rising player in the 2016 class, moving all the way up to #6 overall in the 247Sports rankings. While Fultz gained his “dream offer” from UK last week, it doesn’t look like Pitino is ready to throw in the towel just yet. Pitino made sure to be court side for a couple of the 5 star SG’s games at the Under Armor event this week. UK looks to be the favorite here now, but Louisville is still firmly in the mix. – Steven Rummage
Terrance Ferguson – Shooting Guard/Small Forward
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Jeff Greer of the Courier Journal posted an article about Ferguson on Friday. Ferguson played on the USA U19 team recently, the same team as Chinanu Onuaku, and it appears that Onuaku was doing some recruiting. “He’s a clown, man,” Ferguson said. “That’s who I probably (hung out) with the most. He was just always full of energy, all the time. It was great. He kept trying to make me go (to U of L). ‘Just commit right now, commit right now.’ It was funny.”
Ferguson named about seven other schools that have regular contact with him, but he did say that he plans to return to Louisville for an official visit, so that is a good sign. This is one to keep an eye on for sure, but another that is from Texas that the Cards will have to pry away from someone like Kansas. – Justin Renck
Josh Jackson – Shooting Guard/Small Forward
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Not much has changed with Jackson. He is still one of the nation’s top players and still has Louisville in the mix. Again I doubt Louisville lands Jackson, as he seems Arizona bound but we aren’t ready to remove him just yet. – Steven Rummage
Mustapha Herron – Shooting Guard/Small Forward
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Heron now has a top 7 of SMU, Maryland, St. John’s, Marquette, Alabama, Mississippi State, and Auburn. He will be removed from the notebook. – Justin Renck
Bruce Brown – Shooting Guard
ESPN: 4*
247 Sports: 4*
Scout: 4*
Rivals: 4*
Brown continued his great play this week, even drawing praise from ESPN’s Joel Francisco saying ” Bruce Brown was the most dominant player I witnessed this week…multi-skilled guard”. While Brown continues to play well, the Cards didn’t make him as much of a priority to watch this week. Brown is an excellent player but it’s clear the Cards have other guys ahead of him on the wish list. – Steven Rummage
Rawle Alkins – Shooting Guard/Small Forward
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
The talented player from New York is being heavily recruited by St. John’s, and that is an understatement. They are trying to sell Alkins to be “The King of New York” and try to get St. John’s back to a prestigious level of basketball. That is a pretty big sales pitch. Alkins and Mustapha Heron have mentioned possibly playing in college together, so St. John’s is a realistic scenario for that to happen.
Alkins also likes Kentucky. What is one of the reasons? Because Drake performed at Big Blue Madness last year. Can’t make this stuff up. The Cards don’t appear to be too high on his list at the moment. He does sound like the thought of playing at home in front of his friends and family (St. John’s) sounds really good to him. We will see if anything changes before the next notebook is released. – Justin Renck
Dewan Huell – Power Forward
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
In last week’s notebook I said I wasn’t sure if Huell was in Louisville’s plans, but the Cards have continued to pursue the 5 star PF. Louisville had a coach at almost each one of Huell’s games since the July period started up including a 12 point, 11 rebound performance with Pitino watching. Huell told Jeff Greer of the Courier Journal that Louisville calls him “every week” and are trying to get him up for a visit. Louisville’s biggest competition may be FSU here but it looks like if the Cards want a big man, Huell may be their guy. – Steven Rummage
Javin DeLaurier – Power Forward
ESPN: 4*
247 Sports: 4*
Scout: 4*
Rivals: 4*
According to Adam Zagoria, DeLaurier is looking to trim his list soon, possibly as soon as late July or early August. He unofficially visited the Cards at the end of June, and left the trip with a scholarship offer. He had this to say about UofL: “Tradition, mostly. Just a history of winning and it provided a new perspective for me in terms of college basketball that I wasn’t familiar with. They bring guys in and make them better and prepare them for the highest level, which is the ultimate goal.” – Justin Renck
Edrice “Bam” Adebayo – Power Forward/Center
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Bam had a very strong showing this week at the Adidas Uprising camp. Adebayo told Adam Zagoria this week that he plans to cut his list down to “probably 10 schools” in the near future. While it looks like the 5 star PF will land somewhere in the state of North Carolina (particularly NC State) it is still worth monitoring if the Cards make the final 10. – Steven Rummage
Marques Bolden – Center
ESPN: 5*
247 Sports: 5*
Scout: 5*
Rivals: 5*
Louisville hasn’t been to see Bolden during the July evaluation period. As for now we are going to remove Bolden from the notebook. – Steven Rummage
