Savon Goodman (6-6 F, Constitution HS/Philadelphia, 2012, New Rens 17U)
True story: Two years ago, I watched Amile Jefferson and
Savon Goodman play on a really good Team Philly 16 and under AAU team and came
away more impressed by Goodman.
Jefferson turned out to be a McDonald’s All-American and is still
mulling over a commitment to either Duke, Ohio State, Villanova, and
Kentucky. Goodman, on the other hand,
has had just as long a recruiting saga as Jefferson but it’s one that doesn’t
seem to be making much progress.
Without a doubt the biggest name Pitt is still actively
recruiting for the 2012 class, Goodman isn’t even sure if he wants to remain in
2012, saying that prep school is still an option. On the court this past weekend at the Hoop
Group’s Pittsburgh Jam Fest, Goodman was largely unimpressive, especially for a
guy that - unlike most of his teammates and opponents on Saturday – could be
playing college ball seven months from now.
While Pitt fans and presumably the coaching staff have
visions of Goodman playing the four spot – perhaps their biggest area of
weakness - if he were to become a Panther, he didn’t show much of the
necessary tools for that. Playing
Goodman at the four in a college game next year would essentially just be
throwing him out on the court based on talent alone and telling him to be aggressive,
try to get rebounds, and attack the rim.
Which is fine, I’m just not sure if that’s something worth
over-recruiting for this late in the process.
He’s very much still an extremely talented and explosive player, but
people should be cautious in labeling him as an elite or can’t-miss
prospect.
It also sounds like Goodman has little idea of what he wants
to do recruiting-wise, which would lead one to believe that a 5th
year for him looks more and more like a possibility. He didn’t really single out any of the
schools recruiting him other than mentioning them (Pitt, UCLA, Temple, St. John’s),
but did bring up Kentucky on his own. It’s
no secret that just about any recruit would love to hear from Kentucky, but in
Goodman’s case, it would seem that he would be more focused on the schools that
actually are coming at him for 2012. Just a strange recruitment overall and one that could seemingly never
end and move along at a very slow pace.
Kaza Keane (6-1 G, Christian Faith Center, 2012, Grassroots Canada 18U)
One of a few players, along with Goodman, that is still on Pitt’s radar for 2012, Keane did imply the Panthers seemed to be backing off of him a little bit. Matt Steinbrink of PantherLair.com reported that Keane was on campus for an unofficial visit Monday but the 6-1 Canadian point man said Pitt hasn’t been recruiting him as hard as they once were though they are still keeping in contact with his brother. Keane said everything is “going well” for him as a class of 2012 recruit and that he doesn’t envision himself reverting back to his original class of 2013. He’s still very high on Pitt but also seemed to be fond of Rhode Island, who he said have been watching him a lot recently.
As for his game, Keane does seem more suited to be an A-10 player than a Big East recruit. He’s fast and has decent size for a point guard, but his decision making skills still need improving. Keane tends to overpenetrate at times and end up turning the ball over either on a travel or errant pass. His outside shot isn’t bad but he doesn’t appear to be much of a scorer and pretty much needs the ball to be effective. He played with the Canadian Grassroots team in the open division (18 and under) in Pittsburgh this past weekend.
Kris Jenkins (6-5 F/G, Gonzaga/Washington D.C., 2013, DC Assault Gold 17U)
Jenkins had an OK weekend in Pittsburgh, not doing anything to hurt his stock or particularly help it. He knocked down outside shots, as he’s known to do, but concerns remain about the weight and conditioning of the 6-5 wing player. Helping lead his DC Assault squad to the semifinals, Jenkins isn’t exactly unathletic but outside of his shooting, he does have to work on the rest of his game, as he didn’t show much of a propensity for getting to the basket or scoring a whole lot inside. He has a number of Big East and ACC schools after him thanks to a breakout high school season and no recruiting visits planned yet so it’s tough to tell where Pitt stands with him until he starts to narrow his recruitment down a little bit.
Rysheed Jordan (6-3 G, Vaux Roberts/Philadelphia, 2013, Philly Pride 17U)
Considered to be an elite 2013 guard, Jordan didn’t exactly look the part this weekend but obviously he’s built his reputation on much more than just a couple games. He’s strong, athletic, and quick while also able to finish at the rim. The Philadelphia native, Jordan did not cite Pitt as one of his schools of interest but he has practically everyone after him – mentioning Syracuse and Kansas, among others. Jamie Dixon watched him play Saturday night, as did Nasir Robinson and Ashton Gibbs. Robinson’s younger brother Darius is a 2013 guard that suits up for Philly Pride alongside Jordan.
Terrence Samuel (6-3 G, South Shore/Brooklyn, 2013, New Rens 17U)
Not a lot to say here about Samuel, as he didn’t show any more or less of a floor game than he’s known for. A combo guard who doesn’t have great floor general skills but also lacks elite shooting guard tools, Goodman's AAU teammate is a nice player but not a top-notch 2013 prospect. The Brooklyn native mentioned interest from Pitt and said he likes the program but that it’s a little far from home. Ironically, he sounded very high on Iowa State and new head coach Fred Hoiberg, who could be the ones to beat for his services and watched his final game of the weekend in-person.
Sam Singer (6-5 G, Ransom Everglades/Miami, 2013, Gold Coast 17U)
A 6-5 guard who can play the two and probably even the one
as well, Singer said Dixon called him last week to say he would be coming to
watch him over the weekend at the Jam Fest and was interested to see him
play. However, it would seem that the
interest from Pitt at this point is nothing beyond Dixon having ties to Singer’s
family, many of whom live in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh. Singer is very strong academically and has
seen his recruitment skyrocket in the last few months but I wouldn’t consider
Pitt highly involved at all at this point.
Anthony Dallier (6-6 G/F, Northfield Mt. Hermon, 2013, Ohio Basketball Club 17U)
Similarly to Singer, Dallier is a player that won’t blow
anyone away with his athleticism but has an extremely high basketball IQ and
knows how to play. He’s also a player with local ties, attending North
Allegheny High School until transferring to Northfield Mt. Hermon – a top prep
school in Massachusetts – before last year and reclassifying to 2013. Dallier,
a 6-6 wing, said Pitt called him and came to see him at an open gym but again,
at this point, Dixon is likely just following up on a talented local kid who he’s
familiar with.
Major Canady (6-3 G, Kiski Prep, 2013, Ohio Basketball Club 17U)
Yet another player with ties to Pittsburgh – Canady is
originally from North Carolina but attends Kiski Prep about an hour from
Pittsburgh – Canady is one whose interest from Pitt might be a little more
serious. Canady is a very strong but athletic
player who is more of a point guard but has the size (6-3) to play off the ball
is well. Offensively, his game is very
unpolished, as he typically just tries to bull his way to the hoop, but on the
other end he is nothing short of a lockdown defender. The statistics at Maxpreps.com indicate that
Canady averaged (!) a quadruple-double this past high school season, which is rather
comical, but he does get a lot of steals and is somewhat adept at dropping the
ball off to teammates for scoring opportunities once he gets into the lane.
Canady said he was surprised when Jamie Dixon called but
noticed the Pitt coach had watched a couple of his games this weekend. He’d like to commit by the end of this live
period in July (which doesn’t mean all that much since no recruit says they
plan on waiting until May of their senior year) and said he’ll be visiting Pitt
in the near future. He supposedly likes
Pitt a lot, and plays nearby, so if the interest picks up on the other end, this could be a
recruitment to watch.
________________________________________________
In case you were wondering about how some of the 2013 prospects fared in Minnesota this weekend, here's a rundown based on stats from the official Nike EYBL website:
Note: All EYBL teams played 4 games
Beejay Anya (6-8 C, DeMatha Catholic, Team Takeover)
25 MPG, 43% FG (12-28), 61% FT (17-28), 10.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 BPG
Mike Young (6-9 F, Hudson Catholic, NJ Playaz)
28 MPG, 56% FG (15-27) 65% FT (15-23), 11.5 PPG, 7 RPG
Jaren Sina (6-1 G, Gill St. Bernard's, Team Final)
26 MPG, 36% FG (13-36), 42% 3FG (10-24), 9 PPG, 4.5 APG
Tony Farmer (6-7 F, Garfield Heights, All Ohio Red)
25 MPG, 23% FG (9-40), 78% FT (7-9), 6.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG
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