Monday's Recruiting Roundup

I'll be honest -- I probably don't cover or follow recruiting as much as I should. I have a tough time getting excited when a 16 year old cuts his list of schools to seven. Once a player commits, and I can start thinking about how Player X will fit in Coach Y's and how he will complement Player Z is when I get interested.

And yesterday, there was quite a bit of that.

• DeAndre Daniels, a 6'8" small forward out of Taft High School in California, has reneged on his commitment to Rick Barnes and Texas. Daniels, the No. 10 recruit in the country according to Rivals but closer to No. 30 according to ESPN and Scout, has been rumored to be interested in Kentucky (well, at least Kentucky fans believe it) for a while now. As far as Texas' recruiting class is concerned, the Longhorns still have quite a bit of talent coming in, headlined by five-star Canadian point guard Myck Kabongo. The problem is that the entire class is now back court players, and with the exception of Alexis Wangmene and Tristan Thompson (a potential one-and-done player), every big man on the roster is a senior.

LaQuinton Ross is headed to Columbus, OH.
(photo credit: Big Apple Basketball)

• LaQuinton Ross, a four-star, class of 2011 small forward from Mississippi, has committed to Ohio State. This was a bit of a steal for Thad Matta, as quite a few of the guys on the recruiting beat were caught off-guard.


• Durand Johnson committed to Pitt yesterday. A 6'6" wing in the class of 2011, Johnson has drawn praise for his ability to shoot and his toughness on the defensive end of the floor. Hmm, an athletic, lanky defender with a knockdown jump shot. A perfect fit for Jamie Dixon's system.


• And you thought LaQuinton Ross was a steal. The North Texas Mean Green (I have to put their nickname in there, its that awesome) have landed 6'6" power forward Jordan Williams out of The Colony HS is Dallas. Now, North Texas is not a terrible basketball team -- they won a share of the Sun Belt regular season title last year and made the NCAA Tournament. But Williams was ranked on Rivals top 150 list. He was getting recruited by a number of high-major programs. That is a good pick up for a Sun Belt school.


• Cody Lalanne, who was the first highly ranked prospect to sign with Mark Fox at Georgia (he made it as high as 33rd on Scout's top 100), will not be allowed to enroll at Georgia after failing to meet eligibility requirements. The 6'8" forward is reportedly headed to UMass.