Monday, March 28, 2011

A San Jose State basketball recruiting update

Responding to popular request, here's the best we could do regarding San Jose State basketball recruiting. Please remember that recruiting is F-L-U-I-D, meaning it changes daily from one or both sides. What was yesterday, may not be today but could be again tomorrow as commitments emerge and targets change as availability shifts. April 13 is the first day of the new signing period.

Montray Clemons
6-foot-8 200 pounds
Mack Academy, North Carolina

Per Alex Kline/The Recruit Scoop on March 22, SJSU has offered 2011 PF Montray Clemons of Mack Academy (NC) a scholarship.

The 6-foot-8, 200 pound young man is a fifth-year player out of Baltimore, Maryland now at a North Carolina prep school in order to get a passing SAT score. He took the SAT on March 12.

Caught this somewhere on the 'net:

Strengths: He is a run and jump high flyer who plays above the rim. He can step out and shoot the 15' as the trail.

Weaknesses: Although his ball sometimes comes off flat, he has nice form and touch allowing him shoot a fade away or play a face up game. But his game is all power.

Bottom Line: A solid get late as a mid-major big man who will receive high major looks. Montray is hoping to sign a letter of intent in the Spring 2011.

Other offers Clemons has received to date are from Appalachian State and Rice.

He is #24 in this brief You Tube video.

Our Take:
More suitors will arrive if he passes the SAT. Our gut tells us it will be hard to get him to come to the west coast but that isn't based on any specific knowledge.

+++++

Lavanne Pennington
6-foot-4 180 pounds
Barstow Community College -- sophomore
High School: Genesis One Prep/Mendenhall, MS

This season, the native of San Bernardino scored 16.9 points and grabbed 3.1 rebounds a game. He shot 42% overall, 33% on trey attempts and 73% from the foul line while being named to First Team All Foothill Conference.

Pennington moved to Mississippi to finish high school, playing for Coach Audie Norris at Genesis One Christian School. There he put together these numbers: 19.5 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. Here's Norris from a newspaper article on Pennington: "When he's most effective, he's dunking, he's shooting threes falling out of bounds...You really don't want to be on the opposite side of Lavance when he's got the ball and he's effective. He can get you 40 points in a heartbeat and that's not an exaggeration."

and

"Lavance was modest about his life in California...It's a tough life he comes from. Most kids he grew up with don't graduate and don't finish high school...When I first met Lavance, he came in here hard. But he got down here and the kid really understands this is a good life down here. He doesn't have to look over his shoulder and worry about things happening to him."

That caught the attention of Larry Eustachy at Southern Mississippi and Pennington signed a letter-of-intent to attend the school in Hattiesburg.

As a freshman, he sat out the season as a non-qualifier. Then he transferred to Barstow, playing for Coach Reggie Young.

Other colleges interested in Pennington: Hawaii, Mississippi Valley State. But it appears SJSU is his first offer.

Our Take: Word is that he has committed to SJSU and he visited campus last weekend.

+++++

Antonio Biglow
Mt. San Antonio Community College (CA)
6-foot-0 (on a 'long' day) 155 pounds

This season, Biglow averaged 22.4 points and 4.3 assists per game, shooting 45%, 35% and 73% from the floor. He also averaged just under four turnovers a game

From 2008: "Antonio Biglow, a prep school guard from Sound Doctrine (Ga.), was the top player for his team in the heated match-up against the N.Y. Panthers. Bigelow scored 20 points in the defeat and was a constant threat to score at the rim. The prep school guard is worth taking a look at for the mid-major level schools this summer."

December 2010: "Quick point can flat out create drive or pass off the dribble. He averages almost 9 assists an outing and can knock down jumper to keep D honest."

March 17, 2011: "(Walnut, CA) Sophomore Guard, Antonio Biglow (Sylmar H.S.) was named the 2011 Southern California Player of the Year. Earlier he was named SCC North Division Player of the Year for the second consecutive season as well. This season Biglow scored a total of 627 points for the Mounties, averaging 22.39 points per game."

Here's a video link of Biglow the high schooler playing for his club team during spring and summer.

Besides San Jose State, Montana State has also offered. He visited SJSU last weekend.

Our Take: He would be a great get because he can create although he and Keith Shamburger would form a diminutive backcourt. Playing time is available and that's always a major consideration for a junior college transfer.

+++++

James Kinney

College of Eastern Utah (out of Champaign.IL)
6-foot-1 175 pounds
A second team all-league honoree

Kinney's numbers this season: 14 games/8 starts, 12.9 ppg., 45%, 42%, 76% shooting, 5.6 assists, 3.2 rebounds

February 17, 2011: James Kinney of the College of Eastern Utah will miss the remainder of the season after fracturing his mandible jawbone. Kinney, an Ohio University transfer, is known for his ability to score. He averaged nearly 10 points per game as a freshman at Ohio, and was averaging 14 points per game for Eastern Utah despite missing the early part of the season with an injury.

Kinney was averaging 20 points per game in his five previous conference games prior to the injury.

and

James Kinney's next basketball stop will be in high desert country.

The former Centennial High basketball standout recently signed a national letter of intent with the College of Eastern Utah in Price, Utah.

Kinney is transferring to the junior college following a troubled freshman year at Ohio University which ended with his dismissal from the team in mid-February. The 2009 News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year has three seasons of eligibility remaining, one of which will be used at Eastern Utah...

...Before offering a scholarship, Barton flew to Champaign to meet with Kinney and his parents. He said he came away convinced that the former Charger was sincerely remorseful for actions that led to guilty pleas in two separate court cases and two team suspensions while at Ohio.

Fairleigh Dickinson and Utah Valley State have. Also interested: Portland State, San Jose State

Our Take: There's a lot of talent here but, again, our gut says he lands elsewhere.

+++++

Jeremy Jones
6-2 170 pounds
Seward County Community College (Kansas)

February 14, 2011:
Jeremy Jones of Seward County Community College in Kansas is putting up strong numbers, and now has a host of high-major programs in hot pursuit.

Jones, a 6'2" guard, leads the Jayhawk Conference in scoring with an average of nearly 18 points per game. Jones is also dishing out 4 assists per contest for a Seward team that sports a 22-5 record, and holds down the #13 ranking nationally.

and

Jones, another Chicago product, ran the point this season after spending most of his career at scoring guard. "He played at another junior college last year in Texas, but when we got him, seeing how he was only 6-2 (165 pounds) and wanted to play at a higher level, we forced him to play the point a little," Seward County assistant coach Jay Cyriac said.

Jones averaged a team-high 18.6 points and 4.5 assists (3.2 turnovers) for a team that averaged 85.8 points per game. Six times Seward County topped 100 or more points. He shot 48.9 percent (55.5 inside the arc, 37.2 behind it.) He also got to the foul line 171 times (5.0 attempts per game), making 74.3 percent.

"He's slight of build, but he's really long," Cyriac said. "When he drives the ball, he's kind of wiry, so he usually gets fouled."

Jones is visiting South Florida this week, Kansas State on April 8, Houston on April 16 and ASU on the 29th.

"A lot of kids get caught up in names, but Jeremy is looking for an opportunity to play," Cyriac said.

Connections: Jones knows ASU sophomore forward Kyle Cain from their days growing up in Illinois. Cyriac also has history with Sendek. He used to coach an AAU team in New Jersey that featured Al Harrington, a player Sendek pursued during his North Carolina State days.

Before transferring to Seward County, Jones played at Western Texas College. In high school, he starred at Chicago Simeon, averaging 21 points and four assists.

Our Take: SJSU is trying but Jones has a number of higher level opportunties and he's headed elsewhere

+++++

Daquan Brown
Barstow Community College (out of Brooklyn, played at Laurinberg Institute and also Mt. Zion Christian Academy, both in NC)
6-foot-9 210 pounds
An All Foothill Conference selection this season

His numbers this season: averaged 11.7 points per game while shooting shot 62% and 67%, grabbed 9.6 rebounds and blocked 1.6 shots a contest.

Besides SJSU, Kennesaw State has offered. Other schools also interested: Ohio, Pepperdine. It was also reported recently that Brown will be visiting West Virginia in the near future.

Our Take: It appears some big-time schools are moving in but Brown did visit campus last weekend. He would bring some degree of defensive intimidation to the paint that is currently missing.

+++++

Brady Hurst
College of Eastern Utah (attended high school in Utah)
6-foot-8 220 pounds (6-foot-7 and 195 coming out of high school)

Hurst's number this season: 13.4 points a game on 51% and 67% shooting, 7.1 rebounds ( 84 offensive/111 defensive) plus honorable mention honors in the Scenic West Athletic Conference

He's been offered by SJSU and is from the same community college as James Kinney.

Our Take: Hurst would be another inside player, with more scoring ability than Matt Ballard.

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