Cheek Made Unofficial Visit to ‘Nova
It’s a fairly quiet Labor Day weekend so here’s some small news to keep your interest in ‘Nova Hoops high… Adam Zagoria is reporting that Dominic Cheek from St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, NJ made a[nother] unofficial visit to the Villanova Campus last weekend.
Cheek is ranked #16 in the Class of 2009 and the #6 Shooting Guard.
Nova’s 2009 Recruiting Class Ranked #2
Following up on the heels of this week’s verbal commitment by Mouphtaou Yarou, Villanova’s 2009 Recruiting Class has been ranked #2 by Rivals and ESPN. The Class also includes point guard Maalik Wayns from Roman Catholic in Philadelphia and Power Forward Isaiah Armwood from Maryland’s Montrose Christian.
Both recruiting services rank North Carolina’s class as #1.
- Yarou is ranked #27 by ESPN and #14 by Rivals
- Wayns is ranked #22 by ESPN and #25 by Rivals
- Armwood is ranked #31 by ESPN and #62 by Rivals
Mouphtaou Yarou Commits to Villanova
Mouphtaou Yarou who played at Masanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, VA last season has committed to play for Jay Wright and Villanova as reported by Jeff Goodman.
The 6′9″ Power Forward has exploded on the Summer AAU circuit with the DC Blue Devils gaining a 5 Star Rating and #14 Ranking in the Class of 2009 from Rivals.com. He is ranked #28 in the Class by Scout.
Yarou is a Benin native, who has been in the US for a 8 months, has polished skills, good footwork, and is a hardworker.
According to Adam Zagoria, Yarou will be transferring to Montrose Christian this year for better competition. There, he will get to play with Isaiah Armwood.
Villanova has beaten out UCLA, Memphis, New Mexico St., Pitt and Vanderbilt to land the rising star.
Welcome to the Villanova Family Mouph!
Other VUhoops.com Articles on Yarou:
- Rumors, Rumors, Rumors. Early August Rumors.
- Recruiting: Mouphtaou Yarou
- Recruiting: Mouphtaou Yarou ‘09
Press Articles on the Commitment
- ‘Cats Grab Yarou Verbal [vusports.com]
- Villanova Snags Third Big Timer [Scout]
- Villanova gets commitment from top power forward [Daily News]
- Northstar Basketball Blog
Wayns in the Boost Mobile Elite 24
Villanova commit Maalik Wayns along with main recruiting target Dominic Cheek played in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 last night at Rucker Park in NYC last night. The event was a Who’s Who of High School players which included Lane Stephenson, Kenny Boynton, and John Wall.
Wayns held his own, with some nice dishes and scoring 10- he was named Co-MVP of his team with Lance Stephenson. Cheek dropped in 23 and was a Co-MVP (along with John Wall) for his team.
Recruiting: Dom Cheek to Finalize List in September
Villanova recruiting target Dominic Cheek from St. Anthony’s in Jersey City, NJ won’t be finalizing his college choices until September according to Adam Zagoria.
Cheek, a 6′5″ 5-Star shooting guard, is ranked #11 in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com and Scout.com.
Villanova is always mentioned in Cheek’s list of schools along with Kansas, Wake Forest, Tennessee, and UConn.
Rumors, Rumors, Rumors. Early August Rumors…
Did we mention these are rumors???
It seems that the begining of August is finding lots of speculation flying around the Main Line. After the number of emails we’ve received today, we thought we’d share them with you.
- Assistant Coach, Brett Gunning, is in the process of interviewing with the Houston Rockets for their open “Assistant Director of Player Personnel” position. This comes to no surprise to us. Brett is routinely ranked one of the top assistant coaches in the country. And has been offered the Head Coaching position at Marist and as an assistant with Larry Brown with the Charlotte Bobcats.
- Initial rumors had a number of recruits visiting this week. The initial number was 4 split between ‘09 and ‘10 recruits. With today’s announcement of Tony Chenault committing to Wake Forest, odds are that three will be visiting (Dom Cheek is not one of them). To bump up the rumor, Jay Wright himself is “hoping to add 2 recruits by the end of the month.”
As always, feel free to send us your comments or insider tips. Thanks Steve, Bill.
So who do you think Jay is hoping to land? Mouphtaou Yarou? Aaric Murray? Talib Zanna? JayVaugh Pinkston? Josh Hairston? Markus Kennedy? Post a comment with your thoughts…
8/8 Update- Markus Kennedy was on campus on Tuesday. Aaric Murray was on campus on Wednesday.
Articles on James Bell’s Commitment
Following yesterday’s James Bell commitment here are some articles about his decision to play for Jay Wright at Villanova….
For Villanova, a commitment from Bell an investment in Future (Daily News)
“A ridiculous body, a ridiculous athlete,” the observer said.
Fla. Junior chooses ‘Nova for Basketball (Inquirer)
Villanova Lands James Bell (ESPN)
Bell Pops to Big East (Scout subscription required)
Bell Makes the Call (Rivals subscription required)
James Bell Commits to Villanova
Jay Wright has just picked up his first commitment from the Class of 2010 from James Bell according to Adam Zagoria and Scout.com.
“I like the coaching staff. I met the players. There’s a 100 percent graduation rate. I want to get my degree and be a part of the family that Coach Wright has created.”
Bell is a 6′4″ Shooting Guard from Florida. He played last year at Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville but will move to Montverde Academy. Bell has been tearing up the AAU circuit this summer for Team STAT.
Bell is currently rated as a 4* Player by Scout and Rivals. He is ranked #65 in the Class of ‘10 by Scout and #73 by Rivals. He is also ranked #31 by ESPN.
Other VUhoops.com Articles on James Bell
James- Welcome to the Villanova Family!
Recruiting: James Bell Update
We’ve mentioned that the Class of 2010, 6′4″ Shooting Guard from Florida, James Bell, was rating Villanova very high in late May.
This summer, Bell has been doing quite well on the AAU circuit with Team STAT and it seems he is keeping his options still open at the moment.
Kentucky is entering the fray for Bell along with Florida, Tennessee, WVU, Miami, Clemson, and Auburn. (Miami and Clemson, along with ‘Nova have offered)
When asked about his near commit to ‘Nova, replied:
[that] he isn’t committed to Villanova, despite constant chatter that he is or will be in the very short future. The Montverde (Fla.) Academy bound wing said the Wildcats are tops on his list though.
[Previous article on James Bell]
Recruiting: Mouphtaou Yarou
We mentioned Mouphtaou Yarou 2 months ago. Since then his stock is skyrocketing from his performances through the summer circuit.
In that time period, Yarou has risen from #43 to #33 in the rivals.com Class of 2009 Rankings (and #34 on Scout).
Here are some recent quotes…
Unlike most players who come over from other countries, the 6-foot-10 Yarou is already polished and is not raw at all. He has tremendous leaping ability and uses it to block and alter shots at one end and finish with authority at the other. Offensively, he finishes around the rim really well, and can also score with contact. He has a soft touch and has range out to about 15 feet. He has some nice post moves and gets good position near the basket because he moves so well without the ball. Defensively, he is an extremely good shot-blocker and is an intimidating presence around the rim. Yarou is a very good rebounder who can also make solid outlet passes. He also hustles for loose balls and does not give up after a mistake. -NBE Basketball Report
Yarou used his power, skill and quickness to completely dominate a quality big man. He drove and threw down athletic jams. He hit on several turn-around post jumpers. He rebounded and also blocked a bunch of shots. -NBE Basketball Report
