Should Villanova get Dominic Cheek and Aaric Murray, do you think they’ll go up to No. 1 in the rankings for 09? If everything stays as it stands right now, and if Villanova were to add Dominic Cheek (the No. 16 ranked prospect in the Rivals150) and Aaric Murray (the No. 35 ranked prospect in the Rivals150), then, yes, Villanova would have the No. 1 ranked 2009 recruiting class.
The Wildcats would have three five-star prospects with Cheek, Mouphtaou Yarou and Maalik Wayns to go along with Murray at No. 35 and Isaiah Armwood at No. 62.
North Carolina has two five-star prospects in the class, John Henson at No. 6 and Dexter Strickland at No. 17. And in the four-star range, the Tar Heels have Leslie McDonald at No. 55, David Wear at No. 68 and Travis Wear at No. 69.
Certainly this is a hypothetical recruiting class for Villanova, but it is a reasonable possibility that coach Jay Wright could land Cheek and Murray. The major story concerning Villanova’s class, which isn’t hypothetical at all, is that the Wildcats have the services of a dominant big man to look forward to in Yarou.

Jerry Meyer is a national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Click here to send him a question or comment for his Mailbag.
[rl]

Dominic Cheek, Jerseyans excel in all-star basketball game in Harlem

Sunday, August 24, 2008
BY COLIN STEPHENSON
Star-Ledger Staff

There was a point, early in the second half of the Boost Mobile Elite 24 all-star basketball game at legendary Rucker Park in Harlem on Friday night, when the standing-room-only crowd ringing the court roared every time Dominic Cheek got his hands on the ball.
Cheek, the 6-5 senior guard from St. Anthony of Jersey City, was in the midst of an intriguing one-on-one battle with the crowd favorite, 6-5 guard Lance Stephenson, of Brooklyn’s Lincoln High. Cheek would step up to guard Stephenson — universally acknowledged as the best high schooler in New York and considered by some the top player in the country — one-on-one, and after Stephenson would manage to score a tough basket, Cheek would immediately take the inbounds pass, drive down the court and score a bucket of his own.
The crowd was loving it.
“I didn’t mean for that to happen, but it happened,” Cheek said of his mano a mano, game-within-the-game battle against Stephenson. “They wanted somebody to go back and forth with him — they wanted to see something.”
And Cheek showed them something, all right. While Stephenson would lead all scorers in the game, with 29 points, Cheek would more than hold his own. He scored 23 — plus seven rebounds and three steals — to lead his Blue, Skip to My Lou team over Stephenson’s White, The Goat team, 135-121, in a showcase of some of the top high school players in the country.
Cheek and point guard John Wall of Word of God in Raleigh, N.C. — the No. 1 rated senior in the country, according to Rivals.com — were named co-MVPs for the winning team, while Stephenson and point guard Maalik Wayns (Roman Catholic, Philadelphia) were MVPs for the losing side.
If there was nothing to be proven in an up-and-down, no-defense exhibition played with college coaches barred from attendance, Cheek proved this much: New Jersey’s best players can ball with anybody. New York may be considered the Mecca of basketball, but New Jersey had more players in the game (four) than did New York (three). And Cheek showed himself to be the equal of the great Stephenson on his home turf.
“Dominic Cheek is a good player,” said Stephenson. “He’s got a good jumpshot; goes to the hole real good, and I think he’s got a good future.”
“He’s the King of New York, so I had to come out here and play him,” Cheek said of Stephenson. “I represented for Jersey.”
So did Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick of Elizabeth, who was the only player — along with Stephenson — to play in each of the Boost Mobile showcases since its inception in 2006. Strickland won the inaugural dunk competition, and then scored 17 points in the game for the White team.
“It’s the first time somebody else other than me is from Jersey (in the game), and it’s a big thing,” said Strickland, a senior who is headed to North Carolina. “You have all the top players from all around the country, we got one person from Jersey. But this year we got a couple kids, so that’s good.”
Junior guard Dion Waiters, of Life Center Academy, in Burlington, came off the bench to score eight points in the game, while 6-9 Tristan Thompson, of St. Benedict’s Prep was one of the few players to attempt to play any defense. He blocked two shots, grabbed two rebounds and scored four points.
“Because the competition’s so good, you get scored on,” Thompson, a junior who has verbally committed to Texas, said. “I’m not trying to have that happen. I was trying to be a defensive presence, trying to help my team.”
The four players from New Jersey tied North Carolina for the most of any state represented in the game. New York and Washington state each had three. Tony Wroten, Jr., of Seattle, is a cousin of Knicks guard Nate Robinson, who attended the game.
Played at the renowned playground where so many all-time greats have performed, the game was broadcast live on ESPNU and will be rebroadcast tomorrow at midnight on ESPN2.
 
 
Colin Stephenson may be reached
 
at cstephenson@starledger.com

Thanks for playing!

Question slightly related to this, any news on Vinson? I read somewhere he was supposed to commit by August but hasn’t. Beyond that it looked like (at least on ESPN’s player page for him) he transferred. Is that a bad sign for our chances with him?

Cheek Visited Villanova Last Weekend
http://www.zagsblog.net/2008/08/31/cheek-visited-villanova-last-weekend/ Posted on Aug 31, 2008 3:28 pm
For those keeping track of Dominic Cheek’s every movement, the St. Anthony senior spent last weekend on an unofficial visit to Villanova. Cheek has listed Villanova among his favorites, along with Wake Forest, Kansas, Memphis, Tennessee, Rutgers, Seton Hall and, most recently, Indiana because of Tom Crean’s hiring of former St. Anthony star Roshown McLeod, the brother of St. Anthony guard Devon Mcleod. Last month Cheek told me: “Villanova (is) recruiting me the hardest. (Villanova) showing me the most love. They stuck with me since Day One.”
HoosierNation.com:
August 22, 2008
Some potentially huge news for Indiana University basketball. Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony’s senior shooting guard Dominic Cheek (photo) told HoosierNation.com that he will make a visit to Indiana. “I’m going to make that happen,” Cheek said. He’s considered one of the top 20 players in the country and has a long list of schools after him, including Kansas, Villanova, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Seton Hall. The 6-foot-5 Cheek has a higher interest in the Hoosiers since Roshawn McLeod was hired as an assistant coach recently. McLeod played at St. Anthony’s and his brother is friends with Cheek.
 
August 23, 2008
Aug 23, 2008 – Dick Weiss Daily News Hoops on Hoops
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/weiss/2008/08/lincolns-stephenson-battling-a.html
The best part for the school that lands smooth-shooting Dominic Cheek is this: he could stay for three or four years.“I’m not really thinking about one-and-done or anything like that,” he said. “I wanna go in and win a championship. I’m so used to winning.”
That’s the kind of mindset that a 32-0 season at St. Anthony in Jersey City can breed. Cheek is considering Memphis, Indiana, Tennessee, Villanova, Wake Forest, UConn and Kansas, and he’ll likely be in attendance at one squad’s Midnight Madness event.“I’m just not sure which one yet,” he said.
Still, the most powerful recruiting tool a school may have is the guys who talk to Cheek every day, and he seems to be close with Philly guard Malik Waayns, who’s committed to Villanova. The pair hung out throughout the Elite 24 festivities, and they talk regularly on the phone.“Malik is recruiting me every day,” Cheek said. “That definitely gives them a big plus.”