By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
The UCLA men's basketball team received a lot of Love during last year's early signing period for high school seniors. This year, the Bruins are taking a Holiday.
One year after signing the top recruit in the country in center Kevin Love out of Lake Oswego, Ore., the Bruins are poised to sign one of the nation's top overall classes, starting with Jrue Holiday, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Campbell Hall of North Hollywood, who is ranked as the No. 6 player in the country according to CSTV's Van Coleman.
The Bruins, ranked second in the country currently, will sign three more of CSTV's top 35 national recruits today during the early signing period.
It is considered one of the top three recruiting classes in the country, if not No. 1.
Among those is No. 31 Drew Gordon, a 6-foot-9 power forward from Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), who said the quartet's unselfishness, beyond athleticism, stands out.
Gordon certainly fits that bill. His season averages last year were modest - 13.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 blocks per game - but he led the Monarchs to a 29-6 ranking and first-ever Northern California championship.
Like his current team, which exchanges big personal statistics for victories, he sees his future Bruins in the same light.
They include Holiday and fellow Californians, No. 23 Malcolm Lee (J.W. North, Riverside) and No. 35 Jerime Anderson (Canyon, Anaheim).
"The chemistry among us already is amazing and it's only going to get better," Gordon said. "We're going to be like brothers."
Here are descriptions of each of his future teammates supplied by Gordon himself.
Holliday, a 6-4 shooting guard who averaged 23.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 4.2 steals a game for the state Division III champions: "He's relaxed on the court and he knows how to get to the rim. No one will be able to stop him. He's a big mismatch for whoever guards him."
Lee, a 6-2 point or shooting guard who averaged more than 20 points per game for his AAU squad over the summer but is equally adept at setting up teammates. "He's real smooth with the ball and great in the open court. He's got awesome vision. He's going to be the funniest guy on the team - a great person."
Anderson, a 6-2 point guard who averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 4.6 steals for 20-8 Canyon last season. "He's real laid back and will probably be one of the quieter guys on the team. But he can get to the rack, has great quickness and definitely can pass. He gets the job done."
Gordon said he'll spend Wednesday morning calling his future teammates to "make sure everything is in order."
In the afternoon, he'll join three other current teammates to sign Division I scholarships. They are 6-5 shooting guard Collin Chiverton (St. Mary's-Moraga), 6-8 post Enoch Andoh (Bucknell) and 6-5 forward John Adams (Lehigh).
Mitty is No. 15 in the rivals.com preseason national rankings.
"It's going to be a great day," Gordon said. "My ultimate goal this year is to help get all our seniors scholarships then win WCAL, CCS, NorCal and state titles."
If the Bruins don't have the top class in the country, the two-time defending champion Florida Gators just might. Looking to replace the duo of Al Horford and Joakim Noah, the Gators are expected to sign the inside tandem of 6-9 Eloy Vargas (No. 17) from Plantation, Fla., American Heritage and 6-10 Kenneth Kadji (No. 26) of Bradenton, Fla., IMG Academy.
Florida will also add 6-4 G/F Ray Shipman (No. 77) of Monsignor Pace, Miami, Fla,. along with 6-9 Allan Chaney (No. 86), of New London, Conn. Erving Walker (No. 162), a 5-7 guard from Christ the King, Middle Village, N.Y., adds depth to an already outstanding class.
Louisville, under coach Rick Pitino, will challenge Billy Donovan's Florida Gators for the top recruiting class on the East Coast once it signs its class that includes two of the top 20 players in the country. No. 4 Samardo Samuels, a 6-8 power forward from St. Benedict of Newark, N.J., heads the list along with No. 19 Terrence Jennings, a 6-10 center from Notre Dame, Fitchburg, Mass. Samuels averaged 19 points and 8 rebounds last year.
The Cardinals also add Jennings' teammate at Notre Dame, 6-3 guard Melquan Bolding, Kadji's teammate at IMG Academy, 6-8 forward Jared Swopshire and Kyle Kuric, a 6-5 shooting guard from Memorial of Evansville, Ind.
Georgetown immediately jumped up among the top five classes in the country with the signing of the No. 2 recruit, and the top big man in the country, 6-10 power forward Greg Monroe from Helen Cox, Gretna, LA. The Hoyas' landing of Monroe harkens back to the days when Georgetown regularly recruited the top players in the country like Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. Last year, Monroe averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks per game.
According to Mike Theus of CSTV, Monroe chose the Hoyas because of the comfort level he felt on his trip to Georgetown.
"He sees the opportunity to fit in the mold of Jeff Green in the Georgetown offense," Theus said. "That plus his developing respect for Coach Thompson could have been keys to his decision."
A pair of Top 100 recruits is expected to join Monroe at Georgetown next year, including 6-10 Henry Sims (No. 57) from Mount St. Joseph, Baltimore, MD, and 6-9 Chris Braswell (No. 65) of Hargrave Military Academy, Chatham, Va.
The signing of the nation's No. 1 recruit, point guard Brandon Jennings of Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA, helps Arizona rival UCLA for the best signing class in the Pac-10, and the country. A school known for its point guards, Jennings joins the pantheon of Wildcat greats that includes Mike Bibby, Damon Stoudamire and Steve Kerr. Jennings has been likened to a young Kenny Anderson, who starred at Georgia Tech in the 1990s.
Jennings isn't the only top 35 player for Arizona, however. The Wildcats should get help on the front line from No. 30 Emmanuel Negedu, a 6-7 forward from Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, N.H., and No. 34 Jeff Withey, a 7-foot center from Horizon, San Diego, Calif.
Kansas landed a trio of top 100 recruits, including brothers Marcus and Markeiff Morris of Apex Academy, Pennsauken, N.J. Marcus, ranked No. 60 by CSTV, is a 6-9 power forward while Markief, No. 82, is a 6-foot-10 forward. Kansas also gets some help in the backcourt with No. 33 Travis Releford, a 6-3 shooting guard from Bishop Miege of Shawnee Mission, Mo.
Of the remaining top 10 recruits by CSTV, No. 5 Demar DeRozan, a 6-6 forward from Compton, Calif., is expected to sign with USC; No. 7 Delvon Roe, a 6-8 forward from St. Edward, Lakewood, Ohio, has committed to Michigan State; No. 8 Al-Farouq Aminu, a 6-8 forward from Norcross, GA., is expected to go to Wake Forest; No. 9 B.J. Mullens, a 6-11 center from World Harvest, Canal Winchester, Ohio, is headed to Ohio State; and No. 10 Ed Davis, a 6-9 power forward from Benedictine, Richmond, VA, has committed to North Carolina.
North Carolina also snagged No. 16 Tyler Zeller, a 7-0 center from Washington IN, while Ohio State landed No. 15 William Buford, a 6-4 shooting guard from Libbey, Toledo, Ohio.
At least three of CSTV's top 20 have decided to wait until the spring signing date in April to make their decision. They include No. 3 Tyreke Evans, a 6-4 shooting guard from American Christian, Ashton, PA; No. 11 John Riek-Suas, a 7-2 center from Winchendon, MA; and No. 12 Willie Warren, a 6-3 guard from Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA.
Mitch Stephens contributed to this story.
