What is the state of Bama's basketball recruiting?

[bonehouse81]

I'm admittedly much more of a Bama football fan than a basketball fan, but I do follow the team and am interested to know how coach Grant is doing on the recruiting trail.

As for recent signees Trevor Releford and Charles Hankerson, how good are they? I know both are Rivals150 players, but based on who else was recruiting them, it doesn't seem that either are blue chip-type players. Am I wrong?

Also, does Bama appear to be getting in the mix with top players around the country yet? Are there any we look to be in strong shape for?

Thanks!

 

[mjstide]

I think Releford is going to be really good. He did have offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Minnesota. Hankerson is also going to fill a need of the team. As far as the rest of recruiting it is really hard to gauge basketball recruiting because it simply is not covered as much as football. There are still a couple guys out there who we are actively pursuing.

 

[TiderinArkansas]

Releford has offers from programs that are considered better than ours so he was a good catch. Hankerson was kind of a late riser but is a good looking prospect IMO. He's about 6'4, strong, plays point guard in high school, he won't here but it shows he's a good ball handler and passer, and he is a good 3 point shooter so he sounds like he's more skilled than some of the recruits we've been pulling in lately.

Releford sounds like a true point guard. Good handle, good passer, likes to set other people. From what I can see, and its just the little bits of stuff on youtube, he's not ultra quick but quick enough, and he's not known as an outside shooter at the moment.

We are also recruiting Josh Langford. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Josh-Langford-85511

6'6 200 SF, sounds like at the moment he's just a slasher type who uses his athleticism, plays above the rim, etc. He was committed to Louisville but apparently they lost interest a bit so he opened things back up. Apparently we are the leader here but Georgia and some other teams are in it.

And then the big guys.

First, and probably most important, is Ricardo Ratliffe. 6'8 240, top Junior College player in the country. Would immediately help us and help us a lot most likely. He was down to us, Arkansas, Clemson, and Missouri, the Saturday of the Auburn game he visited Arkansas, then came through and visited us on that Sunday. Then he cancelled his other visits so it seems like he's down to us and Arkansas. I'm worried that Arkansas might be the leader, he played high school ball with Marshawn Powell, their freshman PF. But things don't look totally stable with Pelphrey. Grant at least is one of the few that recruited him first out of high school so that gives us an in. He wants a chance to play immediately and that's probably a wash, he'd have the opportunity to do so either place.

We need his commitment. Its pretty simple, he'd make us better immediately assuming he's as good and as ready to play as everyone says he is.

Then Luke Cothron Luke Cothron - Yahoo! Sports

Pretty highly rated kid, definitely the highest rated prospect we still have a chance with. 33rd in the country according to Rivals. He's a soft, apparently very soft, commit to NC State. He lived in Huntsville for a while. He has opened his recruitment up and we are a big player apparently. Rivals has him as a soft verbal with us and Kentucky listed as having high interest, but he has no offer listed from Kentucky and apparently there's a good chance he never will as they're recruiting even higher ranked guys. He's supposed to be very highly skilled for a big, plays like a SF apparently, which can be good and bad, he's not known as a banger. And there have been questions about whether or not he plays hard all the time. But he's just a kid and if Grant wants him he must think he's coachable.

I think even though Cothron is very highly rated that Ratliffe would be a bigger add for the short term, for next year or even the next two years. He's skilled too but he's also strong and can score in the post.

We are recruiting one other big guy, I would assume the back up plan if we miss out on both. 6'7 230 pounder from Massachusetts named, drumroll, Majok Majok.

Oh yeah we are also apparently recruiting this giant dude Aziz N'Diaye - Yahoo! Sports

but we aren't listed as offering so again I assume there's some issue, probably that he's a back up plan although he does have a few decent offers.

 

[TiderinArkansas]

That's about all I know, from reading rivals and other forums. There is just not much info out there and so a lot of its speculation. Like, for example, Arkansas leading for Ratliffe is just my guess, he's never said anything, the only thing he's done that seemed to say anything at all was cancelling his visits after the Arkansas and Alabama visits. And there's also some speculation that Langford would commit if he could already, which seems to say that Grant is holding out hope for both Ratliffe and Cothron but again I don't know if that's even remotely true.

 

[Harmost]

I think even though Cothron is very highly rated that Ratliffe would be a bigger add for the short term, for next year or even the next two years. He's skilled too but he's also strong and can score in the post.

I agree, Ratliffe is a beast down low. But more than being just a bruiser type, he produces (bigtime).

Cothron has a game that's difficult to predict at the next level. That jack-of-all-trades schtick doesn't blossom as it should quite often.

 

[TiderinArkansas]

Cothron has now officially decommitted from NC State. And I mean when I looked up his rivals page this morning he was still committed so it has been very recent. I think we look good there, outside of him having a change of heart and returning to NC state which I kind of doubt since he's been a soft verbal for a while and now has gone ahead and decommitted. And then there's Kentucky who could try to swoop in if they miss on some people. But its just us and Kentucky listed as high interest and he's got the offer from us.

Would be a great pickup, don't want to act like its not just cause I think Ratliffe's the number one guy out there for us. He is the number 33 player in the country after all. And he would add to our overall skill level as a team.

And even if he's not a real physical guy and even if we miss out on Ratliffe we should be more physical on the inside either way just cause of the return of Jemison.

I'd take a class of Releford, Hankerson, Langford and Cothron. Cothron and Ratliffe would be huge. That would be a big time class.

 

[TiderinArkansas]

haha now that I think about it Kentucky having a big class would actually help us here. Cause like I said it seems Cothron is a backup plan for them. But yeah he would not be a backup plan for most teams obviously.

Edit-Jim Calhoun is visiting him this week. That could be problematic.

 

[aMAZEnFan]

Great info, TiderinArkansas! You really need to provide us with all info you have because there are several people who are starved for Bama Basketball recruiting info!!! Keep us posted! RTR!

 

[TiderinArkansas]

LOL that is all the info I have. Most years I wouldn't have even been interested enough to find out but this is a very important recruiting class I think, we need to start winning, because that's the only way to draw crowds in Tuscaloosa and that helps recruiting, and the only way we start to win next year is if our recruiting class steps up big. Releford's obviously going to have to step up, as I just don't see Ben Eblen being a starting point guard. Hankerson will play. Cothron could help and Ratliffe would be huge if he's as good as advertised.

 

[Hoot30]

Good job, TiderArk. Thanks for taking the time to post the info. Even if we only get a couple of these guys from the April signing period, this may be a really good class. I think Bama will be a contender in the West next year.

 

[aMAZEnFan]

LOL that is all the info I have. Most years I wouldn't have even been interested enough to find out but this is a very important recruiting class I think, we need to start winning, because that's the only way to draw crowds in Tuscaloosa and that helps recruiting, and the only way we start to win next year is if our recruiting class steps up big. Releford's obviously going to have to step up, as I just don't see Ben Eblen being a starting point guard. Hankerson will play. Cothron could help and Ratliffe would be huge if he's as good as advertised.

At this point, it seems that Coach Grant is running a very tight-lipped ship on recruiting from the Bama writers' perspective, so that could be one of the main reasons we are not getting more news.

I would love for our basketball program to generate a PORTION of the buzz in recruiting that our football program is emerged in. We must start with some great camps to draw in the top talent not only in the state, but the region and, of course, the nation.

I am not sure of the rules for basketball, but hosting Junior Days, Coaching Clinics, and other attractive events could work wonders in drawing the best of the best.

I agree that winning will draw a ton of attention, especially when we become a top 25 team on a regular basis.

You are right about Releford and Hankerson being able to make an immediate impact, but I will not give up on Eblen just yet. It was clear that Ben had milk behind his ears and he may have been a bit handcuffed by the coaching staff. He is an excellent on-ball defender, but he needs to play more aggressively with the ball in his hands. He was way too passive for my taste, but I am not a coach. Releford appears to be the more talented of the two, so this should be an interesting battle for the 1 spot.

Hankerson will have to beat out Hillman, Davis, and maybe even Steele(depending on where the coaching staff plays him) to start next season. Having more competition will only help push the players to be the best they can be.

I agree that Ratliffe would be a big help, but Cothron may be more of a project from a mental standpoint. He possesses the skills to be a big-time player but he has been rumored to not give full effort and he settles for the outside shot a little more than he should. The coaching staff obviously feels that they can work with him on this and I just hope they are right!

Good stuff! Let's keep this going!

 

[bonehouse81]

Wow ... thanks for the great info, TiderinArkansas. Thanks for taking the time!

 

[aMAZEnFan]

Good job, TiderArk. Thanks for taking the time to post the info. Even if we only get a couple of these guys from the April signing period, this may be a really good class. I think Bama will be a contender in the West next year.

Yeah, I would love to land all of the remaining guys on our board including Langford, who should remind us of Tony Mitchell with his slashing drives.

We are definitely going to be a legit team with more depth. It was obvious in several games, especially against KY, that we needed more bodies to provide rest and to stay out of foul trouble. That would have been a difference of 5-6 games right there--22-10 or better.

 

[TiderinArkansas]

Yeah I haven't given up on Eblen, its just when I look at him I don't see a true SEC starting point guard, especially since Coach Grant seems to run an offense that is very dependent on the point guard (granted you could say that about anybody really.) But he's got three more years to get better and I could see him being an important reserve, its always nice to have a backup PG you can count on with some experience. And who knows I might be underrating him.

 

[aMAZEnFan]

Yeah I haven't given up on Eblen, its just when I look at him I don't see a true SEC starting point guard, especially since Coach Grant seems to run an offense that is very dependent on the point guard (granted you could say that about anybody really.) But he's got three more years to get better and I could see him being an important reserve, its always nice to have a backup PG you can count on with some experience. And who knows I might be underrating him.

Yeah, he seemed like he would be the perfect fit from the comments that Coach Grant made about him initially. I guess that was the surprise. He seemed very timid to me, but he did play as a true freshman, so he at least has experience on the collegiate level. Some guys work harder when they know they have a talented guy coming in and 2 leaving. It will be nice to see how he develops in the offseason.

What is your take on the 2, 3, 4 & 5 spot players?

 

[TiderinArkansas]

I mean we've got some issues, everyone knows that. Our two's all have issues, strong points and not so strong points (Andrew, Coach liked him enough to start him, good defender, a bit limited offensively so far, Charvez, lights out from 3 lately but needs to get better defensively, Senario, good defender, needs to continue to try to cut down on the mistakes), Tony Mitchell is a bright spot at the 3, just needs to work on his shot and handle. Justin Knox really turned up the aggression lately which was great, needs to keep it up. Jemison returning is good, he's a physical worker. Chris Hines I like a lot, he's a bit limited but is a worker. Jamychal has GOT to get in the weight room. He needs the 4th quarter program. He is just not strong enough. And its unfortunate but he just doesn't have good hands. But he's got upside.

So yeah, we've got a lack of outside shooting, a lack of post scoring, and not the greatest overall ball handling. Like Coach Grant said at the beginning we're under skilled.

Looking on the bright side. He also said we were undersized last year and that could be less of a problem next year. We have a chance at adding at least one really talented big and combine that with the return of Jemison and we'd actually have some depth on the inside, instead of just rotating three guys. Overall we should have more depth. Add a true point guard and a talented 2/3 who apparently can shoot from the outside in Hankerson.

Even if everything worked out and we added Ratliffe and Cothron its not like there wouldn't be questions. But looking on the brightside again, the West kind of sucks.

Edit: For what its worth, saw a report on another forum that seemed to contradict the idea that Ratliffe had cancelled his remaining visits. For now I'll just stick with the idea that we're one of the top five and one of the places he's visiting.

 

[RTR91]

What about Brian Volger? I think there was another football player that was considering playing basketball too. I don't remember who though.

 

[aMAZEnFan]

In the latest news on Bama basketball recruiting:

To finish off the 2010 season, it seems that we are still after the highly touted big men, Ricardo Ratliffe and Luke Cothron, who have to make a decision by the deadline sometime between April and May.

It appears that Ratliffe is down to Alabama and Arkansas, but he is also considering Missouri (Mike Anderson-Auburn coaching target), Cincinnati, & Clemson. Whomever he chooses, he will sign in April.

Luke Cothron, a Bama native, is a little bit harder to read. He could end up at Alabama, Kentucky or darkhorse candidates-Tennessee, UConn, or Ole Miss. Some thing to consider is that Tennessee's Pearl is a hot coaching commodity these days, UConn's Calhoun seems very interested with his recent visit, and Ole Miss leads for Josh Langford, who is another Huntsville, AL native previously interested in the Tide.

It was looking very promising for Alabama until Kentucky recently offered Cothron.

With all the recent happenings on the recruiting front, it doesn't look very promising for Bama unless they can pull Ratliffe. Cothron appears to be buying what Coach Cal is selling.

There may be backup plans in the case we don't land any of our main targets, so I will be interested to see who they are.

 

[ElephanTideis]

First, and probably most important, is Ricardo Ratliffe. 6'8 240, top Junior College player in the country. Would immediately help us and help us a lot most likely. He was down to us, Arkansas, Clemson, and Missouri, the Saturday of the Auburn game he visited Arkansas, then came through and visited us on that Sunday. Then he cancelled his other visits so it seems like he's down to us and Arkansas. I'm worried that Arkansas might be the leader, he played high school ball with Marshawn Powell, their freshman PF. But things don't look totally stable with Pelphrey. Grant at least is one of the few that recruited him first out of high school so that gives us an in. He wants a chance to play immediately and that's probably a wash, he'd have the opportunity to do so either place.

Ricardo Ratliffe - Yahoo! Sports

 

[bonehouse81]

To finish off the 2010 season, it seems that we are still after the highly touted big men, Ricardo Ratliffe and Luke Cothron, who have to make a decision by the deadline sometime between April and May.

When are the early and late signing periods/deadlines for basketball?