ESPN just updated its top 100 high college basketball recruits for the 2017 class and nine players on the list are from Atlanta metro area schools. There are two local recruits within the top 20--Pace's Wendell Carter (No. 2) and Jonesboro's M.J. Walker (No. 18)--and six within the top 50. (See below for the rest.)
That's good news for Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Josh Pastner, who comes to Atlanta with a rep as an ace recruiter. I think it's possible for Pastner to quickly revive Tech's program but to do so he's going to have to sign his share of the top players from Tech's talent-rich backyard. Brian Gregory's failure to do so is the biggest reason the Yellow Jackets have slipped .
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Now for the not-so-great news for Tech on the list. One of the nine local prep stars players already has committed elsewhere and ESPN lists just two of the other eight as “considering” Tech. DeAundre Ballard of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy (No. 56) is committed to Florida. Wheeler’s Darius Perry (No. 49) and Rayshaun Hammonds of Norcross (No. 30) are the only two considering Tech from among the other eight, according to ESPN.
There are some caveats to this. It’s early in the recruiting cycle for the 2017 class and most of the top recruits have yet to get serious about their “lists” of schools, much less make commitments. The early signing period, when most of the action happens, is in November. The regular signing period runs from next April to May. There's still time for Tech to make gains.
Still, programs like to have some buzz with top recruits before the July evaluation period. It doesn’t appear Tech has much of it with the best local players. You can find reports of recruits saying nice things about Tech, like Carter telling Rivals in January: “They have a good program. It’s in the city. I’d have a pretty good experience if I went there.”
But Carter said nice things about lots of other schools, too. When it was time to make his first visit, he went to Duke. Kentucky and Harvard are also said to be on Carter’s short list.
Maybe Tech basketball, in its current state, can’t realistically hope to land a player like Carter. The Jackets are going to lose some local recruits when the likes of Duke covet them. But fortunately for Pastner there are lots of other top recruits in the area to chase for his first Yellow Jackets class.
He’s got to get Tech on all of their lists, and then convince some of them to sign.
Area players among ESPN's Top 100 college basketball recruits
2. Wendell Carter, Pace Academy
18. M.J. Walker, Jonesboro
26. Collin Sexton, Peddlebrook
30. Rayshaun Hammonds, Norcross
37. Ikechukwu Obiagu, Greenforest Christian Academy
49. Darius Perry, Wheeler
56. DeAundre Ballard, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy
58. Chuma Okeke, Westlake
89. Jay Estime, Berkmar
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