The early signing period wrapped up on Wednesday for college basketball. Our Ryze Hoops staff shares some takeaways from all the action that took place over the last week.
Carter Wilson’s Takeways
· Brian Burg is really hitting the ground running at Georgia Southern. There was a lot of positive talk about Burg and the direction the program will head and getting a commitment from Mannie Harris (Pictured) will only help that even more. The Eagles have a history of some really high scoring guards, and Harris will only continue that trend. He is a high major caliber talent and athlete and will be a star in Statesboro in the coming years.
· How about some D2 love? Alabama Huntsville came into Georgia and hit an absolute home run with Brendan Rigsbee and Sutton Smith. These two should be staples in the Chargers backcourt for years to come. Both guys are tough and can make plays with confidence and poise. It’s hard not to like what UAH is doing, and their rich basketball history should continue with players like this coming into the program.
· I think that there are a ton of potential steals in this class. Part of this could be due to the situation that has impacted the world, but part of it has to be attributed to the depth of this class. Players like Kalib Clinton (Charleston Southern), RJ Noord (Elon), Jaylen Jackson (NC A&T), and Jojo Peterson (IPFW) are guys that I think could make very quick impacts to their respective programs.
Dan McDonald’s Takeaways
· Auburn continues to raid the Peach State for top talent. The Tigers had Isaac Okoro come off the board at No. 5 in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night and Jabari Smith, a top five overall prospect in the 2021 class, might be in the same position in the 2022 NBA Draft. Bruce Pearl’s staff was able to fend off strong pushes from Georgia, LSU and Tennessee to secure Smith, who is the highest ranked prospect to ever sign with Auburn. Don’t be surprised if the Tigers come back into Georgia for a highly ranked prospect in the 2022 class.
· Georgia Southern might have pulled off the biggest steal of any mid-major program in the 2021 class earlier this week by convincing Mannie Harris to sign with the Eagles. I firmly believe if college coaches were able to be in the gym evaluating prospects this summer that Harris would have had several high-major offers. The Mitchell County star is a really talented scorer with a lot of toughness to his game. He’ll score a lot of points for Brian Burg in Statesboro.
· One commitment that I didn’t think received a ton fanfare but will pay off for the school in the long run is Ian Schieffelin choosing to play at Clemson. There is nothing fancy about his game, but he’s just a consistently productive player. He’s a tough finisher in the paint and has added a three-point stroke to his repertoire in the past year. Defensively, he has really good timing as a shot-blocker and will rack up the rebounds. He’s going to be a good player for Brad Brownell.