Well, as you can tell from the headline, we received our 5th and final commitment for next year's freshman basketball class. Unfortunately, it wasn't the uber-talented Terrence Boyd, like many had hoped. But it was a solid pick up for us, and completes what is likely to be a top 20-25 class. Craig Robinson has done a great job in just a short time on the recruiting trail, and it will be interesting to see how well he does next year. Anyways, here's a look at next year's Beaver basketball freshman after the jump..
Roberto Nelson, SG, 6'4", 190 lbs, Santa Barbara, CA- listed as a 4-star on Rivals, he is ranked as the 17th best shooting guard and 72nd best player in the country. Arguably the gem of this year's class, he is a silky smooth shooter, and will probably be one of the more athletic players on the team. By the sounds of it, he had a solid but disappointing season, averaging in the 20s for PPG but losing in the first round of the state playoffs. He was sporting scholarship offers from USC, Tennessee, and Washington. Here are some YouTubes of Nelson playing for his AAU Team, the Compton Magic
Roberto Nelson Mix - One of 09's Top Guards (via Ballislifedotcom)
Commit of the Day: Roberto Nelson (09/09/08) (via maxxathlete)
Jared Cunningham, PG, 6'3", 170 lbs, San Leandro, CA- Like Nelson, Cunningham is another a highly touted guard coming from California. Rated as a 4-star by Rivals, he is ranked as the 13th best PG and the 70th overall ranked player in the country. He finished his Senior season with 20.4 PPG, shooting over 57% from the field (46% 3pt FG) but only 2.7 APG. Was originally an Arizona State commit, but decomitted for some reason and reopened his recruitment. He, like Nelson, has some serious ups and will be exciting to watch next year, as I imagine he will come in an start at the point right away. Also had offers from Santa Clara, University of San Francisco, Washington State, and Cal. Here's some YouTubes
Jared Cunningham Mix (via Ballislifedotcom)
Jared Cunningham dunks all over dude.... (via Yayareasfinest2006)
Joe Burton, C/PF, 6'7", 270 lbs, Hemet, CA (West Valley HS)- He is listed as a center, but is a bit undersized at 6'7". Rated as a 3-star by Rivals, he is ranked as the 17th best center and 120th best player overall in the country. He plays hard and crashes the board hard, which is something we have lacked, and a big reason I believed he was recruited here. For the season, he averaged 14 PPG and 15.5 RPG. He had season highs in rebounds of 11 offensive, 21 defensive, and 30 total. Yes, that's right, THIRTY REBOUNDS IN ONE GAME. I think we have had games this year with less than that. There are 1 or 2 highlights of Joe Burton in this YouTube, but it's the only one of him. He is a load of a boy and will body people around. Also had offers from Gonzaga, Marquette, Utah, and San Diego State.
Compton Magic at Bob Gibbons (via ONEent)
Angus Brandt, C 6'10", 210 lbs, Lake Forest, IL- Another 3-star according to Rivals, he is the 20th ranked center and 146th best player overall. His game is very similar to Roeland Schaftenaar, and will probably step into that role when big Roe graduates. Originally from Australia, he moved to the US to pursue playing college basketball. There are many people who think he is a sleeper and didn't get recruited heavily because of the short amount of time spent in the AAU circuit. I don't have any stats on him, but he received offers from Gonzaga, Washington, Washington State, Michigan and New Mexico. There are no hightlight videos.
Rhys Murphy, SF, 6'7", 180 lbs, Lee, ME- Another Aussie transplant, he is rated as a 3-star by Rivals. Like Brandt, he came to the US to play college basketball. A lengthy player, he is athletic and a good shooter. He committed today (Feb 23rd) and locked up the final scholarship for this class. Also had offers from Butler, Davidson, San Diego, and St Louis.
All in all, this turned out to be a great class! I expect to see Nelson, Burton, Brandt, and Cunningham all get minutes right away, with Murphy very possibly redshirting. But like everything, nothing will be known for sure until these guys step on campus and start competing for their spots. I'm very excited to see these guys, and they are going to be Craig's first class, and you know he will want to make an example of them. GO BEAVS!