WEST VIRGINIA RECRUITING REPORT

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Cam Thoroughman, F (Portsmouth, OH)

Projected 2006-2007 Roster
Seniors: Frank Young (SF)
Juniors: Darris Nichols (PG), Rob Summers (C), Jamie Smalligan (BF/C)
Sophomores: Joe Alexander (SF), Alex Ruoff (WF)
Freshmen: Joe Mazzula (PG), Cam Thoroughman (F)

Previous West Virginia Recruiting Reports: July 11 Report and 7/24 Round-Up.

The Mountaineers and coach John Beilein have added a second verbal commitment to the mix as Cam Thoroughman joins Joe Mazzula in the WVU class. As we have reported earlier, WVU also has added transfer Jamie Smalligan from Butler.

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Thoroughman is definitely a player under the recruiting radar at this time. He chose WVU over offers from George Mason, UNC-W and Marshall. Thoroughman plays for Clay HS in Portsmouth, OH and competes on the AAU circuit for the Cincinnati Royals. Has good size for a wing and is a solid shooting player. He is definitely a “system” type guy and one that Coach Beilein will no doubt get the most out of while at WVU.

There does seem to be a little concern over the flow of recruiting along the airwaves of West Virginia sports radio. It is an important recruiting class for Beilein and his staff at WVU, even though expectations are high entering the 2005-2006 season, coming off the thrilling post season run to the Big East tournament finals and elite 8 of the NCAA tournament, the recruiting process sometimes takes a little longer to catch up with on the court success. There is no doubt WVU has found more interest on the recruiting road, but a couple more successful seasons of being in the forefront will make the process much easier. This coming season, keeping the level success high, is very important.

Although a class of Mazzula and Thoroughman, on top of last year’s class of Joe Alexander and Alex Ruoff , is a little underwhelming at this point, it does add some solid players to the mix and an athlete like Joe Alexander is one that could take off and Ruoff is the shooting type that can excel in the WVU style. However, they still need an upgrade in height and athleticism, along with talent, with their remaining scholarships. Five of their top 7 in the 2005-2006 rotation will be seniors, so there will be shoes to fill.

In today’s notes we have linked an article where Desean Butler has cut his list of prospective schools to 2: West Virginia and DePaul. This would be an ideal recruit for coach Beilein at WVU as Butler, a New Jersey native, is a very unselfish player that does just about everything well and works hard at both ends. The 6’6 wing player would also be an athletic alternative to the mix. Butler was also seriously considering Georgetown, Rutgers and Seton Hall. Another top shooting wing from New Jersey, Dennis Horner, also is very interested in WVU. Horner is 6’8 and has WVU, along with Notre Dame and NC St, as a finalist. He is an excellent spot up shooter that is improving in his all around game and would be perfect in any of his finalists’ style of play. Getting either of these players would be huge for WVU, getting both would really give them an excellent class.

West Virginia is also looking for a little athletic ability at the guard spot and are in very good with three NYC players: Malcolm Grant, Vernon Teel and Kashif Pratt. Grant, from Robeson HS, has been a highly regarded PSAL player for a couple years and is now getting more national attention with his play in bigger events. He is definitely a NYC scoring PG with that NYC toughness. He was considering transferring to a prep school and reclassifying to increase his exposure, but his play did that over the summer. Still does not have any offers, but other Big East foes like Syracuse, St John’s and Villanova have taken notice, as well as Florida St and others. Teel is a 6’3 scorer from Queens that has also gotten a lot of attention this summer. Teel is adding a 5th year of prep school to his resume and parlayed a late invitation to the ABCD camp into a senior game all-star appearance. Interest from Providence, Seton Hall, West Virginia and others followed. Pratt plays for NYC CHSAA power Rice HS. Teammates Curtis Kelly (UConn) and Edgar Sosa (Louisville) have already pledged to Big East schools and Pratt could be next as WVU, Providence and Pitt have shown various levels of interest.

WVU also needs to add some height to the mix and Matt Hill from Nebraska is a player that has gotten their attention this summer. Hill is 6’10 220 lbs and has really seen the interest in him increade from many high-majors with his summer play. AJ Tyler from Florida is a skilled 6’9 215 lb forward that likes to step away from the hoop and score from the perimeter. A foot injury slowed him during some key summer events, but Clemson and WVU have been seen paying a lot of attention to him and he also has offers from UCF, Davidson, ODU and Jame Madison. They have also been trying to get involved with Brad Sheehan from Albany, NY. From all news we have heard, Syracuse is the team to beat here. John Summers, younger brother of Rob Summers, from Gahanna, OH is another one on the radar.

A few other guards that have gotten some WVU attention include James Inge and Juston Sofman of New Jersey and Lance Jeter of Pittsburgh. All three are most likely to be late decision makers or players that look into prep school.

WVU still has 5 scholarships to give and can use players at nearly every position. They could also become involved with JUCO’s later in the process to get some added depth and experience as the roster will have a major overhaul due to turnover in the next 12 months. There should be quite a lot of action on the West Virginia recruiting trail this fall.