Here are the latest developments in terms of hoops recruiting. David Sisk and Sean Williams also contributed to this report.
2020 5-star center Walker Kessler was in Nashville last week
Kessler’s Woodward Academy team played in last week's "Next Level" tournament, hosted by CPA, which is coached by former Vanderbilt star Drew Maddux.
On Thursday, assistant Roger Powell, Kessler's lead recruiter, saw Kessler. On Friday, he was joined by the rest of the staff, (assistants Casey Shaw and Jake Diebler and head coach Bryce Drew). VU had an afternoon game on Saturday.
Kessler scored 25 points and added nine rebounds, six blocks, three steals and a pair of assists in a Thursday loss to Oak Ridge. Friday, Kessler had 18 and 9 in a three-point win over Louisville Ballard. Saturday, he had 35 points, 13 boards, five blocks and two steals.
Kessler is a mature, high-academic kid who wants to play in the NBA and perhaps coach afterwards, and is thinking of majoring in biomedical engineering.
We did not ask Kessler where Vanderbilt stands in the pecking order. But it is obvious that he loves Vanderbilt and the coaching staff. The Kesslers visited VU when Walker was a freshman, and hit it off immediately. Kessler plans to take more visits (Georgia, Michigan and Virginia are still in the picture).
Nothing leads us to believe Kessler will commit soon. However, we think VU is the team to beat. The Commodores have made Kessler their top target. He told us Thursday they plan to build their offense around him the way they did Luke Kornet two years ago. (Kessler has comparable skills and build.)
There are two key questions at the moment:
1. Does Kessler wait until 2020, or enroll next year?
We asked him directly about that on Thursday. He admitted he was thinking about it, and that he’d need to make a decision on that around June. The feeling around Vanderbilt is that a 2019 entrance would benefit the Commodores.
2. Duke offered on New Year's Eve. Does that change anything?
It's too early to tell, though common sense tells you that when the country's premier program offers you, and it's also elite academically, it's something to consider.
Here’s a link to our nine-minute interview with Kessler from Thursday:
https://vanderbilt.rivals.com/news/video-kessler-goes-in-depth-on-vanderbilt-and-recruiting
Vanderbilt in good shape with 2020 guard Keon Johnson
Sean saw (and interviewed) on Johnson on Friday, a high four-star prospect, after he played a fantastic game in defeat. Johnson is a polished, explosive, dynamic point guard who is right up there with Kessler at the top of Vandy’s list.
The Top 30 junior has already taken four official visits to Vanderbilt, Auburn, Virginia, and Tennessee. He is no longer considering Auburn. Johnson said his last official will likely be to Ole Miss, although he's not set a date. Indiana and Ohio State are showing increased interest. When asked about a timetable for a commitment, Johnson said he would like to have his decision made before his senior season.
Johnson is a private kid, and has been hard for anyone to read. Nothing indicates that he will commit soon, but we would be surprised if he doesn't pick Vanderbilt.
Here's a link to our interview with Johnson that we did Friday:
https://vanderbilt.rivals.com/news/video-johnson-discusses-commodores-and-recruiting
Yvan Ouedraogo visits Vanderbilt for TSU game
This staff recruited international players heavily while at Valparaiso. Powell recently found another in Frenchman Yvan Ouedraogo, who visited for Saturday's TSU game. We believe Vanderbilt has been recruiting him for 1-2 months.
We are just finding out about the ambidextrous Ouedraogo, 16, who has drawn some comparisons to Tennessee All-American Grant Williams in terms of style of play.
Here is a 3 1/2-minute video of Ouedraogo in action:
Scotty Pippen takes home MVP honors at Les Schwab invitational
Vanderbilt is in the mix with the California point guard. He had 26 points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals, going 9 of 15 from the field in the title game of the Les Schwab invitational, of which he was named MVP.
Vanderbilt has an “in” with Pippen’s father, NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. He and Drew were Houston Rockets teammates in 1998-99, and Pippen’s senior’s first phone call from Drew was very well-received. There's strong interest on the Pippen end as Scotty is academically minded and VU has what the family is seeking.
Pippen is a late-riser, a three-star who isn’t in the latest Rivals 150. There have not been any developments in the last 1-2 weeks that we know, but we confirmed late last week that VU is still involved.
Vanderbilt in on four-star 2020 point guard Jamal Mashburn Jr.
Mashburn’s father, Jamal Sr., was the SEC Player of the Year at Kentucky as a forward. His son is a different player, going about 5-11 to 6-feet tall, a four-star recruit rated the No. 102 player in the class. He plays at New Hampshire's Brewster Academy.
Again, NBA connections between Mashburn Sr. and Drew have helped. Jamal Jr. is a good student and the family places value on education. We don't know where VU stands at the moment, but we know it is currently in the mix.
Vanderbilt involved with more international prospects
We’re told the Commodores are involved with more prospects throughout Europe and Canada, and are particularly looking at point guards. We will pass along names as we get them.
2020 5-star center Walker Kessler was in Nashville last week
Kessler’s Woodward Academy team played in last week's "Next Level" tournament, hosted by CPA, which is coached by former Vanderbilt star Drew Maddux.
On Thursday, assistant Roger Powell, Kessler's lead recruiter, saw Kessler. On Friday, he was joined by the rest of the staff, (assistants Casey Shaw and Jake Diebler and head coach Bryce Drew). VU had an afternoon game on Saturday.
Kessler scored 25 points and added nine rebounds, six blocks, three steals and a pair of assists in a Thursday loss to Oak Ridge. Friday, Kessler had 18 and 9 in a three-point win over Louisville Ballard. Saturday, he had 35 points, 13 boards, five blocks and two steals.
Kessler is a mature, high-academic kid who wants to play in the NBA and perhaps coach afterwards, and is thinking of majoring in biomedical engineering.
We did not ask Kessler where Vanderbilt stands in the pecking order. But it is obvious that he loves Vanderbilt and the coaching staff. The Kesslers visited VU when Walker was a freshman, and hit it off immediately. Kessler plans to take more visits (Georgia, Michigan and Virginia are still in the picture).
Nothing leads us to believe Kessler will commit soon. However, we think VU is the team to beat. The Commodores have made Kessler their top target. He told us Thursday they plan to build their offense around him the way they did Luke Kornet two years ago. (Kessler has comparable skills and build.)
There are two key questions at the moment:
1. Does Kessler wait until 2020, or enroll next year?
We asked him directly about that on Thursday. He admitted he was thinking about it, and that he’d need to make a decision on that around June. The feeling around Vanderbilt is that a 2019 entrance would benefit the Commodores.
2. Duke offered on New Year's Eve. Does that change anything?
It's too early to tell, though common sense tells you that when the country's premier program offers you, and it's also elite academically, it's something to consider.
Here’s a link to our nine-minute interview with Kessler from Thursday:
https://vanderbilt.rivals.com/news/video-kessler-goes-in-depth-on-vanderbilt-and-recruiting
Vanderbilt in good shape with 2020 guard Keon Johnson
Sean saw (and interviewed) on Johnson on Friday, a high four-star prospect, after he played a fantastic game in defeat. Johnson is a polished, explosive, dynamic point guard who is right up there with Kessler at the top of Vandy’s list.
The Top 30 junior has already taken four official visits to Vanderbilt, Auburn, Virginia, and Tennessee. He is no longer considering Auburn. Johnson said his last official will likely be to Ole Miss, although he's not set a date. Indiana and Ohio State are showing increased interest. When asked about a timetable for a commitment, Johnson said he would like to have his decision made before his senior season.
Johnson is a private kid, and has been hard for anyone to read. Nothing indicates that he will commit soon, but we would be surprised if he doesn't pick Vanderbilt.
Here's a link to our interview with Johnson that we did Friday:
https://vanderbilt.rivals.com/news/video-johnson-discusses-commodores-and-recruiting
Yvan Ouedraogo visits Vanderbilt for TSU game
This staff recruited international players heavily while at Valparaiso. Powell recently found another in Frenchman Yvan Ouedraogo, who visited for Saturday's TSU game. We believe Vanderbilt has been recruiting him for 1-2 months.
We are just finding out about the ambidextrous Ouedraogo, 16, who has drawn some comparisons to Tennessee All-American Grant Williams in terms of style of play.
Here is a 3 1/2-minute video of Ouedraogo in action:
Scotty Pippen takes home MVP honors at Les Schwab invitational
Vanderbilt is in the mix with the California point guard. He had 26 points, five assists, two rebounds and two steals, going 9 of 15 from the field in the title game of the Les Schwab invitational, of which he was named MVP.
Vanderbilt has an “in” with Pippen’s father, NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. He and Drew were Houston Rockets teammates in 1998-99, and Pippen’s senior’s first phone call from Drew was very well-received. There's strong interest on the Pippen end as Scotty is academically minded and VU has what the family is seeking.
Pippen is a late-riser, a three-star who isn’t in the latest Rivals 150. There have not been any developments in the last 1-2 weeks that we know, but we confirmed late last week that VU is still involved.
Vanderbilt in on four-star 2020 point guard Jamal Mashburn Jr.
Mashburn’s father, Jamal Sr., was the SEC Player of the Year at Kentucky as a forward. His son is a different player, going about 5-11 to 6-feet tall, a four-star recruit rated the No. 102 player in the class. He plays at New Hampshire's Brewster Academy.
Again, NBA connections between Mashburn Sr. and Drew have helped. Jamal Jr. is a good student and the family places value on education. We don't know where VU stands at the moment, but we know it is currently in the mix.
Vanderbilt involved with more international prospects
We’re told the Commodores are involved with more prospects throughout Europe and Canada, and are particularly looking at point guards. We will pass along names as we get them.
