If one bought a Vanderbilt Basketball Recruiting Guide for Dummies book, it would consist of two sentences. The 2018 recruiting class starts with Darius Garland. The 2018 recruiting class ends with Darius Garland.
That may sound like hyperbole, but that is where we stand. Sure, at one time or another, Bryce Drew has offered roughly two dozen players in the class, but not only is the hometown point guard the natural prize in the group, he could also dictate who the other signees are that would come with him.
This was no more evident than at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale and the Under Armour Association Finals last week. These events are filled with college coaches and media members, and Garland’s future, along with players who are linked with him, were a hot topic.
So with all of the news that has come out the last few days, let’s put everything into context.
Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News ran an article of high school recruits arranging package deals and forming “super teams. In the story, he ran direct quotes from Garland.
“Some of us are trying to make a package deal, so we’re waiting on that. That’s pretty important. I just like to win. That’s my main focus: to win, and to get to the next level. We’re all just trying to win, so we’re trying to be the best players that want to win with you and that we have a good connection together.”
DeCourcy went on to name players that Garland had allegedly spoken with about playing with him in college: Cameron Reddish, Tre Jones, Marvin Bagley, and Romeo Langford. All four are ranked in the top ten in Rivals 150 in the class of 2018.
When this story broke, the chief benefactor seemed to be Duke. The Blue Devils are heavy favorite to get Reddish and Jones, Bagley is visiting the campus this weekend, and Langford was reportedly on their radar.
Needless to say, the Vanderbilt staff was impacted by this. There has been nothing but good news coming from their dealings with him for the past six weeks, so this was like walking into a haymaker.
While Commodores’ fans and coaches alike stewed on this, the next logical step was to speak with Langford, who was in the same building with Sean Williams and me at the Adidas tournament.
We were able to catch up with him Friday afternoon. The interview which consisted of a half dozen people or more was not of high quality. It was courtside, in a facility that housed six courts of live basketball. Furthermore, Langford speaks very softly.
What we did hear blew holes in the theory that Duke is the school which will be getting the Dream Team. When asked about his relationship with Duke, he responded that he didn’t have one. That reporter double checked the quote by asking if he was communicating with Duke, Langford responded “no.” After the session, I asked the reporter if I had heard that correctly, and he confirmed that I had.
Another story made the rounds shortly after that Bagley is strongly considering reclassifying to the 2017 class and committing to USC. Bagley’s father didn’t seem to be very happy with the speculation, but it goes to show the problems with trying to get all of these different legs to line up.
So Vanderbilt could now calm the nerves and exhale, until Garland posted on Twitter Sunday morning that he had received an offer from Kentucky.
Although the odds of getting Jones and Reddish are slim, they were figured in the fight for Bagley and Langford. It is also etched in the memories of Vanderbilt fans the times that the Big Blue Mist has swooped in to get elite talent not only from their team, but from others. The names of Ron Mercer and Alex Poythress can cause these fans to shudder.
I spoke for the better part of Sunday afternoon with two individuals close to Garland’s recruitment and a full-time media member that covers only the University of Kentucky basketball and its recruiting.
There was a common theme for now that this is not a deal breaker. One person told me it is nice to get this offer, but that doesn’t mean they are at the top. That same person has been reserved in other conversations, but said this time that Vanderbilt is in “very, very. very, good shape.” The other simply just doesn’t believe that Kentucky can make up the ground.
The media member had a very interesting take. He said the offer didn’t mean a whole lot as far as Garland goes. He told me what he took from it is that Kentucky is out of the running with Romeo Langford. I spoke with the same individual Friday. At that time he thought the Cats were in good shape because John Calipari had coached the United States 19U Team in Egypt that Langford played on.
The same person said Immanuel Quickley is the number one priority at point guard, and Kentucky is the odds on favorite. He also said that Calipari will get two guards in this class, “Quickley and whoever commits first.”
Just as Garland is the second option in the Duke backcourt, he is the third option at best in Lexington. Don’t think this will be lost on him.
So where does Vanderbilt fit in the world of stacked recruiting class? Bryce Drew isn’t exactly bringing a pea shooter to a gun fight. Four different sources have told me that Garland has been actively laying the groundwork for other players to come with him. All four sources said Langford, three said Simisola Shittu, and two confirmed Nassir Little.
This would obviously be the greatest class in Vanderbilt history, but there is a catch-22. One source told me, “Vanderbilt needs to get some players around him.” The bottom line though, is Garland is the first domino. Vandy has no shot at any of these players without him. But the plan is for him to commit, then the others will follow. Garland also may relish the opportunity of being the general manager for a program where he knows he is the top priority.
Garland told Rivals’ Krysten Peek that the announcement of his final list may come later, but a source tells me he still expects it to be in July. Kentucky, not surprisingly, will make that cut. We expect the others to be Vanderbilt, Duke, and Indiana. Whether or not there will be others, we aren’t sure. But the Wildcats making that list is nothing to panic about at this point.
Right now, Vanderbilt has the momentum in Garland’s recruitment. All four of Rivals’ national recruiting analysts have picked him to stay in Nashville, as have other recruiting services. There is also lots of pro-Vanderbilt buzz around the Garland camp. The Commodores were the favorite a week ago, and all indications point to the fact that they still are.
That may sound like hyperbole, but that is where we stand. Sure, at one time or another, Bryce Drew has offered roughly two dozen players in the class, but not only is the hometown point guard the natural prize in the group, he could also dictate who the other signees are that would come with him.
This was no more evident than at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale and the Under Armour Association Finals last week. These events are filled with college coaches and media members, and Garland’s future, along with players who are linked with him, were a hot topic.
So with all of the news that has come out the last few days, let’s put everything into context.
Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News ran an article of high school recruits arranging package deals and forming “super teams. In the story, he ran direct quotes from Garland.
“Some of us are trying to make a package deal, so we’re waiting on that. That’s pretty important. I just like to win. That’s my main focus: to win, and to get to the next level. We’re all just trying to win, so we’re trying to be the best players that want to win with you and that we have a good connection together.”
DeCourcy went on to name players that Garland had allegedly spoken with about playing with him in college: Cameron Reddish, Tre Jones, Marvin Bagley, and Romeo Langford. All four are ranked in the top ten in Rivals 150 in the class of 2018.
When this story broke, the chief benefactor seemed to be Duke. The Blue Devils are heavy favorite to get Reddish and Jones, Bagley is visiting the campus this weekend, and Langford was reportedly on their radar.
Needless to say, the Vanderbilt staff was impacted by this. There has been nothing but good news coming from their dealings with him for the past six weeks, so this was like walking into a haymaker.
While Commodores’ fans and coaches alike stewed on this, the next logical step was to speak with Langford, who was in the same building with Sean Williams and me at the Adidas tournament.
We were able to catch up with him Friday afternoon. The interview which consisted of a half dozen people or more was not of high quality. It was courtside, in a facility that housed six courts of live basketball. Furthermore, Langford speaks very softly.
What we did hear blew holes in the theory that Duke is the school which will be getting the Dream Team. When asked about his relationship with Duke, he responded that he didn’t have one. That reporter double checked the quote by asking if he was communicating with Duke, Langford responded “no.” After the session, I asked the reporter if I had heard that correctly, and he confirmed that I had.
Another story made the rounds shortly after that Bagley is strongly considering reclassifying to the 2017 class and committing to USC. Bagley’s father didn’t seem to be very happy with the speculation, but it goes to show the problems with trying to get all of these different legs to line up.
So Vanderbilt could now calm the nerves and exhale, until Garland posted on Twitter Sunday morning that he had received an offer from Kentucky.
Although the odds of getting Jones and Reddish are slim, they were figured in the fight for Bagley and Langford. It is also etched in the memories of Vanderbilt fans the times that the Big Blue Mist has swooped in to get elite talent not only from their team, but from others. The names of Ron Mercer and Alex Poythress can cause these fans to shudder.
I spoke for the better part of Sunday afternoon with two individuals close to Garland’s recruitment and a full-time media member that covers only the University of Kentucky basketball and its recruiting.
There was a common theme for now that this is not a deal breaker. One person told me it is nice to get this offer, but that doesn’t mean they are at the top. That same person has been reserved in other conversations, but said this time that Vanderbilt is in “very, very. very, good shape.” The other simply just doesn’t believe that Kentucky can make up the ground.
The media member had a very interesting take. He said the offer didn’t mean a whole lot as far as Garland goes. He told me what he took from it is that Kentucky is out of the running with Romeo Langford. I spoke with the same individual Friday. At that time he thought the Cats were in good shape because John Calipari had coached the United States 19U Team in Egypt that Langford played on.
The same person said Immanuel Quickley is the number one priority at point guard, and Kentucky is the odds on favorite. He also said that Calipari will get two guards in this class, “Quickley and whoever commits first.”
Just as Garland is the second option in the Duke backcourt, he is the third option at best in Lexington. Don’t think this will be lost on him.
So where does Vanderbilt fit in the world of stacked recruiting class? Bryce Drew isn’t exactly bringing a pea shooter to a gun fight. Four different sources have told me that Garland has been actively laying the groundwork for other players to come with him. All four sources said Langford, three said Simisola Shittu, and two confirmed Nassir Little.
This would obviously be the greatest class in Vanderbilt history, but there is a catch-22. One source told me, “Vanderbilt needs to get some players around him.” The bottom line though, is Garland is the first domino. Vandy has no shot at any of these players without him. But the plan is for him to commit, then the others will follow. Garland also may relish the opportunity of being the general manager for a program where he knows he is the top priority.
Garland told Rivals’ Krysten Peek that the announcement of his final list may come later, but a source tells me he still expects it to be in July. Kentucky, not surprisingly, will make that cut. We expect the others to be Vanderbilt, Duke, and Indiana. Whether or not there will be others, we aren’t sure. But the Wildcats making that list is nothing to panic about at this point.
Right now, Vanderbilt has the momentum in Garland’s recruitment. All four of Rivals’ national recruiting analysts have picked him to stay in Nashville, as have other recruiting services. There is also lots of pro-Vanderbilt buzz around the Garland camp. The Commodores were the favorite a week ago, and all indications point to the fact that they still are.
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