The football team won't be the only program to host key official visitors this coming weekend, Vanderbilt basketball is also expected to have two key official visits take place over the weekend as they will host La Lumiere (Ind.) center James Banks and Churchhill (Tex.) power forward Clevon Brown.
Banks is the 86th ranked player in the class according to Rivals and recently announced his transfer from Mount Vernon Christian School (Ga.) to prep power La Lumiere (Ind.). The 6-foot-10, 230-pound prospect has over 20 offers and just recently took an official visit to Texas during the August 28th weekend.
Vanderbilt has built a great relationship with Banks that dates back to well over a year ago, he talked about that with VandySports.com this summer.
"I've been talking mainly to Coach (Derrick) Jones, Coach Adam (Cohen), and Coach (Kevin) Stallings," Banks said. "I've been hearing from them for a while. I went to their Elite Camp last year and have been hearing from them since before then."
"I really like how they play Damian (Jones). It's also a great academic school, you get a great scholarship from Vanderbilt, and I have a good relationship with the entire coaching staff."
Being comfortable and having a great relationship with the coaching staff will be important factors as Banks nears a decision. Already having that with Vanderbilt may indeed give the Commodores the edge in landing the talented 2016 prospect.
Full Article: Vandy in the mix for 4-star center
One of the biggest risers in the recent Rivals 2016 rankings was Clevon Brown, who jumped from an unranked prospect to entering the Rivals150 at number 127. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound prospect turned heads during the July live evaluation period and gained some major notoriety in his recruiting process in landing offers from the likes of Auburn, Illinois, Oklahoma State, and Texas.
Vanderbilt was one of the schools that offered Brown in July, but unlike the others, the Commodores were one of the first high major programs that started showing interest and that has paid off with an official visit.
"They started talking to Clevon early on, probably just after April or so, maybe May. That's when they started getting involved with him. He's gotten a lot of attention as of late, he's getting offers everyday now from high majors, but Vanderbilt was one of the first high-majors to really get involved with him," SABO AAU coach Seth Engelken told VandySports.com back in July when Brown's recruiting process was heating up.
The Churchhill (Tex.) product is considered a gifted, but raw talent who didn't start playing basketball until he entered high school.
"Clevon is a really interesting story because he didn't start playing organized basketball until his freshman year of high school," Engelken explained. "So, he's been the kid that last summer was really, really raw and you can see he has some physical gifts but you didn't know if he was going to be a really good basketball player."
Engelken also talked about Brown's overall game and how it has gotten remarkable better over the past 18 months of hard work.
"He's got really, really bouncy legs. He'll finish over people. He blocks a lot of shots. He's a great rebounder. He can shoot out from beyond the three-point line. He can face and play. He's a kid that in two years can be a phenomenal talent."
Brown also has another official visit scheduled with Texas during the weekend of September 28th, but Engelken gave some inclination that might work in Vanderbilt's favor when we talked to him back in July.
"Vanderbilt is really intriguing for Clevon because he is a high academic kid. He's a 3.5 student and with his background he would be a good fit at a place like Vanderbilt."
Banks is the 86th ranked player in the class according to Rivals and recently announced his transfer from Mount Vernon Christian School (Ga.) to prep power La Lumiere (Ind.). The 6-foot-10, 230-pound prospect has over 20 offers and just recently took an official visit to Texas during the August 28th weekend.
Vanderbilt has built a great relationship with Banks that dates back to well over a year ago, he talked about that with VandySports.com this summer.
"I've been talking mainly to Coach (Derrick) Jones, Coach Adam (Cohen), and Coach (Kevin) Stallings," Banks said. "I've been hearing from them for a while. I went to their Elite Camp last year and have been hearing from them since before then."
"I really like how they play Damian (Jones). It's also a great academic school, you get a great scholarship from Vanderbilt, and I have a good relationship with the entire coaching staff."
Being comfortable and having a great relationship with the coaching staff will be important factors as Banks nears a decision. Already having that with Vanderbilt may indeed give the Commodores the edge in landing the talented 2016 prospect.
Full Article: Vandy in the mix for 4-star center
One of the biggest risers in the recent Rivals 2016 rankings was Clevon Brown, who jumped from an unranked prospect to entering the Rivals150 at number 127. The 6-foot-8, 215-pound prospect turned heads during the July live evaluation period and gained some major notoriety in his recruiting process in landing offers from the likes of Auburn, Illinois, Oklahoma State, and Texas.
Vanderbilt was one of the schools that offered Brown in July, but unlike the others, the Commodores were one of the first high major programs that started showing interest and that has paid off with an official visit.
"They started talking to Clevon early on, probably just after April or so, maybe May. That's when they started getting involved with him. He's gotten a lot of attention as of late, he's getting offers everyday now from high majors, but Vanderbilt was one of the first high-majors to really get involved with him," SABO AAU coach Seth Engelken told VandySports.com back in July when Brown's recruiting process was heating up.
The Churchhill (Tex.) product is considered a gifted, but raw talent who didn't start playing basketball until he entered high school.
"Clevon is a really interesting story because he didn't start playing organized basketball until his freshman year of high school," Engelken explained. "So, he's been the kid that last summer was really, really raw and you can see he has some physical gifts but you didn't know if he was going to be a really good basketball player."
Engelken also talked about Brown's overall game and how it has gotten remarkable better over the past 18 months of hard work.
"He's got really, really bouncy legs. He'll finish over people. He blocks a lot of shots. He's a great rebounder. He can shoot out from beyond the three-point line. He can face and play. He's a kid that in two years can be a phenomenal talent."
Brown also has another official visit scheduled with Texas during the weekend of September 28th, but Engelken gave some inclination that might work in Vanderbilt's favor when we talked to him back in July.
"Vanderbilt is really intriguing for Clevon because he is a high academic kid. He's a 3.5 student and with his background he would be a good fit at a place like Vanderbilt."
