Quartet of junior guards commit
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Quartet of junior guards commit
Indiana, Baylor, Virginia and Oregon State landed early 2022 pledges
It’s clear the 2021 off-season is sure to be the most volatile in college basketball history, with countless transfers and returning seniors expected to make roster formulation as difficult of guesswork as it’s ever been. Wisely, many programs are already looking to class of 2022 prospect commits to build continuity into their future depth charts.
A notable quartet, that includes Indiana, Baylor, Virginia, and Oregon State all landed junior guard commitments over the course of the last week, bolstering their backcourts going forward.
The hits keep rolling for the Baylor Bears, who landed the most-touted prospect of this week’s pledges. Georgia-native Dillon Hunter, a 6-4 junior combo guard has been quarterbacking Ypsi Prep (MI) this year, a team led by the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2022 class, Emoni Bates.
Hunter, a consensus top 50 prospect nationally, picked Baylor over Clemson, Memphis, Florida State, Georgia, and Georgia Tech. He announced his commit to the Bears in a blog on Sports Illustrated, and wrote, “I chose Baylor because it was just the best fit for me all around; from the system to how they develop their guards, it was the place I knew that I would grow on and off the court.”
In teaming with Bates this year, Hunter has showcased his ballhandling and distribution skills. According to MLive, Hunter is posting a balanced 9.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on the season. Baylor has a deep and talented pipeline of prospects going forward, and Hunter should join a quite talented team when he arrives in Waco in 2022.
As mentioned in the last edition of our newsletter, Virginia was the favorite to land 6-4 junior shooting guard Isaac McKneeley of Poca (WV), and did so. McKneeley is a top 50 prospect nationally like Hunter, and picked Virginia over Kentucky, Illinois, West Virginia, Purdue, North Carolina, Louisville, and Indiana.
The No. 107 prospect in the junior class (according to the 247Sports composite), 6-5 shooting guard C.J. Gunn of Lawrence North (IN) made his pledge during the Super Bowl to his home state Indiana program, in a pre-recorded video.
Gunn is the Hoosier’s first pledge in the 2022 class, and part of a trend by head coach Archie Miller to defend the state’s borders and keep talented players headed to Bloomington. Gunn is having a good junior year at Lawrence North (currently 17-2), as he’s presently averaging 14.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assist per game, according to the IndyStar.
Finally, Oregon State also got into the act when they popped 6-3 point guard Vincent “Cruz” Davis of iSchool of Lewisville (TX), who is averaging 11.8 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game this season, per MaxPreps.
Davis plays alongside of Keyonte George, a top 10 junior nationally, at iSchool of Lewisville, which has played a quality national schedule this season. According to 247Sports, Davis picked the Beavers over a trio of in-state heavyweights in Houston, SMU, and TCU.
Oregon State has two sophomore guards currently getting heavy minutes in Gianni Hunt and Jarod Lucas, which could clear the way for senior mentorship when Davis hits campus, and heavy playing time as a sophomore. Oregon State has no freshmen point guard in the program, nor any 2021 point guard pledges.
Stanford adds to quality ‘21 class
Cannon School (NC) senior guard Jarvis Moss is off the board, adding to Stanford’s strong 2021 recruiting effort. Moss is the third player in the class, joining elite wing Harrison Ingram of Texas, and local point guard Isa Silva. Quite simply, it’s a trio that will keep the Cardinal firmly in Pac-12 contention.
While many high school seniors haven’t had the opportunity to play much competitive basketball, Moss already had 25 games under his belt for a 21-4 squad through Saturday. At 6-4, Moss has length and is known as a shooter who can scorch nets, given the opportunity.
North Carolina high school hoops is typically known as a deep talent pool, filled with terrific prospects. With that in mind, one reputable source, the Phenom Hoops Report, considers Moss to be the No. 15 prospect in the Tar Heel State’s 2021 class.
Ingram is considered to be a borderline top 10 prospect nationally, and is clearly the headliner of the class for Stanford. Savvy, pass-first point guard Silva also rates as a top 50 player, and will certainly have a terrific wing shooting prospect in Moss as time moves on.