Duke basketball landed a talented junior in Alex Murphy (SF, 6’8″, 2012), who has stated for some time that Duke and Florida were the two schools that were recruiting him with the most intensity. Murphy took an unofficial visit to Durham and the Duke campus last month.
Murphy is a slender forward with a good shooting touch, if a little bit on the slow side with his release. Naturally, comparisons to current Blue Devil Kyle Singler are going to be made, but Murphy definitely will need to add strength and does not look like he’s ready to play much post at the college level yet, but has a good offensive game and can handle the ball.
Raleigh (N.C.) rising sophomore Rodney Purvis was one of just four 2013 prospects to be invited to this year’s NBA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, but the fifteen year-old showed he’s got plenty of game for his age.
The 6-3, 185-pounder finished twelfth overall in scoring average at the event at 11.5 points per contest; besting the next-closest person in his class by over 70 spots. He continued his run in Orlando. Arguably the best guard in the class of 2013, Purvis was outstanding in leading his team to the U15 Gold championship. Rodney had a team high 23 points in the semifinal win over the Texas Titans, going 11/16 at the line, including 8/10 in the fourth quarter as CP3 mounted a major comeback. Purvis is athletic, handles the rock, passes well, shoots it from deep, attacks the basket, and plays hard. There is not much on the court that Purvis cannot do.
While it’s still extremely early in his recruitment, Purvis is already picking up verbal scholarship offers. “Georgia Tech was the most recent school to offer me,” he said. “I’ve been offered by Xavier, Baylor, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina Central, Virginia Commonwealth, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.” Purvis went to Virginia Tech for an unofficial visit about a month ago and has been so caught up with AAU that he has not had time for anything else.
This Fall, Purvis will be playing at Upper Room Christian Academy. Rodney has quite a few visits lined up. He says he will “definitely visit Duke and Carolina this Fall but I haven’t set a date yet.” Already scheduled are trips to “Miami, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Florida, and Alabama” for football games.
The sky is the limit for the 2013 prospect who has already became a star. Look for him to keep his solid reputation and comparison to Washington Wizards star John Wall.
Justin Anderson is the next big name in the state of Maryland for high school basketball.
With Quinn Cook leaving DeMatha for Oak Hill, the rising junior becomes one of premier prospects to come out of the state. Anderson takes it in stride and is very humble about his role at national powerhouse Montrose Christian. Currently, he is playing the U17 American National team overseas in Germany and fairing quite well. This is just one of many accomplishments to add to Justin’s resume.
Anderson is extremely proud to be a part of the American squad. “We’re doing good,” he said. “This is a great opportunity I have playing with the best players in the grade ahead of me.” Anderson is only sixteen and is the youngest player on the team by a couple of months. “I’ve gotten learn a lot from my teammates,” stated Justin. While they are thriving and going for gold, Justin continues to play his game and play his role.
His game is exciting to watch. He is energetic and lively on the court as he is a defensive presense. Anderson slashes to the basket, as well. He is an excellent scorer and very versatile. The only part of his game that hurts his versatility is his ball handling skills. The 6-foot-5 small forward needs to gain a handle in order to take his game to the next level. However, his game is great. At one point he was a top fifteen player in the class of 2012. Now he is in the top forty.
Currently, Justin’s recruitment is steady and he is drawing interest from tons of big name schools. “Right now, the five schools who are recruiting me the hardest are Maryland, Virginia, Duke, Texas and Oklahoma,” he said. “I would say that is my top five in no specific order.” However, one school has to stand out to Anderson as they are the only ones to offer. Maryland is the only school to give Justin a scholarship at the moment. Along with that, they are very close to him with his school being in Maryland. One of his former teammates, Terrence Ross, was once committed to the Terps.
Once he gets back to America, Justin will run with his Boo Williams AAU squad into the Nike Peach Jam in Georgia and AAU Nationals in Florida. As he plays some more AAU in the live period against some of the top players in the country, coaches will notice who he is and why they want him. Look for the rest of July to be a real eye opener for colleges on Justin Anderson.
Desmond Hubert exemplifies the meaning of a defensive presence. The 6-foot-9 big man frequently had double doubles during his high school games and even triple doubles at times. He blocks shots and is excellent on the boards. The improvement in his offensive game has paid off and turned him into a very notable player in the class of 2011. The rising senior is modest and is not trying to become a star. He takes the quiet path and does the dirty work at a small known school in New Jersey called New Egypt High School.
At New Egypt, Desmond has made the school known in the Garden State and has become a standout there. During the spring and summer, he runs with the New Jersey Playaz; one of the best squads in the country. Whether he rebounds and throws an outlet pass to Myles Davis ’11 who hits a three or throws down a thunderous dunk of his own, you cannot stop the athleticism of Hubert.
Colleges have taken notice, as well! He has a list compiled of “Pittsburgh, Villanova, Ohio State, UConn, Georgia Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Maryland and Wake Forest.” It is a safe bet that Hubert will most likely land in the Big East or ACC, but don’t rule out the Buckeyes. Despite no offers from Duke or North Carolina yet, Desmond is confident that a good summer will propel him to that possibility.
Recently, he took an unofficial visit to another Big East school. Hubert visited Georgetown unofficially and enjoyed it. They have been a school that is on and off the list. Think about it for a minute; Hubert is a defensive presence and would fit in a slower paced offense. Georgetown is a team that comes to mind as they run a Princeton style offense. Either way, Hubert acknowledges that he will have a top five sometime in August and Villanova, as well as Pittsburgh will be in it. He could certainly be a great replacement for Nova’s Taylor King who recently left the team. Desmond hopes to commit before the season is over.
Either way you look at it, Desmond Hubert’s a threat. He can do a lot and his potential is sky high. Give it a few years and his name will be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. For now, he’ll just stick to rejecting opponents and their shots as he walks on with his swagger and his smile.
The Florida Gators have pulled themselves out of the recruiting race for Brandon Knight (PG/SG, 6’3″, 2010), the star scorer who is down to a handful of schools. This move by Florida leads us to believe that Florida knows Knight is headed elsewhere, and right now all signs point to the Kentucky Wildcats; however, that still remains to be seen, and with Knight taking his time, anything can happen.
It also means the Gators may be making more time to focus on getting Austin Rivers (PG/SG, 6’4″, 2010) to completely commit to Florida. The recruiting situation with Rivers is odd; he continues to say he’s committed to Florida while also evaluating Duke. That means he’s not committed at all.
