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I sorta did this after a junir day for the football team and I think it's fun to think about possible prospects. I really don't follow basketball recruiting close enough to know whether or not any of these players are serious possibilities, but apparently these are the players that head coach Chris Walker is focusing on if he gets the job at Texas Tech. This has come from ESPN and 24/7 Sports. I don't know if I'd put much stock into the "warm" or "cool" aspect of 24/7 Sports.
So this is the tough part about Walker having to recruit without a contract, which is that there's really no guarantee. And even with a contract, there's no guarantee that the big fish, Frazier and Yancy-Harris, commit to Texas Tech. I think that's really an incredibly high bar to have that sort of expectation. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it, but I think it's a very high bar for Walker. So this is the hope, and hope is a funny and strange word. The hope is that Frazier, Yancy-Harris and former Texas Tech commit Wannah Bail all show up in the fall, but that's a dream scenario.
One other note. I get a handful of emails from parents from propsective players looking to promote their child and I do think that's terrific. I always email them back and let them know that I'm a booster and that I don't think that it is appropriate for me to correspond with them as I don't want to get into any NCAA messes. All of these potential players are from the links above and I've even excluded one or two based on what I can tell from taking a visit to Texas Tech. I think I would find myself in a precarious situation if I did this list based on emails that I receive. With that disclaimer out of the way, let's go.
Keith Frazier | Shooting Guard | 6-5/185 | Kimball (Dallas, TX) | Video | Frazier is the bell of the ball and he is the main target for Walker. Frazier is a shooting guard, with an emphasis on the word shooting. Frazier is a very athletic shooter with deep range and a really nice game around the basket.
Kendal Yancy-Harris | Point Guard | 6-4/195 | Berkner (Richardson, TX) | Video | Hancy-Harris is a combo guard that originally committed to USC, but was released from his scholarship as they fired their head coach. Yancy-Harris has a really nice game around the basket and has an array of moves int he paint to finish. Very good body control and a pretty good shooter.
Soma Edo | Power Forward | 6-5/225 | Berkner (Richardson, TX) | Video | Edo is committed to Fresno St., as is Watson. I think they would be incredibly tough to sway, but they have offers from what I can tell. Edo is one of those guys that is only 6-5, but he plays so much bigger because he can jump out of the gym. It's also no coincidence that Edo was a teammate of former Ram, Yancy-Harris.
Paul Watson | Small Forward | 6-6/180 | Paradise Valley (Phoenix, AZ) | Video | I haven't been able to find any real video of Watson, but he's another Fresno St. commit. I don't know how realistic this is.
Thomas Barnes | Point Guard | 6-1/165 | Belton (Belton, TX) | Video | So I think that Barnes and the remainder of the players are back-up plans and that's a horrible way to think about high school players, but there is a definite difference in the first four players and these last three players. Barnes is a combo-guard, but I can't find where he has any offers, so from what I can tell, Barnes may be a second option for a lot of teams like Texas Tech, TCU and SMU.
Leonard Allen | Center | 6-11/200 | Round Rock (Round Rock, TX) | Video | I'm going to go ahead and admit that I'd love to have Allen play for Texas Tech. Yes, he only weighs 200 pounds, but just looking at his old man, he's going to fill out and what a wonderful thing it would be to have a 6'11" player that is fairly nimble, can block some shots. Allen doesn't have any offers, but I'd jump all over Allen. And yes, this would absolutely be a project, but I think that Allen is a project worth taking.
Jordan Scott | Small Forward | 6-6/190 | Lewis-Palmer (Monument, CO) | I can't tell much of anything other than Scott has an offer from Air Force and his older brother, Josh, plays for Colorado. The main difference between the two players is that Josh is 6'9" and Jordan is 6'6".