Possible Red Raiders: A Weekly Recruiting Update - 4/22/14

The quiet period has officially ended in College Football and the evaluation period begins. This basically means that coaches can now go to high schools and evaluate the recruits physically and academically. So in this update, you'll see updates that say Tech was somewhere, and that's what they were doing. For more information on the evaluation period and all the football periods, here is the NCAA Bowl Subdivision calender. Right now, we are going to take a look at some top prospects from the 2015 basketball class. Let's look at the home run basketball targets for the Red Raiders, including Henry Ellenson, Jarvis Johnson and Akolda Manyang.

Henry Ellenson - Power Forward (Rice Lake HS, Rice Lake, WI)

Ratings: 94 by 247 (57th overall) / 84 by ESPN (47th overall) / 4-star by Rivals (56th overall)

Crystal Ball: Wisconsin (71%), Michigan State (12%), Duke (12%), Minnesota (6%)

Tubby started recruiting Ellenson back when he coached at Minnesota, hence the Minnesota interest. Joe Esposito has visited Wisconsin to see him before, and even Tubby himself visited Ellenson for the state championship game. In fact, Tubby was able to get Henry's brother Wally at Minnesota, who is now transferring out and is looking at Texas Tech and Baylor according to Amelia Rayno of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. If we could get Wally aboard, it would help us in recruiting Ellenson. Right now it looks like Wisconsin has a big lead, being in the same state as Henry and just coming off a Final Four trip, along with Michigan State and the recently offered Duke. While a commit seems unlikely from Henry, the Red Raiders are not out of the race. Let's take a look at Ellenson's highlights. For a 6'9" PF, it looks like Henry Ellenson has a pretty good shot. He has the range to hit it from anywhere on the floor, which is key in spreading the floor and giving our guys open shots. Henry also has great handles for a guy on his size, which could be good in press situation and trying to find an open shot in the paint. Finally, he's shifty in the paint, able to spin and maneuver his way around guys to get an open shot. Plus, he's active on the defensive end. If Tubby can somehow get Henry Ellenson, it would be a great pick-up for the Red Raiders.

Jarvis Johnson - Point Guard (DeLaSalle HS, Minneapolis, MN)

Ratings: 90 by 247 (97th overall) / 80 by ESPN / 4-star by Rivals (85th overall)

Interest: Minnesota (Warm), Wisconsin (Warm), Kansas *(Cool), Texas Tech (Cool)

This is another prospect Tubby probably found in his coaching days in Minnesota. Joe Esposito and him have recruited in Minnesota multiple times to year to look at recruits, including Johnson. Tubby Smith was able to watch Johnson in his State Championship game this year also. While the offer list isn't quite as impressive as Ellenson's, he still has a lot of good offers, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Creighton and Big XII companion Iowa State. While obtaining Johnson is also difficult, I believe that we have a better chance to land him then Ellenson. Let's take a look at what Johnson can do. I think the first thing you notice off the bat is the pure athleticism he posses. He has ridiculous vertical that helps him with highlight dunks and the ability to dribble his way through traffic. Jarvis also has field vision, which helps him find the open man for the easy bucket. You always want your point guard to be able to find the open guy, giving the offense another threat to deal with. Finally, he's not afraid to pull up for the open shot, which he usually sinks in. As a point guard junkie, I would love Tech to grab Jarvis Johnson. It'll be tough, but hopefully Tubby doesn't give up and is able to get the dynamic point guard. Here are some more highlights on Jarvis Johnson.

Akolda Manyang - Center (Indian Hills CC, Ottumwa, IA)

Ratings: 94 by 247 / NR by ESPN / NR by Rivals

Interest: Minnesota (Warm), Oklahoma (Warm), Arizona State (Cool), Texas Tech *(Cool)

I'm not sure how soon Manyang appeared on Tech's radar, but I do know when the coaching staff went to the NJCAA National Championships, they were looking at Manyang along with a few others. Manyang played high school in Minnesota, and while there actually named Minnesota his favorites (while Tubby Smith was still there). However, for reasons I do not know, Manyang went the JUCO route and is preforming well there. RIght now his only offers are from Oklahoma, Minnesota and Arizona State. I could not find an offer from Texas Tech yet, and wonder why we haven't done so. He's a JUCO player to keep an eye on next year. Let's take a look at some his highlights. Manyang is a presence on the defensive end, moving over to block shots from anyone trying to score in the paint. This could be helpful for when smaller centers at the college level try and score. Another skill he possess is range, which most big man don't have. While most of his points will come from the middle with lay-ups and shots over players, it helps when your bigger guys can also be a long range threat. Depth at the 5 position will be key, with new signees Jamison and Odiase being the only depth at that position. Hopefully Tech will extend an offer soon and go after the 7-footer. Here are highlights from his time in high school.

Here are some more updates:

Basketball 2014:

• Abdoulaye Gueye, 83 rated PF, committed to Georgia Tech this past Thursday. The decision was going to be down to both schools after his visit to Georgia Tech, and he ended up picking the Yellow Jackets.
• Texas Tech signed it's 4 commits last Wednesday in Keenan Evans, Justin Jamison, DeVaugntah Williams and Norense Odiase. This gives the Red Raiders 6 players for the class of 2014 and 3 available for the 2015 class. Look for Tech to haul in some good recruits next year.

Football 2015:

• Madison Akamnonu, 86 rated OT, has a top 3 right now with Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas State. According to a SBNation article, Texas and OU will also be high on his list if they do offer. Oregon is another possibility
• Joseph Broadnax, 87 rated DT TCU commit, got a visit from the Red Raiders on Tuesday. Even though he's committed to TCU, Texas Tech has been recruiting Broadnax hard.
• Charles Omenihu, 86 rated DE Texas commit, has picked up an offer from the Red Raiders last week. Doesn't look like Tech will have a chance to flip him though.
• Landis Durham, 87 rated OLB/DE, has picked up an offer from the Red Raiders. Wreck'em247 has a story mentioning that Tech and A&M are near the top for the OLB.
• Connor Williams, NR OT, has received an offer from the Red Raiders. Connor also holds offers from TCU, Northwestern and Wake Forest while also receiving interest from Baylor.
• Sam Tecklenburg, 85 rated OT, received an offer from Baylor and committed on the spot. Texas Tech seemd to lose Sam in the end, but it looks like Baylor is where he wanted to be.
• Aaron Garza, 87 rated OG, was visited by Texas Tech this past week. He was committed to Texas, but decommitted when Mack left. Crystal ball has him to Auburn right now.
• Jaylon Lane, 85 rated DB, picked up an offer from the Red Raiders. He was one of the first 2015 recruits I looked at and have been real high on him. Jaylon already has several offer though, and Tech might've offered too late. He was committed to Ole Miss, but decommitted two weeks later to keep his options open and stay closer to home.
• Here's another cool Fehoko story and about what #FOE means.
• Texas's pro day did not go well, as the offense struggled throughout the day and were unimpressive. In fact, A&M commit and current Tech target Jordan Davis left at halftime it was so bad. This may be good for the Red Raiders in picking up some in-state talent from the Longhorns.
• Kris Boyd, 89 rated DB, has been talking to Nigel Bethel lately on twitter. He mentioned about a month of two ago that either Sumlin, Stoops, Strong or Kingsbury was in for a good surprise.
• Brandon Scott, 88 rated S, looks to have named a Top 3, with Texas Tech on top. The story is behind the Rivals paywall, but the teaser and tweet revel the favorite.
• Zach Abercrumbia, 85 rated DT, was not at the Spring game, but according to Wreckem247, he is still very high on the Red Raiders. Zach is a position of need, and his teammate Carlos Strickland is also looking hard at the Red Raiders.
• KJ Hill, 94 rated WR, and DJ Brown, 78 rated RB, was scouted by the Red Raiders today according to Arky's Rivals website. Arky and Auburn look to be in the lead for Hill, with Alabama and OKST just behind them.

Basketball 2015:

• Thaddeus Hall, 2015 SG/SF, is receiving interest from Texas Tech among others. He originally committed to South Carolina (who is also on him) out of high school, but took the JUCO route to get his grades up. Originally from Brooklyn.

Basketball 2016+:

• Devin Gilmore, NR 2017 SG/SF, is getting recruited by Texas Tech. Other schools going after him is Kentucky, 'Cuse, Mississippi State and A&M.