Strictly BBall Newsletter 5

Duke Not Done, Jeremy Fears Q&A, and 2020 Montverde Now

Who Else Will Duke Bring In?

by Griffin Greenberg on October 31

November is upon us! That means preseason events are wrapping up and the regular high school basketball season is here. This past week was an impactful one for the high school basketball world headlined by Cooper Flagg’s Duke commitment. Check out what all went on in this week’s newsletter!

THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES

Duke Not Done?

by Griffin Greenberg 

Duke made a major splash in the basketball world by getting a commitment from the nation’s top player and 2025 projected No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg. Alongside Flagg in that class are 5-stars Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel and 4-star Darren Harris. But who else is Duke looking to add in the 2024 class?

Dylan Harper - No. 2 recruit

Flagg’s reclass up dropped Harper to the No. 2 ranked player, these two teaming up could make for one of the best recruiting classes in history. Harper is a very dynamic and explosive guard and can knock down tough shots anywhere on the court. Harper visited Duke last year and is also considering Kansas, Rutgers, Indiana, and Auburn.

V.J. Edgecombe - No. 5 recruit

A year ago today, very few people knew the name V.J. Edgecombe. Now, everybody in the high school basketball world knows very well that he is one of the best players in the class for a reason. He exploded onto the NIBC scene with Long Island Lutheran and won the NIBC Player of the Year Award averaging a league high 17.3 PPG. Edgecombe is an explosive player that gets out in transition quickly and hits shots at a high level. Edgecombe is considering Duke among 10 schools.

Patrick Ngongba - No. 19 recruit

Ngongba took three visits to the final schools he’s considering in the past month. He’s a dominant center that is a force inside on both ends of the ball. His physicality is unmatched by most of the centers in his class. He is also considering Kansas State and Kentucky, both of whom are heavily in the mix and in contact with Ngongba. He is set to make his decision on November 4th.

Strictly BBall Player Spotlight Q&A

by Griffin Greenberg

Jeremiah Fears - AZ Compass Prep School

Jeremiah Fears is the No. 21 ranked recruit in the class of 2025. He’s one of the top point guards in the nation and recently transferred to AZ Compass Prep School to play his junior season. We caught up with Jeremiah to talk about his recruitment and upcoming season with his new squad

Griffin: How has recruitment been going and what’s your timeline for making a decision?

Jeremiah: It’s been going really well. I’ve been really taking my time with everything. [I’m] trying to narrow down options, not sure when I’ll drop a Top 10.

Griffin: Who is most heavily recruiting you?

Jeremiah: There’s not really a specific school. All of them have been reaching out to me. They all reach out like every two days. Everybody that has extended an offer to me has been reaching out.

(Fears most recently picked up offers from Alabama, Kansas, Creighton, and Texas Tech.)

Griffin: What are you most looking forward to this season?

Jeremiah: I’m looking forward to playing in Hoophall. I’ve heard a lot of great things about it and a lot of great players played at Hoophall. I’m also looking forward to playing at Geico. I watched my brother there and I feel like it was a great experience for him and me just being there watching. Hopefully I get to experience it this year and show people what I can do.

Strictly BBall Player of the Week

by Griffin Greenberg 

Quincy Wadley - Bishop O’Connell

Wadley and Bishop O’Connell played in the top division at Border League once again for the second time this month, this time at Border League East. The young 2026 prospect has a smooth game and showcased that this past weekend, putting his shooting on full display along with the ability to get to his spots and create for himself. He has nice size and versatility and is a legit shooter.

Wadley put forth consistent scoring efforts at both Border League events and led O’Connell with 32 points in the championship game, earning the Strictly BBall player of the week title.

Where Are They Now? - 2020 Montverde Academy

by Griffin Greenberg

The 2019-2020 Montverde Academy team might be the most talented high school roster of all-time. They had five 5-stars on the roster and six players that would eventually reach the NBA. This team was looking unbeatable and had a change to cement their legacy with a Geico Nationals Title, before their season was cut short due to COVID-19.

Let’s take a look at where each of the 13 members of that team are at now, 4 years later.

Cade Cunningham - Detroit Pistons, HS ranking: No. 1, NBA Draft: No. 1

Cunningham battled with Jalen Green for the No. 1 recruiting spot in the 2020 class. Following his time with the Eagles, he went to Oklahoma State and averaged 20.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.5 APG, and 1.6 SPG to solidify himself as the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft for the Detroit Pistons. Cunningham had a strong rookie season in Detroit and after leg surgery which held him out for but 12 games of last season, he has bounced back and is averaging 22.3 PPG and 8.3 APG in the first week of his third season.

Scottie Barnes - Toronto Raptors, HS ranking: No. 5, NBA Draft: No. 4

After spending his senior season at Montverde, Barnes attended Florida State where he averaged 10.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 4.1 APG starting just seven games. Despite largely coming off the bench, scouts recognized Scottie’s potential and the Toronto Raptors selected him as the 4th pick. Barnes has been a high-level player in the league averaging a consistent 15.3 PPG and over 6.0 RPG in his first two seasons along with winning the 2021 Rookie of the Year Award. He’s now averaging 20.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 2.5 BPG through four games this season.

Day’Ron Sharpe - Brooklyn Nets, HS ranking: No. 12, NBA Draft: No. 29

Sharpe was another player that was highly recruited and ranked throughout his high school career, sitting in the top 50 for about all of it and finishing at No. 12. Sharpe went on to average 9.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG at North Carolina before heading to the league. He is in his third season on the Nets and has averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG in just under 12 MPG, serving as a solid role piece so far for Brooklyn.

Moses Moody - Golden State Warriors, HS ranking: 45, NBA Draft: 14

Moody attended Arkansas following his time at Montverde and went one-and-done after averaging 16.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG. Moody was another Monverde lottery pick and he was still a teenager when he made his debut. Moody has already won an NBA championship with Golden State and is averaging 4.8 PPG in his career with them.

Caleb Houstan - Orlando Magic, HS ranking: 8, NBA Draft: 32

Houstan was a sophomore on this team and spent one more season at Montverde as he reclassed up. He held a five-star ranking for the majority of his high school career. Houstan averaged 10.1 PPG (36% from three) and 4.0 RPG in one season at Michigan. He averaged 3.8 PPG in his rookie season for the Magic last year.

Dariq Whitehead - Brooklyn Nets, HS ranking: 2, NBA Draft: 22

Whitehead would become one of the leaders on future Montverde teams and he was only a sophomore on this squad. He’d win multiple national championships with Montverde and solidified himself as one of the top players in the 2022 class. He attended Duke and declared for the draft after one season averaging 8.3 PPG (43% from three). Whitehead was drafted by the Nets this year but has yet to make his NBA debut due to rehabbing from foot surgery back in June.

Ryan Nembhard - Gonzaga, HS ranking: 62

Nembhard followed in the footsteps of his brother and went to Montverde Academy the season after his brother graduated. Nembhard was a junior on this team and committed to Creighton. He averaged 11.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 4.6 APG in two seasons with Creighton which included helping lead them to an Elite Eight appearance this year. This year, Nembhard announced that he’s transferring to Gonzaga and is set to begin his season with the Zags next week.

Langston Love - Baylor, HS ranking: 28

Love was another junior on this powerful team. He was considered one of the top shooting guards in his class. After Montverde, Love committed to Baylor. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in 2021 which caused him to miss his whole freshman season. Last season he 6.3 PPG playing mostly off the bench and doing a lot of damage off the stat sheet.

Zeb Jackson - VCU, HS ranking: 77

Jackson transferred to Montverde for his senior season and ended up committing to Michigan. He was in a limited role in two seasons with the Wolverines and transferred to VCU where he averaged 5.2 PPG last season.

Halil Barre - Duquesne

Barre was a junior on this squad and transferred to Scotland Campus after the season. He played 12 games for Duquesne last year averaging 2.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG and is back for his sophomore season.

Jesse Jones - Florida State

Jones flew under the radar a bit during high school, and committed to Babson College to play basketball. He averaged 1.8 PPG in two seasons with Babson and recently transferred to Florida State for his junior season.

Keegan Harvey - George Washington

Harvey was a 3-star forward at Montverde and played on this team in his senior season. He played for College of Charleston in his freshman year of college before transferring to George Washington University in his sophomore year.

Michael Wu

Wu was a junior at Montverde and transferred to Orangewood Academy following his junior season. He committed to Eastern Washington but did not play a game for them.

Weekly Recruiting Update

by Griffin Greenberg

Commitments

Class of 2024 5-star Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) forward Cooper Flagg has committed to Duke.

Class of 2024 5-star Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) forward Asa Newell has committed to Georgia.

Class of 2024 4-star Canyon International Academy (Queen Creek, AZ) forward Amier Ali has committed to Arizona State.

Class of 2025 4-star Frenship (Wolfforth, TX) guard Patton Pinkins has committed to Ole Miss.

Class of 2025 4-star Grayson (Loganville, GA) guard Jacob Wilkins has committed to Ole Miss.

Class of 2024 4-star Prolific Prep (Napa, CA) guard Mikey Lewis has committed to St. Mary’s.

Class of 2024 4-star Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, NH) guard Elijah Crawford has committed to Stanford.

Class of 2024 4-star Kenwood Academy (Chicago, IL) center Jaden Smith has committed to Arizona State.

Class of 2024 3-star Cascade Christian (Medford, OR) center Austin Maurer has committed to Grand Canyon.

Class of 2024 3-star Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) center Jamie Vinson has committed to Vanderbilt.

Commitment dates

Class of 2024 5-star center Patrick Ngongba is set to announce his college decision between Duke, Kansas State, and Kentucky on November 4th

Class of 2024 4-star forward Nic Codie is set to announce his college decision between LSU, Auburn, Virginia Tech, TCU, Houston, Miami, and Texas on November 2nd.

Class of 2024 4-star forward Jaxon Johnson is set to announce his college decision between Stanford, Southern California, Utah, and BYU on November 2nd.

Decommitments

Class of 2024 4-star guard Daquan Davis has decommitted from Providence.

Final schools

Class of 2024 5-star forward Derrion Reid is down to 3 schools… Alabama, Georgia, and Florida State.

Class of 2024 5-star forward Isiah Harwell is down to 9 schools… UCLA, Alabama, Cal, Baylor, Idaho State, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Houston, and Texas.

Class of 2024 5-star center Derik Queen is down to 4 schools… Houston, Indiana, Kansas, and Maryland.

READ MORE ON OUR WEBSITE