I Bleed Blue and White

Some more Jayvaughn Pinkston coverage for you today as Adam Zagoria wrote a really nice column about the newest member of ‘Nova Nation. In case you missed it last night, the 6′6″ Brooklyn native committed to Jay Wright and becomes the 3rd member of the Wildcats’ 2010 recruiting class.

Credit: NY Daily News

In the article, several experts have glowing reviews of Pinkston’s game, even going as far to compare him to a former NBA great:

“He’s a Jamal Mashburn clone,” said New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. “He has very soft hands. He has very good skill with the ball. He can handle the ball on the perimeter. He’s not going to guard a perimeter player right now. He can pass the ball, can get to the basket, he can shoot 3’s. He has a strong body where he can post and score inside. He’s a really skilled player who has a mature understanding of the game. He’s got to learn to bring it every single night, which hasn’t always been the case in the past. He’s as good as we have in the metropolitan area.”

Pinkston is very excited to be going James Bell and Markus Kennedy as the newest Wildcats.

“I’m very excited to be committing to Villanova,” Pinkston said. “It’s one of the top programs in the country. I want to play with and against the best players in the country and playing for Villanova will afford me that opportunity. I’m excited and thankful.”

“I just think that there were too many positives that he couldn’t turn down right now,” Kimani Young, Pinkston’s mentor, said. “He got a great place to go to. It’s just as good an opportunity for him as it is for Nova to get him.”

Villanova has one lone remaining target in guard Cory Joseph, who will wait until the spring to decide. Villanova is in Joseph’s final 5, but many believe that UConn currently leads for the standout guard.

…Pinkston will add some nice toughness and bulk to the team when he arrives…hopefully that outside game continues to develop, but he strikes me as exactly the kind of kid who will relish the roughness of the BIG EAST…very excited to have him on board…

News leaked out tonight that Class of 2010 forward Jayvaughn Pinkston, widely considered the top player in New York City, was going to publicly commit to Villanova tomorrow. It appears the story broke sooner than expect. The New York Post is reporting that Pinkston has officially committed to Jay Wright and the Wildcats.

Pinkston becomes the 3rd member of the 2010 class.

Pinkston confirmed the report via text message saying only, “Yes, it’s true.”

You might remember that Pinkston originally was set to commit to Tennessee during the early signing period, but cancelled his announcement. Days later Tennessee received a commitment from Tobias Harris, which many have speculated aided Pinkston in re-considering. Now, he’s a Wildcat.

Pinkston becomes the 3rd member of the Class of 2010 joining James Bell and Markus Kennedy. Pinkston is a strong-bodied forward with a developing outside game. He’ll be a perfect fit in Jay Wright’s scheme and brings a lot of toughness that may remind many of Dwayne Anderson.

Let’s all welcome Jayvaughn to the Villanova family!

James Bell and Markus Kennedy both officially joined the Villanova family yesterday when they signed their Letters of Intent to play for Jay Wright, but could their be a 3rd on the way?

Jayvaughn Pinkston

Scout ran a Signing Day Blog yesterday and reported that Jayvaughn Pinkston may in fact sign during the early period. There was talk earlier this week that he may hold off on committing until the spring. Now he may sign and end the process.

7:51 – Just got off the phone with New Height coach Kimani Young. He told us that there is a strong possibility Jayvaughn Pinkston signs during the early period. He’s looking at Marquette, St. John’s, Villanova, Seton Hall and Tennessee. He also said Ashton Pankey would sign next week. He’s visiting Houston this weekend. He was at Maryland for an official visit recently.

It has been widely thought that Villanova has led for for Pinkston for some time now, with Tennessee a close second. Marquette, Seton Hall, and St. John’s are also involved. Pinkston is considered the best player in New York City, and is an undersized PF at 6′6″ who has been rapidly developing a better handle and jumpshot. His stock has been soaring.

…I could see this going a number of ways…most notably him waiting until the spring to sign…I initially thought he was going to hold off to see what Mike Gilchrist did, but maybe he doesn’t care…or he’s decided to head somewhere other than ‘Nova…

…Stay tuned…

Today was the first official day that Class of 2010 players could sign their National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at a particular school. The early signing period lasts for one week and will end on November 18th.

Both 2010 Villanova verbal commitments have announced that they will be signing their letters of intent to play for Villanova tonight!

When that happens, both James Bell and Markus Kennedy will be officially part of the Villanova family! Welcome to the fold guys!

Markus Kennedy

James Bell

Kennedy is a 6′9″ power forward who has been described as a skilled passer out of the post with a great scoring touch. Bell, a 6′5″ wing ranked 76th nationally by Rivals, is a rangy athlete that can take it to the hoop as well as knock it down from outside. He’s also a great defender, which is something that Jay Wright requires of all his players.

This is a great follow-up to 2009’s heralded quartet. James Bell looks to step into Reggie Redding’s spot on the roster while Kennedy will provide quality depth in the seemingly-always-think ‘Nova frontcourt. Hopefully both come in next year ready to play and keep Villanova at the forefront of the college basketball scene. It seems that we may have finally gotten to the point where we are reloading, not rebuilding.

From here, it appears that it may be Cory Joseph and/or JayVaughn Pinkston or bust for 2010 recruiting. Both Joseph and Pinkston look to be signing in the spring.

Just a quick note, but JayVaughn Pinkston will NOT be attending Hoops Mania tonight. Adam Zagoria just tweeted that nugget, but says that Pinkston is still considering Villanova.

…Tough break…I think a lot of ‘Nova fans thought he could potentially commit after a visit tonight…but the plan for him has always been to hold out until the spring…

…For anyone thinking this has anything to do with Yacoubou’s commitment yesterday, the two have no bearing on each other as they play different positions…

For those who are wondering who WILL be attending tonight, VUHoops put together a list of who is confirmed. Obviously, that is an incredible list of talent.

2010s

• Markus Kennedy (verbal)
• James Bell (verbal)
• Cory Joseph

2011s

• Achraf Yacoubou (verbal)
• Mike Gilchrist
• Tony Wroten
• Desmond Hubert
• Juan’ya Green
• Tyrone Johnson
• Malcolm Gilbert (maybe)

2012s

• Amile Jefferson
• Savon Goodman
• Ryan Arciadano
• Kyle Anderson
• Tariq Carey
• Omar Calhoun (maybe)

UPDATE: Some more Yacoubou coverage, courtesy of Mike Kern at the Philadelphia Daily News. These are the kind of quotes that get you fired up.

“[Jay Wright] had built a wonderful program there,” said Randy Harper, Yacoubou’s legal guardian and the coach of his AAU team, Lamar Odom’s “Rich Soil,” which Wildcat junior Corey Fisher also played for. “He wanted to go somewhere where he could reach his full potential, leave a legacy. Somewhere where the coach would demand excellence of him. Jay Wright’s that guy.

” [Fisher's] blossomed as a player, and a man. [Wright] did such a wonderful job taking him from a young man to a man. When [Yacoubou] made his visit, he loved it. He saw Scottie Reynolds diving for loose balls, in the summer. I guess what happened was, there was no need to wait [to make a decision].

“He’s just a hard-nosed, no-nonsense player who got what he wanted.”

Original Post: Achraf Yacoubou,  a junior from Long Island, committed to Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats last night, according to Newsday. Yacoubou, ranked #76 in his class, is a a big guard that can play both the 1 and 2, something that drew him to Jay Wright’s system.

“Ash is a 1-2 combo guard. That’s one of the things he liked about Villanova. They let their guards play any position,” said Randy Harper, Yacoubou’s guardian. “I told him maybe he should wait, but he’s a decisive young man. When he wants something, he goes and gets it. He wanted Villanova. He thinks Jay Wright has the right idea and the right kind of hard-nosed players.”

“Coach Wright demands a lot and that’s the kind of coach he wants to play for,” Harper said. “He thought Villanova was the best fit and figured he might as well commit now and concentrate on his next two seasons at LuHi.”

The commitment comes on the eve of Hoops Mania, which Yacoubou will be attending with several other big time recruits. It won’t hurt to have the first commitment of 2011 working the crowd.

Yacoubou had a final 3 of ‘Nova, Kentucky and UConn.

…Not sure about the insiders (certainly not one myself) but this came completely out of left field in my eyes…regardless, he looked to be the top option for his role in 2011, and has a plethora of attributes (namely his defense and shooting) that will guide him to early PT for the team…

…Congrats to him and welcome to the ‘Nova family!!…

Adam Zagoria updates us on the JayVaughn Pinkston recruitment, which has reached a crucial stage. Pinkston just had an in-home visit from Bobby Gonzalez and the Seton Hall staff last night, and according to Pinkston’s mother, the visit went well.

Pinkston is lining up visits to St. John’s Red Storm Tip-Off on October 22nd, as well as Villanova’s Hoops Mania the following day. Pinkston may also visit for Tennessee’s exhibition game against North Alabama on October 31st (don’t miss out of Halloween Jay!).

Kimani Young, Pinkston’s mentor, has previously stated that Pinkston will most likely sign with a school in the spring, but now, plans may be changing.

“It’s still up in the air whether he’s going to sign early or sign late,” Young said. “We have to talk. He’s just not 100 percent sure.”

…So, add another to the list for Hoops Mania…I’m hoping that Mike Gilchrist will also decide to make the short trip for the event…should be quite the spectacle coming off a Final Four season…

Last week news broke that 2011 prospect Achraf Yacoubou would be visiting for Hoops Mania, and now you can add another visitor to the list. Myron P. Medcalf of the Star Tribune updates the Cory Joseph recruitment by giving us his final 6 schools. Villanova, UConn and Minnesota are going to receive official visits while Mississippi State, Florida and UNLV round out the final list.

Joseph, a 2010 combo-guard, will be an official visitor to Hoops Mania on October 23rd.

…Joseph is a perfect fit for ‘Nova in my mind…combo guard that can play both on and off the ball…hopefully we make a strong impression seeing we are the first official visit…

ZagsBlog is reporting that Michael Gilchrist will make the short trek from his South Jersey home to visit the Villanova campus this weekend. Head coach Kevin Boyle has confirmed that he is trying to visit ‘Nova, with some outside sources also confirming the trip will occur this coming weekend.

“It’s close to his house [in South Jersey] and he wants to get a feeling for how Villanova stands,” Boyle added.

Popular belief is that the Gilchrist sweepstakes will come down to Kentucky and Villanova, with John Calipari having the slight edge because of his connection to William Wesley, a.k.a. World Wide Wes.

…A good weekend for him to visit with the ‘Nova team hosting the first ever nationally televised football game in CAA history…should be a great atmosphere…students, if you see him, make it known you want him to stay close to home!…

Guard might be Jay Wright’s favorite word in the English language.  Zagsblog reported that Rivals’ #19 shooting guard, Achraf Yacoubou, will visit Villanova on October 23rd for Hoops Mania.  Currently, Yacoubou is a 6′4″ 200 lb. junior out of Long Island Lutheran.  Along with the Villanova visit, he will visit Kentucky on October 16th for their Big Blue Madness.  The other school on Yacoubou’s top three is UConn.  Is there a leader yet though?  According to Yacoubou, no.

They are all equal.  I don’t have a leading school just yet.