Blair Basketball In the News

Recruiting Dish: How good will Blair Academy be?

Sports - Sporting News
By Mike Sullivan
Wed Sep 4, 4:14 PM ET

There’s going to be a lot of pressure on Joe Mantegna this season. The head coach of Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., has amassed some of the best talent in the country, meaning many onlookers will expect a big season from Blair. So why not put some more pressure on Mantegna and Blair?

Leading the way for Blair, which was the state runner-up in New Jersey last season, will be Luol Deng, perhaps the best recruit in the country, and outstanding big man Charlie Villanueva, who at 6-10 plays like a guard. Deng and Villanueva both had excellent summers. Deng can actually play five positions. “We might use him at the point guard this year,” Mantegna said. “He can play it.”

Villanueva is an exciting player to watch too. He has great range on his jumper and can thump you for a dunk. Deng and Villanueva are top-five players. Add in veteran Roberto Felipe, a 6-3 combo guard, sharpshooter Mike Beers (headed to Siena), athletic guard Patrick Davidson and junior Chris Alvarez and Blair Academy has one of the best prep teams in the country.

“I think we will have better outside shooting this season with Beers and the other players coming in,” Mantegna said. “We are going to need it. We are going to be playing one of the toughest schedules in the country.”

Rutgers picked up a major commitment when Quincy Douby, the sure-fire marksman out of Grady High School in Brooklyn, chose the Scarlet Knights. Douby, who will prep at St. Thomas More Academy this fall, previously had six offers from major conference programs on the table. Douby had been offered scholarships by St. John’s, Syracuse, Seton Hall, UMass, Virginia and Mississippi State at one time during his recruiting process.

Douby attended the Nike Camp in Indianapolis, and then skipped The Peach Jam in order to rest an injured finger. Douby then competed in the Super Showcase in Orlando with Riverside Church. Douby has NBA range on his jumper and can score points in bunches.

Louisville and Rick Pitino continue to load up for the future. This week Pitino and his assistants – Vince Taylor and Mick Cronin – landed Nate Daniels, a 6-8, 215-pound pound high scoring swingman from Broward Community College in Florida.

“He wanted to take a shot at the next level,” saod Broward coach Bob Starkman. “He thought there was no better person to give him that shot than Rick Pitino.” Daniels verbally committed to Louisville following an official visit with the Conference USA school this past weekend.

“He got along so great with the players and the coaches that he felt he didn’t have to visit any other schools,” Starkman said. “So he cancelled his other visits to Duquesne, St. John’s, FIU (Florida International) and Texas Tech.” Daniels was the second leading JUCO scorer in the nation as a freshman last season, averaging 30.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 62.8 percent from the floor, 37.4 percent from behind the arc and 74 percent from the free throw lane.

North Carolina has made significant progress in the recruiting battle for David Padgett, a 6-11, 235 pound center/power forward from Reno (Nev.) High School. Padgett took his final visit to North Carolina last weekend.

“It went well,” Padgett said. “Sean May took me around. I got to meet the players. I hung out with them a lot. I got along great with them. North Carolina has moved up on my list. I hadn’t been to that place so I learned a lot from the trip.” Padgett will have Kansas in first for an in -ome visit next Tuesday. Stanford, North Carolina and Arizona will also take in-home visits. Then a decision?

“Yes, but after I sit down with my parents and discuss it,” Padgett said. Padgett has also taken visits to Kansas, Stanford, and Arizona. “They were all great trips,” Padgett said. “I will probably just get a feel after taking the in-home visits.”

An excellent student, Padgett said he’s carrying a 3.3 GPA. Padgett is one of the best players in the 2003 class and one of the most sought after student/athletes. Padgett finished up his junior year averaging 23 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks per game.

Longtime St. Raymond’s coach Gary DeCesare has taken an assistant’s job with Richmond. DeCesare helped polish 28 players from his program to the Division I level.

What we liked about DeCesare was his no-nonsense approach. If a player messed with his rules, he sat. And he sat whether he scored 20 points a game or two points a game. St. Raymond’s will sorely miss him, but Richmond has gained a valuable person in this business. Its likely DeCesare will be able to help the Spiders with recruiting in the New York area.

Mike Sullivan covers college basketball recruiting for The Sporting News. He is the publisher of rivalshoops.com, a Web site dedicated to high school and college basketball news and recruiting information.

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