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re: UA Basketball Recruiting
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:21 pm to Chadaristic
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:21 pm to Chadaristic
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Five-star senior Charles Bediako is down to five finalists: Michigan, Alabama, Duke, Ohio State, and Texas. The very talented big out of IMG Academy’s post-grad program.
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The lead recruiter here? JD Davison. The five-star senior has been very vocal since pledging his commitment to Nate Oats. Fellow Canadian, Caleb Houstan, also considering Bama along with Bediako.
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Jake W
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Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:22 pm to Chadaristic
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Alabama fans, just gonna leave this here... #CanadianConnection?
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:24 pm to Chadaristic
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2021 five-star Charles Bediako is down to five schools
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Michigan: Michigan would be an interesting choice for Bediako. Michigan has a track record of developing bigs and getting production into their junior and senior years. The tide could be turning with Juwan Howard, however, last recruiting cycle the Wolverines picked up big man Hunter Dickinson who isn’t expected to be gone anytime soon.
“They have a great coaching staff and academics, Coach Howard played the same position as me and could add to my development.”
Duke: Duke has had a lot of success with 2 big men, think Wendell Carter and Marvin Bagley. If Mark Williams' improvement continues, we can expect him to test the waters and possibly remain in the draft. This should open up minutes for Bediako, however Duke recently landed five-star big man Paolo Banchero who can play the 4 or the 5. There’s been discussion about Duke’s willingness to take a second big man with the uncertainty of this upcoming season, but the Blue Devils record with bigs is hard to ignore and should give Bediako confidence should he lean that way.
“Duke has a great program and culture; the coaching staff is great and the school itself is high on academics. They also have a one of a kind atmosphere with fans.”
Texas: Texas is a toss-up, many thought that Shaka Smart would be gone after another disappointing season, however with COVID-19 he has another shot and a great recruiting class to work with. 5-star big man Greg Brown is someone Bediako should have his eyes on as he’s expected to be a 1 and done. Texas already has a few big men on its roster and also has two forwards committed for next year, 4-star David Joplin and 3-star Keeyan Itejere. Once you factor in Will Baker, Kai Jones and Kamaka Hepa it starts getting a little foggy.
“I like the play style and the use of bigs, Texas has had success with similar players.”
Ohio State: Former 3-star sophomore Ibrahima Diallo is the only big man on Ohio State’s roster and last season he averaged 1.3ppg on 5 minutes per game. It’s safe to say those numbers should go up this season but with the departure of senior forward Kyle Young there’s plenty of opportunity for Bediako to flourish.
“One of my former teammates plays there, they’ve done a great job recruiting and they were one of my first offers.”
Alabama: Freshman big man Raymond Hawkins III has transferred to Long Beach State which opened up big minutes at the center spot. Nate Oats has been all over Bediako bringing in former teammates Josh Primo and Keon Ambrose. The fit here is undeniable, Alabama likes to get up and down which could play to Bediako’s strengths and let him show off his athleticism.
“They have a great coaching staff and are doing a great job with building a relationship with me, and they play at a fast pace. I Like the roster, they’ve got great guys down there, I wouldn’t mind playing with them.”
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:27 pm to Chadaristic
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Charles Bediako a 6-foot-11 center who ranks No. 23 overall and is a five-star in the industry generated 247Sports Composite is down to a final five of Alabama, Duke, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas.
A native of Canada who attends Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, Bediako is an athletic big with emerging skill away from the basket who has starred for Canada's national team and in the UPlay Canada grassroots program. UPlay CEO and founder Dwayne Washington broke down Bediako's finalists with 247Sports.
Alabama: “Their style of play, how Nate Oats has recruited him and how they can improve him stand out. The tempo is very good. They play up and down, NBA style and have to make quick decisions. Charles is a very cerebral kid so it plays to his strengths. The coaching staff has been great.
Duke: “Duke does the same thing, they play up-tempo and they obviously have a great coaching staff. I think they may need his position the next two years and they have a pedigree in terms of working with players who want to get out there and who want to develop. The style of play is huge because they play up and down.”
Michigan: “They play up-tempo and have a big man coach who has played the position. (Juwan Howard) coached with the Miami Heat on the staff there and knows what it takes to be a professional. They have a need for Charles and they have room for him to be a fit for them right away and compliment they players they have and vice versa.”
Ohio State: “The coaching staff has been on him early and hard and have shown him a lot of great attention and he’s been building a relationship with the coaching staff. That’s a big part and at that school he feels like he would be the only one who does what he does and that he could be special.”
Texas: “Shaka Smart and the coaching staff have been able to pinpoint and show him how he would be utilized in the offense. They have done pretty well with a lot of guys that are similar to him at his position. They’ve had their last few big men come out of there and have success after leaving college early. They have a blueprint on how to work with guys that move like Charles that have athleticism, energy and are four, five types.”
Now that he is down to five, Bediako will have some time really take a deep dive into which situation fits him best. He doesn't have a set time frame for a commitment but Washington explained what his talented player will be looking for.
“What’s going to be most important to him is his ability to develop as a forward, a big forward that can run the floor," said Washington. "The style of play, the opportunity to play early and also the coaching staff and how they work with him will be important.
“Charles can play a lot of styles but for him a situation where he can get up and down the floor. He moves very well from end to end and plays well in an uptempo system. But he wants to develop all over the court. He wants to find a niche and show his talent which is being a great teammate, blocking shots, rebounding, making mid-range shots.”
Eric Bossi
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:30 pm to Chadaristic
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:34 pm to Chadaristic
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:35 pm to Chadaristic
I'm old enough to remember when Avery Jr was our most vocal social media ambassador. 
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:41 pm to Chadaristic
Travis Branham just CB'd Bediako to Alabama.
Branham is 41/41 in CB picks this cycle and has only ever gotten one CB incorrect.
Branham is 41/41 in CB picks this cycle and has only ever gotten one CB incorrect.
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:43 pm to Chadaristic
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Charles Bediako, the 6-foot-10, 218-pound Canadian big man from IMG Academy (FL), has cut his list to five schools.
Bediako is down to Alabama, Michigan, Duke, Ohio State, and Texas.
He cut Memphis, Baylor, Tennessee, Maryland and USC from his previous list.
“Every school’s been doing their part,” he said recently. “I don’t think there’s a real frontrunner as of right now, they all pretty much say the same thing. Some schools talk to me a bit more than others but it’s all part of the process.
Alabama already has two Canadian players in Josh Primo and Keon Ambrose and all three played for the UPlay Canada AAU team. Bediako and Ambrose were also high school teammates at Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohio. Alabama is also recruiting Canadian wing Caleb Houstan of Montervde (FL) Academy, who joined UPlay in the spring but never played due to the pandemic.
As far as a commitment date, Bediako, who stands 7 feet with shoes, is eyeing early 2021.
“The original plan was to commit sometime in November before this whole pandemic stuff, but hopefully if all goes well maybe probably February or March,” he said.
In the meantime, he wants to work on “my face-up game, guarding the perimeter a bit and also just my ball-handling. I want to get bigger or stronger.
“I want to be a stretch-five or four.”
There are an increasing number of Canadian NBA players, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort of the Thunder and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets.
Bediako would like to follow in their footsteps in a couple of years.
“To play in the NBA,” he said, “that’s one of my goals.”
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:44 pm to Chadaristic
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Alabama already has two Canadian players in Josh Primo and Keon Ambrose and the two of them played with Charles Bediako for @UPLAYCanada. Bediako and Ambrose were also high school teammates at Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohio.
Adam Zagoria
Posted on 10/10/20 at 3:55 pm to Chadaristic
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I'm told @jddavison10 is also recruiting @CBediako and Caleb Houstan to @AlabamaMBB
Adam Zagoria
Posted on 10/10/20 at 4:03 pm to Chadaristic
The Athletic
Can someone with a subscription let us know if there is anything good on Houstan in here?
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Caleb Houstan’s decision, Ryan Mutombo to Georgetown and more recruiting notes
Can someone with a subscription let us know if there is anything good on Houstan in here?
Posted on 10/10/20 at 4:16 pm to Chadaristic
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Houstan’s closeness with Barrett would seem to give Duke an edge. That could make for some fascinating decisions in recruiting. The Blue Devils have already secured five-star wing A.J. Griffin and five-star big man Paolo Banchero for 2021. They also have prioritized Patrick Baldwin Jr., arguably the top player in the ’21 class. Griffin and Baldwin both play basically the same position as Houstan, although some would argue that you can never have enough talented wings.
“He’s open to playing with everyone,” Andrea Houstan says. “That’s why he went to Montverde, to play with the best of the best.”
Not convinced that him being friends with R.J. Barrett would make the difference, but what do I know.
If anyone is wondering, there’s not much in the way of specific discussions about us. He likes the coaching staff of each team and has good relationships with each. There’s really no specific quotes about any of the teams - the author just throws in his speculation about Duke being the favorite.
This post was edited on 10/10/20 at 4:20 pm
Posted on 10/10/20 at 4:28 pm to Crede15
Thank you. 
I'm not sure who the author is and just how closely he is paying attention to everything going on in the college basketball recruiting landscape right now, but it would be pretty easy (and perhaps lazy) to see a top four of Alabama, Duke, Michigan, Virginia and assume that Duke would be the choice.
ETA: He'd be right more times than not when it's a top ten player.
I'm not sure who the author is and just how closely he is paying attention to everything going on in the college basketball recruiting landscape right now, but it would be pretty easy (and perhaps lazy) to see a top four of Alabama, Duke, Michigan, Virginia and assume that Duke would be the choice.
ETA: He'd be right more times than not when it's a top ten player.
This post was edited on 10/10/20 at 4:33 pm
Posted on 10/10/20 at 5:18 pm to Chadaristic
Travis Branham just CB'd Langston Wilson to Alabama.
Posted on 10/10/20 at 5:56 pm to Chadaristic
Since Caleb Houstan and Wesley Cardet still don't have any CB's yet, let's just say we finish with a class of Holt, Davison, Bediako and Wilson for some reason.
That class is worth 65.37 points on 247. That would currently rank as the #2 class in the country. It would not finish that high, but it might be a top ten class.
Now add Houstan to it. Now that class is worth 69.09 points on 247. That would currently be the #1 class in the country and would almost guarantee us a top five class at the end of the cylce. 69.09 points would have been the #4 class each of the past four years and the #3 class each of the four years before that.
Now add Houstan and Cardet. Now the class is worth 69.42 points on 247. Not much would change in the recruiting team rankings with the addition of Cardet. Cardet is ranked #101 in the composite and because the class would already be so strong with Cardet only being the 4th highest rated prospect in our class, it just doesn't move the needle as much as you might expect.
Even if we land all six, I don't think we will have quite enough to finish with the #1 overall class depending on how many players the other teams at the top sign. We'd be close, but the #1 overall class typically breaks the 70 point threshold in the 247 team rankings. There is a very real chance that it would finish #2 or #3 though and technically could finish #1 if the rest of the top five signs smaller classes than us.
Very exciting times.
That class is worth 65.37 points on 247. That would currently rank as the #2 class in the country. It would not finish that high, but it might be a top ten class.
Now add Houstan to it. Now that class is worth 69.09 points on 247. That would currently be the #1 class in the country and would almost guarantee us a top five class at the end of the cylce. 69.09 points would have been the #4 class each of the past four years and the #3 class each of the four years before that.
Now add Houstan and Cardet. Now the class is worth 69.42 points on 247. Not much would change in the recruiting team rankings with the addition of Cardet. Cardet is ranked #101 in the composite and because the class would already be so strong with Cardet only being the 4th highest rated prospect in our class, it just doesn't move the needle as much as you might expect.
Even if we land all six, I don't think we will have quite enough to finish with the #1 overall class depending on how many players the other teams at the top sign. We'd be close, but the #1 overall class typically breaks the 70 point threshold in the 247 team rankings. There is a very real chance that it would finish #2 or #3 though and technically could finish #1 if the rest of the top five signs smaller classes than us.
Very exciting times.
Posted on 10/10/20 at 6:16 pm to Chadaristic
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There is a very real chance that it would finish #2 or #3
Perfectly fine with me if so. Extremely happy with Nates recruiting so far!
Posted on 10/10/20 at 6:23 pm to bamabkj
No doubt - so much life, excitement and optimism in and around the program right now.
That will only amplify if and when we start piling up wins this season.
That will only amplify if and when we start piling up wins this season.
Posted on 10/10/20 at 6:29 pm to Chadaristic
I want Langston Wilson cause his story makes it easy to pull for him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s good at basketball and just scratching the surface either
Posted on 10/10/20 at 6:34 pm to Bryant91092
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I want Langston Wilson cause his story makes it easy to pull for him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s good at basketball and just scratching the surface either
And just imagine the roof blowing off of Coleman after he violently dunks an alley oop pass to extend our lead over AU to 20 with a minute and half remaining.
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