By Dave Telep
ESPN Recruiting
Archive

John Thompson was preparing for his first official practice of the season Friday night. At the same time, junior forward Brandon Bolden was preparing to commit to the Hoyas.

“We went in the back into Coach Thompson’s office while it was going on,” Bolden said. “It hadn’t kicked off yet. He was definitely happy (when I committed). He was waiting on when I was going to do it.”

By Dave Telep
ESPN Recruiting
Archive

John Thompson was preparing for his first official practice of the season Friday night. At the same time, junior forward Brandon Bolden was preparing to commit to the Hoyas.

“We went in the back into Coach Thompson’s office while it was going on,” Bolden said. “It hadn’t kicked off yet. He was definitely happy (when I committed). He was waiting on when I was going to do it.”

Bolden might have had an idea he was ready to commit, but his AAU coach, George Burgess, was somewhat caught off guard. “I didn’t think he was going to do it,” Burgess said. “Florida was on him hard but he was rock solid. He really liked Florida but he said with the things he does Georgetown was the best fit.”

What’s interesting about Bolden is that while he’s been seen on the circuit by scouts, it wasn’t until this fall that his stock began to heat up. A native of South Carolina, he transferred to Charlottesville (Va.) Miller School this fall and word began leaking out of his improvement.

This could very well be a case of the Hoyas getting far enough ahead of the pack to lock up a good player before many of their counterparts had a chance to evaluate Bolden, let alone recruit him.

“I always knew that’s where I wanted to go. It was just a matter of the time of when I was going to do it,” Bolden said. “My mom gave me the green light to do it when I felt it was right.”

Bolden’s pledge was the first high-major commitment to emerge from Friday night’s festivities.

Dave Telep is the senior basketball recruiting analyst for ESPN.com. His college basketball scouting service is used by more than 225 colleges and numerous NBA teams. He can be reached at espndt@gmail.com.

Atlanta, GA – Allerick Freeman and Devarte Watson were in Atlanta this week at the National Soph camp and they did not disappoint the onlookers.  Al Freeman ESPN Top 100 had several rim busting dunks while scoring at will he also mixed in jaw dropping passes to his teammates. While Devarte Watson was becoming a man by blocking everything in sight and dominating the boards.  Watson is a 2013 6’6 PF with a high motor and has several D1 Colleges starting to draw interest.  Freeman made the top 20 All-Star game and was rated top prospect at the camp. While Watson was selected to the top 50 All-Star game.

Orlando, FL

You don’t have to be a basketball guru to comprehend the remarkable success achieved by the Celtic South 12U Basketball Team. After all, they were one of the most triumphant and successful team in the State of SC this year. This Celtic South team started the season with two losses, but then something happen among these guys because they went on a 33 game winning streak.  They took the Upper state Title, State Title, and finished 3^rd in the nation in the YBOA National Championship Tournament in Orlando, FL. Emerging victorious in only 12 games in their first season as the SC Future Ballers, the team was almost written off by the locals that seemed to be completely in thrall to Youth AAU basketball.  But then there was a dramatic turnaround this 2009-2010 season when the team had formed a dynasty and changed there name to Celtic South. Even though the team was pretty much the same from the 2008-2009 season, it was coach Murphy, the man with the Midas touch that altered the teams fortunes dramatically. His impeccable recruiting of Jeffery Abega and LaTron Jones made our inside game very strong.  With this new edition it made our team very solid and enabled the team to get there groove back. With three incredible Superstars at the helm in Michael Murphy, Tavaris Scott, and Quincy Nash, the Celtics stole the thunder in the Upper state this year. When teams thought they had there number Coach Murphy and his coaching staff through something else at the teams by putting in Corey Cohen, Dashad Mings-Cruell, Coleman High, and Rashad Jones.  These four guys brought something different to the table and it was there willingness to win and charisma.

 Charlotte, NC – It didn’t take long for the 2012 Dominique Williams to catch fire this July by averaging 16ppg 14rpg 4apg and picking up his first D1 offer from Presbyterian College.  Dominique is listed at 6’6 195lbs small forward.  In a recent article on Scout.com they had this to say about Dominique “An intriguing prospect out of North Carolina, Williams caught my eye by staying active. He seemed to be all over the court in a morning game. At 6-foot-6 he has a long, lean frame and moves fluidly. He only shot one jump shot, but he attacked the rim at every opportunity. He also spent plenty of time on the glass, snagging rebounds and looking for put back opportunities.” More importantly then having outstanding basketball gifts he also sports a 3.7 GPA. “I have never seen a player work so hard on the court, man that kid is relentless and he will have many major schools knocking down his door real soon” Coach Burgess stated.  Other schools showng interest in him are Clemson, Virginia, Drake and Georgia Southern.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken former Carolina Celtic and Clemson forward Trevor Booker with the 23rd overall pick in the draft.
Booker is the first senior to be drafted in the 2010 class. The 6-foot-7, 236-pound Booker is a physical presence. He averaged 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Tigers last year.
If the Timberwolves decide to keep him, their 2010 class will be on the older side. The Wolves drafted Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson with the fourth overall pick. Johnson will turn 23 in July.
The Wolves also took Nevada shooter Luke Babbitt at No. 16 and dealt him to Portland for Martell Webster, according to a person familiar with the deal. Minnesota also has two second-round picks.