Early Signing Period Coverage

Over the past few days, I've been providing up-to-the-minute updates about many of the top Big East recruits and targets over at NBE Basketball Report. Here is a recap:

J.J. Moore to Pitt

J.J. Moore burst onto the recruiting scene in a major way over the past several months, and he has decided to end his recruitment on the first day of the early signing period.

Not surprisingly, he is on his way to the Big East. The 6-5 swingman chose Pittsburgh over fellow conference programs Louisville and St. John’s.

“Yes he did,” Gary Charles, Moore’s AAU coach with the New York Panthers, confirmed to the NBE Basketball Report early Wednesday afternoon.

Moore is originally from Brentwood (N.Y.) and transferred to South Kent Prep (Conn.) for this season.

“Not only did they show him they wanted him, but they also showed that they needed him,” Charles said. “Plus, they showed his mother a lot of love and Jamie Dixon recruited him. He wanted to go away but not too far.”

Moore joins fellow Pitt recruits Cameron Wright and Isaiah Epps in the Panthers’ 2010 recruiting class.

“He will sign in the next couple of days,” Charles said.

Day One Recap

- Chip Smith, the AAU coach of the Tennessee Tigers, said that Michael Bradley signed with Connecticuttoday. “Mike was scheduled to sign at 10 this morning,” Smith said. “As far as I know, all went well.”

- Cameron Wright’s high school coach at Benedictine (Oh.), Rob Stircula, confirmed that Wright did indeed sign withPittsburgh this morning.

- Syracuse won’t have to wait very long for its prime recruit to sign. “Fab Melo will sign this weekend,” Sagemont (Fla.) head coach Adam Ross said.

- Jeremy Lamb confirmed that he signed his letter-of-intent to attend Connecticut earlier today.

- According to press releases from Marquette SID Scott Kuykendall, the Golden Eagles received official signatures from both Vander Blue and Jamail Jones.

- New Heights coach Adam Berkowitz said that Devon Collier will sign his papers to attend Oregon State next week because he is at school this week. There was some speculation recently that Collier would verbally commit but wait to sign until the spring.

- Jimmy Salmon, who runs the Playaz AAU program, said that Fuquan Edwin’s signature for Seton Hall is coming soon. “He’s signing tomorrow at Paterson Catholic HS,” Salmon said.

- Salmon added that Pittsburgh commit Isaiah Epps will also sign in the coming days. “Don’t know the date but it’s definite,” he said.

- Waverly Austin confirmed to me that both he and Lavonte Dority signed their papers for South Florida today. “South Fla. bound,” he said in a text message.

- Seton Hall will not be getting an official signature from Jesse Morgan just yet, according to a source close to the program. “Morgan has a few issues that must be straightened out before he signs,” the source said.

- Jerian Grant, son of former NBA veteran Harvey Grant, informed NBE Basketball Report that he, Eric Atkinsand Alex Dragicevich had all signed their letters of intent to attend Notre Dame.

- Rutgers did not get its lone commitment to sign on the dotted line today, but not to worry – Austin Carroll will still be a Scarlet Knight. “Tomorrow,” Carroll said.

- New Heights director Kimani Young said that Jayvaughn Pinkston might sign during the early signing period. “Yes,” Young said. “There is a chance he signs within the next week.” He also said that Pinkston’s finalists are Tennessee, St. John’s, Villanova, Marquette and Seton Hall.

- There is no update on what Ronald Roberts plans on doing. “Not that I’m aware of,” Salmon said.

Day Two Recap

- Fuquan Edwin informed the NBE Basketball Report late last night that he had signed his papers to attend Seton Hall.

- Cory Joseph’s recruitment is likely headed to the spring. “At this time, he does not intend on signing early,” Findlay Prep head coach Michael Peck said. Added Ro Russell, Joseph’s AAU coach with Grassroots Canada, when asked if Joseph would sign early: “Unlikely.”

- Tarik Black hopes to make a decision during the early signing period. “I’m actually planning on it,” Black said. He added that his finalists are Marquette, Memphis, Tennessee, Florida and Alabama. Black does not have a favorite, but he will make up his mind very soon. “I’m gonna have one real soon,” he said.

- Former 2010 prospect and Shaquille Thomas is now officially a member of the 2011 class. “I’m definitely in the 2011 now,” Thomas said in a text message Thursday. Thomas, who at one time tried to commit toSyracuse, is still considering the Orange, in addition to Virginia Tech and West Virginia. “At this point, I’m wide-open,” he said.

- Torrel Harris, the father of Tobias Harris, confirmed that his son will be making a final decision during the early signing period.

- Another player who will be reclassifying to 2011 is Kadeem Jack, who also informed the NBE Basketball Report that he will attending South Kent Prep (Conn.) next year. He also has a long list of schools that he is considering.

“Tennessee, Connecticut, Pitt, Seton Hall, Miami, Georgia, Arkansas, Rutgers, St. John’s, DePaul,Syracuse,” Jack said. “The new schools are because I said I was reclassing.” He added that Georgia, Seton Hall, Miami, Tennessee, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and Syracuse were his favorites.

- K.C. Moss Miller has no plans to make a commitment during the early signing period. “No, he’s going to sign late,” said his father, Tim Miller, also his coach at God’s Academy (Tex.). “January, February, March – that’s when he’ll sign. He won’t draw it out until April, though.”

Miller said his son has taken an official visit to Nevada and an unofficial visit to Baylor. Ross-Miller also plans on visiting Texas A&M and UCLA soon, as well as Big East schools Cincinnati, Marquette and Georgetown. “He’s looking for the best situation for him,” Miller said. “He’s wants a chance to win, a chance to get to postseason tournaments.”

- Albany City Rocks coach Jim Hart confirmed to NBE Basketball Report in an e-mail that Hippolyte Tsafacksigned a letter-of-intent to attend Memphis.

- Another former class of 2010 prospect who is now in the class of 2011, Durand Johnson, has plenty of suitors on his tail. “Right now I’m considering Pitt, Marquette, Florida State, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Maryland,Georgetown,” Johnson said. “They are my tops right now.”

He added that he plans on visiting Marquette and Florida State soon, and has already taken trips toPittsburghh and Virginia Tech.

- Johnson’s teammate at Lake Clifton (Md.), Josh Selby, is one of the biggest targets still left on the recruiting scene. He is considering Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Miami (Fl.) and Indiana. However, Selby has no timetable for a decision. “I’m not sure,” Johnson said. “We talk all the time, though. I’m not sure.”

- Pe’Shon Howard, a native of California who now plays at Oak Hill Academy (Va.), has no plans to sign in the early period. “Nah, I’m gonna wait until late,” he said. In addition to South Florida, he is now also considering Northwestern and Massachusetts.

Day Three Recap

- DePaul expects to announce its signees on Monday – if they are all signed by then. “The plan is to announce the class at the same time on Monday,” Greg Greenwell, the director of media relations, said. “I haven’t heard from our compliance folks yet if anyone has their stuff in.” The Blue Demons received verbal commitments from Walter Pitchford, Moses Morgan and Brandon Young.

- According to an e-mailed press release from Villanova Director of Media Relations Mike Sheridan, both Markus Kennedy and James Bell have signed their letters-of-intent. “These are two outstanding young players we are excited to add to our Villanova basketball family,” head coach Jay Wright said in a statement.

- Bryan Messerly, the sports information director at West Virginia, confirmed via e-mail that Noah Cottrill has sent in his papers to become a Mountaineer. “We are excited to have Noah Cottrill join our basketball program,” head coach Bob Huggins said in a statement. “Noah is an outstanding shooter, has terrific ball-handling skills and has a tremendous ability to score. It is great to be able to sign one of our own, and Noah is excited to represent this great state on and off the court.”

- Georgetown has verbals from Nate Lubick and Markel Starks, but the Hoyas are not prepared to announce their signings just yet. "If we have a signing release, we will send it to everyone," Bill Shapland, the senior sports communication director at Georgetown, said in an e-mail.

- Syracuse has one of the top recruiting classes in the country, with verbals from Fab Melo, Dion Waiters, Baye Moussa-Keita and C.J. Fair. However, the Orange have not received any official papers from the recruits. "We have not received any NLI's yet," said Pete Moore, the director of athletic communications at Syracuse. Sagemont coach Adam Ross informed NBE Basketball Report earlier in the week that Melo would be signing this weekend.

- According to a release by the Providence athletic department, all three of the Friars’ recruits have signed letters-of-intent. Gerard Coleman, Ron Giplaye and Joseph Young all sent in their papers on the first day of the signing period. "We are looking forward to having Gerard, Ron and Joe join our squad next season," head coach Keno Davis said. "All three of these student-athletes come from highly successful high school and AAU programs. They should help us continue our quest to make our program one of the elite in the Big East."

- The final letter-of-intent NBE Basketball Report was looking to confirm was that of Justin Jackson, heading to Cincinnati. Well, according to Associate Athletic Director Mike Harris, Jackson has indeed signed his papers. "Yes we have [received his letter-of-intent]," Harris said in an e-mail.