National Prep Showcase Recruiting Notes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The official start to the always hotly anticipated prep basketball season is the National Prep Showcase. Held in the past at Bryant University in Rhode Island, the Showcase moved this year to Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn. This season, it features nine of the top 10 teams in ESPN’s Prep rankings, and several of the top players in the country. Things kicked off on Friday with six games, including a match-up between Hargrave Military Academy and Notre Dame Prep, a contest that featured more than 20 Division-I players. Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy recruiting updates gathered in New Haven. For a complete scouting report of dozens of the top players at the Showcase, check out NBE Basketball Report.

- Bryon Allen said he decommitted from West Virginia as a result of a scholarship issue. When Joe Mazzulla came back from injury, Allen decommitted because that was his scholarship spot. Now that he has opened back up his recruitment, the 6-3 guard is considering Providence, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland and Charlotte, in addition to the Mountaineers. He plans to decide at the end of the season.

- Notre Dame Prep's Lamont Samuels has offers from Seton Hall and Duquesne, as well as interest from South Florida and Rhode Island.

- Former Boston College commit Danny Lawhorn decommitted from the Eagles because of a lack of interest coming from BC. “They stopped calling me,” Lawhorn said. “And they started recruiting all guards.” He said he is now getting looks from Washington, Baylor, Providence and a lot of Big East schools.

- Andre Drummond is not ready to discuss what schools he is considering, or even what he is looking for in a school. However, he did say that he has played limited minutes because of an injury to his ankle that he suffered three years ago but never got treated until recently.

- A player sure to rise in the class of 2011 rankings is Trahshon Burrell of St. Thomas More. The 6-6 swingman has offers from St. John’s and Providence, as well as interest from West Virginia, Delaware, Fordham and Xavier.

- Another prospect likely to see more interest if he continues to play like he did this weekend was Jarvis Davis of Hargrave Military Academy. Right now he only has four schools looking at him: High Point, Binghamton, UNC-Greensboro and Longwood.

- Although it is early in 2012 prospect Khem Birch’s recruitment, the 6-10 big man is getting interest from Providence, Connecticut, Arizona State and Siena. He said his favorites at this point are Providence and Siena.

- Isiah Stokley of Mack Academy (N.C.) went south to North Carolina in order to get his academics high enough to gain eligibility, and he is well on his way. Stokley said he is maintaining a 3.0 GPA. As a result, he has interest from Seton Hall, St. John’s, St. Francis (N.Y.), Fordham, Charlotte and Baylor. His favorite is Seton Hall, and he is confident that the Pirates will offer him a scholarship if he becomes eligible.

- New Hampton Prep’s Jordan Laguerre said the only schools showing him interest right now are Massachusetts and Providence.

- Jordair Jett of Notre Dame Prep has offers from Saint Louis, Nebraska and Northern Iowa, as well as interest from Baylor and Florida.

- Underrated on a national level because of his location, Canadian Yann Charles has interest from Eastern Kentucky, Akron and Notre Dame.

- Brewster Academy’s Maurice Walker has a list of Pittsburgh, Kansas, Connecticut, Georgetown, Arizona and Marquette, but he knows where he wants to go – Pittsburgh. “I like what they’ve done in the past with players like me, you know, DeJuan Blair,” Walker said. “The atmosphere there is almost like the atmosphere at home. I’ve met the coaches and I like them, I’ve met the players and I like them.” When asked why he has not committed yet, Walker responded: “I’ve been talking back and forth with the coaches there, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.”

- Worcester Academy’s Tyler Olander has been out since late September with a broken thumb, but he should be back in two weeks. “The recovery is going well,” Olander said. As for his recruitment, he has offers from Connecticut, Wake Forest, Rhode Island, Stanford, Penn State, Vanderbilt and Oregon State, with interest from Florida.

- If NIA Prep continues to play like it did against Brewster, guard Kelvin Amayo’s recruitment is sure to pick up. Right now, he has offers from Western Kentucky, Delaware and Charlotte, with interest from Memphis, Louisville, Tennessee and Maryland.

- Although Naadir Tharpe struggled with his turnovers this weekend, the Brewster Academy guard has offers from Boston College and Providence, with interest from Virginia, Wake Forest, Indiana and UNLV.

- Bridgton Academy’s Alex Harris is a relatively unknown in New England because he just arrived from California, but several coaches in the stands this weekend were seen looking at the rosters or taking notes after Harris made yet another impressive play. Right now, though, Harris only has interest from Buffalo, Portland State, Saint Mary’s and Hawaii.

- One of the top 2010 big men left to commit to a school is Majok Majok of Northfield Mount Hermon. The big man plans to pick a future destination in December, but for now he is considering Harvard, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Providence, Virginia.

- Delaware native Tyshawn Bell is now at Maine Central Institute to improve his SAT scores and grades, but he has interest and/or offers from South Florida, George Washington, Siena and La Salle.

-  Aaron Cosby is primed to be one of the most heavily-recruited point guards in the class of 2011, as evidenced by his current recruiting list. The Northfield Mount Hermon junior has offers from Providence, Rutgers, Wichita State, Oklahoma state and Massachusetts, as well as interest from Stanford, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Penn State.