College basketball recruiting roundup: Cameron Reddish commits to Duke
By Chris Stone
Cameron Reddish’s commitment to Duke highlights a week of recruiting action
The commitments (and de-commitments) for the Class of 2018 continued to roll in this week with Cameron Reddish deciding on Duke, Silvio De Sousa announcing his plans to attend Kansas and Tyger Campbell re-opening his recruitment after committing to DePaul in May. Here’s a quick rundown of the week’s biggest recruiting stories from the high school scene.
Cameron Reddish commits to Duke
5-star wing Cam Reddish announced via The Player’s Tribune that he’ll attend Duke next fall. He joins fellow 5-star talent Tre Jones in the Blue Devils’ recruiting class.
The 6-foot-8 wing is a top five prospect in the Class of 2018 and arguably its most skillful. Reddish doesn’t just have the physical tools — he has a 7-foot-1 wingspan and impressive athleticism — he also already possesses a mature game.
Reddish will effectively be able to play four positions at the college level because of his size and ability to handle the ball. He’s a solid passer and can beat just about any opposing wing defender off the dribble when he wants to. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski could use Reddish as a small ball power forward who dominates isolation mismatches, similar to how he used Brandon Ingram a few seasons ago.
The 18-year old’s commitment is the first domino to fall on the wing market for 2018. Duke is also involved with the other two major players there, R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson, so it will be interesting to see if Reddish’s announcement has any effect on either player.
Silvio De Sousa commits to Kansas
While Reddish’s commitment to Duke always felt like a foregone conclusion, Silvio De Sousa’s decision to attend Kansas came out of nowhere. Every prediction at 247Sports suggested he would be heading to Maryland. The 6-foot-9 power forward apparently informed the Jayhawks’ coaching staff of his choice during the last day of his visit.
That visit also seems to have been a surprise to most. De Sousa’s guardian told the Lawrence Journal-World that it was planned on short notice. However, the 4-star prospect liked what he saw.
“When I was there in Kansas, I couldn’t even express myself or how I was feeling,” De Sousa told the Journal-World. “When you love something, there’s no way you will describe it.”
Because of his physical build and athleticism, De Sousa has drawn comparisons to former Kentucky forward Julius Randle and former Jayhawk Thomas Robinson. While it’s hard to imagine that the 6-foot-9 big man will live up to those lofty projections, he should be able to help Kansas pretty quickly.
The Jayhawks are tremendously thin in the frontcourt this season and if either Billy Preston or Udoka Azubuike declare for the NBA Draft, they’ll need some help for 2018-19 even with former Memphis transfer Dedric Lawson set to join the fray.
Tyger Campbell re-opens recruitment after DePaul commitment
4-star point guard Tyger Campbell announced via his Twitter account that he will re-open his recruitment this fall after initially committing to DePaul in May. The 6-foot-0 point guard’s commitment came on the heels of former La Lumiere head coach Shane Heirman joining the Blue Demons’ staff as an assistant and figured to help turn the program around. Campbell’s decision will come as a disappointment to DePaul as the school may be required to shift its recruiting priorities.
Prior to committing to the Blue Demons, Campbell was projected to end up at Michigan State. We’ll see if that’s where the predictions stay now that he’s re-opened his recruitment.