Top uncommitted prospects in the 2012 class

ESPN RecruitingNation

Feb 28, 2012, 03:00 AM ET

Noel

Nerlens Noel, C

Recruiting update: While Noel continues the process of formally reclassifying back to his original class, he has begun to take unofficial visits. First up was a quick trip to Providence alongside future Friars Kris Dunn and Ricardo Ledo. Next up was a visit to Syracuse to check on old friend and AAU teammate Michael Carter-Williams. Most recently, Noel visited Kentucky to learn more about becoming Anthony Davis' replacement. Florida, Georgetown, North Carolina and maybe Connecticut are expected to also get visits in the coming weeks but Syracuse and Kentucky have to be considered the favorites right now.

Muhammad

Shabazz Muhammad, SF

Recruiting update: Muhammad has already visited Kentucky (during Midnight Madness) and Texas A&M, as well as an unofficial visit to USC. He officially visited Kansas this past weekend (Feb. 25) and will be at Duke on March 3. His last visit will probably be to Arizona, although UCLA may get a visit as well. At this stage it appears to be a four-team race between Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and UNLV.

Bennett

Anthony Bennett, PF

Recruiting update: Bennett has been a tad injury prone during his senior season, but that has not stopped many of the upper-tier programs in the nation from pursuing him. He has no official visits set up yet, but Florida, UNLV and Kentucky appear to be in great shape heading into the April signing period.

Jefferson

Amile Jefferson, PF

Recruiting update: Jefferson, who may be the most consistently productive post player still available, has visited UConn, Kentucky, Maryland, NC State, Ohio State and is visiting Duke this weekend. At this time, Duke, Kentucky and NC State are standing out.

Parker

Tony Parker, PF

Recruiting update: Parker, who is by far the best low-post player available, has visited UCLA (Oct. 1), Duke (Oct. 28), Ohio State (Sept. 9) and Kansas (Feb. 25). Rumor has it, Tony wants to go to Ohio State, his dad wants him to go to UCLA and his mom wants him to go to Duke. However, they may compromise and choose a fourth option like Kansas or Georgia. This is a tough one to call.

Pollard

Devonta Pollard, SF

Recruiting update: The McDonald's All-American has narrowed his list of schools to six and has recently begun to take his official visits. First up were Texas and Missouri. He is a multitalented player who can play on the wing or play as a face-up 4-man and will be an impact player as a freshman. The ambidextrous forward said that he is not leaning toward any one school, but the consensus is that Mississippi State and Texas are the front-runners.

Sampson

Jakarr Sampson, SF

Akron, Ohio/Brewster Academy
Player rank: POST | Stars: 4
Height: 6-8 | Weight: 200 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update: Sampson is a long, athletic forward who has visited Baylor, Pitt and most recently Kansas this past weekend. His recruitment is still wide open.

Obekpa

Christopher Obekpa, PF

Recruiting update: Obekpa has been a busy man in the past few weeks. It began with a trip to DePaul earlier in the month, followed by unofficial visits to Connecticut and Providence last weekend, then an official visit to Cincinnati at the end of last week. Obekpa had previously made unofficially visits to Seton Hall, St. John's and Georgia Tech, while places like West Virginia, Oregon, Texas, Florida and Kentucky have yet to be ruled out. Having said all that, actions speak louder than words and so this month's travel plans presumably say a lot about what the defensive specialist is thinking. In other words, odds are he's in the Big East next season.

Pelle

Norvel Pelle, PF

Long Beach, Calif./The Phelps School
Player rank: POST | Stars: 4
Height: 6-9 | Weight: 200 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update: It has been quiet on the Norvel Pelle front. The former St. John's signee headed west to the Phelps School and St. John's interest in him went south. While we don't know much definitive information on Pelle, we know St. John's isn't recruiting him. San Diego State, Iowa State and maybe UNLV are worth mentioning.

Graham

Torian Graham, SG

Recruiting update: Graham's recruitment is a complicated situation. He has committed and decommitted from NC State twice and left Arlington Country Day midseason and enrolled at Creedmoor Christian Faith Center. Academically, because of the multiple school transfers -- he was at Word of God last year -- he has got work to do. Many have called but we can't find one program that's gone all in. As the spring unfolds, look for one or two schools to explore him deeper and we'll see what that brings.

Goodman

Savon Goodman, SF

Recruiting update: Goodman was once committed to Villanova but we don't expect a return trip to the Wildcats' campus anytime soon. When a player decommits from a place like Villanova, there's always the chance a bridge was burned, and that likely happened here. Goodman has always been consistent in saying he'll make spring trips. The question remains: Will his academics be in order? He has made it clear he would like to visit UCLA out west and we've heard Temple getting involved representing Philadelphia, as well as Missouri.

Edosomwan

Zena Edosomwan, PF

Recruiting update: He has taken all his visits, which included trips to USC (Sept. 17), Harvard (Sept. 24), Cal (Oct. 8), Texas (Oct. 15) and Washington (Oct. 22). It was thought he would sign in November, but took the SAT again to see if he could improve his score for Harvard. As of right now, he plans to cut his list in the next week and then make a decision possibly in the next couple of weeks. UCLA, Cal and Harvard appear to be out in front as a decision looms.

Pierre

Dyshawn Pierre, SF

Ontario, Canada/Anderson Collegiate
Player rank: NR | Position rank: 33 | Grade: 91 | Stars: 3
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 210 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update:
The athletic Canadian who has earned a reputation as a well-rounded player who fills up a box score and is a defensive stopper has not taken any recent visits but is considering Duquesne, New Mexico State, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure.

Nolan

Phillip Nolan, PF

Recruiting update: Nolan is a skilled, athletic post player who would be a great late get for any program. The well-traveled Nolan, who said he has not narrowed his list yet, visited Clemson prior to the early signing period but decided to wait until the late signing period to decide on a school. He is back in Milwaukee and has garnered strong interest from hometown Marquette University along with a host of others.

Wilbut

Jerron Wilbut, SG

Recruiting update: Wilbut has not taken any official visits yet and will wait until after the season to do so. However, Virginia and Xavier appear to be standing out.

Walker

DeVon Walker, SG

Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven
Player rank: NR | Position rank: 29 | Grade: 91 | Stars: 3
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 180 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update: Walker originally committed to UCF but has decided to reopen his recruitment and has become a hot name in the regular signing period. He combines great size and athleticism at the shooting guard position and will be a great find for a program looking to bolster their backcourt as his scoring ability should translate to the college level.

January

Anthony January, SF

Recruiting update: January was previously committed to UTEP, but he decided to open up his recruitment after running into some academic hurdles. As a result he claims no offers, but he has a slew of programs that are monitoring his situation. He has no official visits set up and will not take any visits until his season is finished.

Mitchell

Charles Mitchell, C

Recruiting update: Mitchell hasn't taken any officials as of yet, but he has checked out Georgia, Seton Hall and Tennessee unofficially. His recruitment is wide open.

Cassell Jr.

Sam Cassell Jr., SG

Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep
Player rank: POST | Stars: 3
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 170 pounds | Evaluation
Considering:

Recruiting update: Cassell took his only official visit thus far to Maryland back in October and has since decided to play out the rest of his senior season before making any decisions. Florida State and South Florida have been on him as long as anyone while Connecticut jumped into the picture back in late January and hosted him for an unofficial visit last weekend for their matchup against Syracuse. Even still, the plan remains to play out the rest of the prep season and see what new schools come along before using his official visits in the spring. The latest places to express interest have been Purdue and Villanova.

Brutus

Terry Brutus, PF

Spring Valley, N.Y./Massanutten Military Academy
Player rank: POST | Stars: 3
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 210 pounds | Evaluation
Considering:

Recruiting update: Brutus was on Drake's campus officially last week. He's also being pursued by a handful of Atlantic 10 programs, including Charlotte, George Washington and St. Bonaventure. He saw Charlotte officially in the fall and recently took an unofficial visit to George Washington, but no one has pursued him heavier than St. Bonaventure at this point. Chances are Brutus will pick from one of his mid-major suitors but DePaul and Georgia are the wild cards after coming in to see him in recent weeks and reportedly being intrigued by his upside.

Bowers

Cinmeon Bowers, PF

Recruiting update: Bowers has taken only one official visit, which was to Maryland, and unofficial visits to DePaul and Marquette. However, Seton Hall looks to be the front-runner at this time.

Amedeo Della Valle, SG

Henderson, Nev./Findlay Prep
Player rank: NR | Position rank: 43 | Grade: 89 | Stars: 3
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 185 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update: Della Valle claims offers from St. Mary's, Gonzaga and Arizona. In addition, Ohio State, Michigan, Kansas and Texas A&M are showing interest in the talented guard. At this stage he has no official visits set up, but does plan on making a decision during the April signing period.

Ross

Aaron Ross, PF

Little Rock, Ark./St. John's NW Military
Player rank: POST | Stars: 3
Height: 6-7 | Weight: 210 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update: The former 2011 Arkansas commitment has spent 2012 focused on improving both his academics and basketball skills; Ross' coaches report that he has had a tremendous year in the prep school environment. He has been hearing from a lot of high-major schools with serious interest from almost every power conference. It seems logical that he would like to get back to the South, but he is just beginning the process of finalizing a list of schools to visit and is still open to options.

Markus Crider, SF

Huber Heights, Ohio/Bridgton Academy
Player rank: POST | Stars: 3
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 195 pounds
Considering:

Recruiting update: With his postgraduate season now in its final week, you would think Crider's recruitment would be starting to wind down, but really that isn't the case at all. He has yet to take any of his visits and is still very much open. At the end of the day he's going to have to decide between levels and fit with places such as St. Bonaventure and Iona recruiting him the hardest, others such as George Mason and Dayton are definitely involved, and Memphis, Clemson, Cincinnati and Xavier are doing enough to keep him warm.

Billydee Williams, SF

Recruiting update: Williams will wait until after the season to take his official visits, but he has unofficially seen Florida Gulf Coast, Miami (Fla.) and Florida State. He said he has no leaders at this time, but Wyoming is recruiting him the hardest.

Taylor

Ryan Taylor, SF

Louisville, Ky./Hargrave Military Academy
Player rank: POST | Stars: 3
Height: 6-5 | Weight: 205 pounds | Evaluation
Considering:

Recruiting update:
Taylor originally committed to Louisville's class of 2011, but ended up going the prep school route at Hargrave Military to improve his academics. He has been a standout and put up great numbers on a loaded team and his well-rounded game allowed him to even register a couple triple-doubles.

Robbins

Victor Robbins, SF

Recruiting update: Gonzaga showed some initial interest and Washington and Kansas State are calling as well. He has no official offers, nor any planned visits scheduled. The aforementioned schools are waiting on whether he has a chance to qualify.

ESPN Recruiting Nation's Reggie Rankin, John Stovall, Adam Finkelstein, Joel Francisco, Mike LaPlante and Dave Telep all contributed to this report.