With Florida dropping its focus on Class of 2010 star Brandon Knight, the Gators have turned their attention to a pair of under-the-radar point guards.
The two 2010 PGs prominently on Florida’s list, according to sources, are 6-foot-3 Brandon Young of Washington, D.C., and 6-2 combo guard Chris Denson of Columbus, Ga.
Young signed with DePaul last November but is looking to get out of his letter of intent because the Demons fired head coach Jerry Wainwright. According to ESPN.com recruiting guru Paul Biancardi, Young is a scoring point guard who plays with a high motor. His strength is attacking the rim, though his perimeter shooting has improved during his senior high school season.
Denson, meanwhile, is a speedy lefty who can create off the dribble and score. UCLA reportedly also is interested in Denson.
Florida also is reportedly showing interest in Will Yeguete, a 6-6 three-star Class of 2010 wing player from Florida Air Academy in Melbourne (the same high school that produced former Gator guard Walter Hodge). Star 6-foot-7 wing player C.J. Leslie is planning a visit to the UF campus the weekend of April 17, but is considered a long shot to sign with the Gators.
Are we not recruiting Ray McCallum?
Ray McCallum is Billy D’s #1 target.
Ray does not get the hype of some of the other point guards, but he will be an impact player at the next level.
Expect Ray to commit w/ in the next week.
Great update thanks Kevin keep them coming as much as possible. Still in the basketball mode!
We are in the same place we were last year in recruiting wars but… we will have a better, more experienced team returning which might, and I hope so, attract two or three quality players. It would be nice if CJ Leslie suprised us plus two of the three or so guards they are recruiting. At least if something close to this plus the two already coming in the team will improve next year and may suprise us all.
What is the issue Billy Donovan obviously has with recruiting anyone over 6′ 9″? Billy consistantly focuses on point and combo guards, but not on true centers or power forwards. Where’s the “BEEF”! Is Billy mixing fertilizer with Gatorade hoping to grow the midgets into a giants? He lucked out with Horford and Noah the same way Navy lucked out with David Robinson, but that doesn’t happen very often. Billy please pull out the tape measure and get us some big men.
You guys are going to give us a run for the Sec title next year. Billy will get some good guards and you have a great PF and C coming to go along with what you have; you guys will be tough. By the way Go Big Blue!
How many more can we sign for this class? I thought we were down to 1 scholly, but we did lose Shipman, so maybe 2?
Kevin, we only had 10 on scholarship last year, and with losing 2 we can sign up to 5 players for this year. I think the team is already better where we stand now, just need a couple more pieces to compete for sweet 16.
At least Nimrod will have company on the bench until they decide to transfer.
Atleast 2 because Werner and Shipman are out.
What about big men?
Crikey. The way Patric Young looked in the McDonald’s slam dunk contest the Gators just need to put shots near the rim next year. Maybe Young can convince McCallum or CJ to come join him. Young looks to add 6 to 7 rebounds per game as a freshman–he is about as strong as they get coming out of HS. Work on a baby hook and a mid-range turnaround jumper and add 10 pounds of muscle and he will be unstoppable. Prather could be a decent ball handler too. Its got to help Boynton and Walker to know that they are going to have solid rebounding to back them up as shooters.
Where is the beef? I couldn’t agree more. Florida needs some taller,bigger,more physical players to dominate inside. why cann’t we recruit them?
Big guys don’t like to run and we play a running/pressing style. That’s why Billy doesn’t recruit 6’11, 7’0 guys. Yes Noah and Horford were tall, but they could run and loved to do it. Those kind of guys don’t grow on trees.
I do believe that there are many tall runners who would like to play Billy’s uptempo style and help put us back on the map. They could come to Gainesville instead of blending in with other uptempo schools like UNC, Duke, Kansas, UConn, KY, Butler, WVa, etc. Why Billy isn’t going after those boys I don’t know.
Patric Young is the beef. He is a solid 6′ 10″ and probably still growing.Look for him tonight in the McDonald’s AA game at 8:00 on ESPN
Where’s the story of why we are not recruiting Brandon Knight? It seems like we’re just scrambling to find someone now… like we had to last year with Tishman. Didn’t work out too well. DId we put all of our eggs in the Brandon Knight basket?
ESPN focused on five players after the McDonalds All American Game.
Patric Young was one of them
He will be a very impactful college player and has the chance to be a pro. He’s kind of like a more athletic Buck Williams. The Florida recruit is the second-best rebounder in this class — next to Jared Sullinger (Columbus, Ohio/Northland). He’ll be a great fit in Florida’s frenetic system.