2017 - F - Jamal Cain (Offer)

Jamal Cain is now overrated lol jk

On a serious note. Do you know what way Cain is leaning?

Iā€™m still worried that JB would play him out of position at the 4.

Cā€™mon man, what do you want me to say lol. Iā€™ve tried avoiding the question cause I donā€™t want to offend you. Yes, I know a lot of things, but I canā€™t say them publicly, and you know that. Have to respect the family privacy.

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Matthews is more likely to play the 4 in my opinion.

Itā€™s not just information which is made public, Matt. A friend of mine (NOT, repeat NOT, fwiw, one of the people I know at rivals for which I have, from time to time, written articles) has spoken directly to Nojelā€™s mom, and has done so in the context of seeking recruiting information, and has also spoken to very good MSU sources. Evidently, there is a disconnect between what he heard and what you have heard. That doesnā€™t speak badly of anyoneā€“recruiting is fluid, people change their minds or alter their positions at different times, and people interpret things differentlyā€¦

One last time on the offer list issueā€“I too prefer to use my eyes. In THIS case though, there isnā€™t enough evidence out there that my eyes can see to make a reasonable judgment as to how Brooks played this summer. And the fact that no one seems to be able to explain to me how an unknown guy playing in the shadows got early offers of this magnitude suggests to me that he played much better this summer than the last year/early spring highlights that you and I have seen.

No problem.

Yes, the timing of the information received may explain the different takes on Eastern. I do agree with you that offers mean something, no doubt about it. Last thing on Eastern for me (Wolverheel is right, this thread is about Cain), my info is not secondhand.

In any event, I havenā€™t seen Brooks live, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. But his highlights in conjunction with his lack of height are concerns for me. Additionally, he may have been great in July, but the comp level was poor.

Thatā€™s fair.

So back to Cainā€“I know you canā€™t reveal where heā€™s leaning, but Iā€™m curious to know whether you can reveal whether he might wait until spring to decide. Because to me (someone who thinks that Bowen and Jackson are incredible long shots, though not a zero percent chance), the addition of Bamba into the mix, however likely or unlikely he might be, means that Cain is more likely a Michigan take in the spring than in the fall.

Timeline remains the same, appears to be late September or early October at this point. The next week or so should be revealing, as September 9th is the first day for home/school visits, and I will say that JB is scheduled to have a visit with Jamal. I will reiterate, Bowen and Jackson are incredible long shots, regardless of the narrative that some here would like to paint.

Matt, curious do you think at this point Cain is as big of a priority to JB and staff as the other targets? Obviously we know everyone who has offers but since Livers has committed Cain feels like the one previous non 5-star target we are still after.

I think its all relative. Once home/school visits are made, I think it will become quite evident to the staff that Jackson/Bowen arenā€™t deciding any time soon, and by default priorities may be re-aligned. As patient as the staff likes kids to be in terms of visiting before offers, etc. they arenā€™t going to wait until Spring for Jackson and Bowen. They just donā€™t do business that way.

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Cain checks in at #77 in Rivals updated 17 rankings. Poole checks in at #95, with Livers at #120. No Eli Brooks.

Now that all rankings have been updated, Cainā€™s 247 composite should be 124 based on the following:

Rivals - 4star/#77

Scout - #138/6 spots away from 4 star

ESPN - 4star/will likely be top 100 when rankings updated - Iā€™ll randomly assign 115 for now

247 - 3star/#166

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2017

Eli Brooks now a 3 star/#34 PG on ESPN. Probably a tad bit higher than Iā€™d have him based on the limited film, but certainly within acceptable and appropriate range.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/224587/eli-brooks

Brooks also a 3 star/#250 to Scout.

Iā€™d love to know which, if any, of the websites which rank players has ever seen Eli Brooks play live. I know rivals has not. I wonder if any of the others in the composite, or services like hoopseen has.

Until someone, anyone, in the recruiting ranking business with reasonable bona fides has seen him play live, I will discount any Brooks rankings on those websites, good (247ā€™s 4* 113 ranking) or bad (scoutā€™s generic 3* 250 number). And, until someone can actually post film, highlight or otherwise, from the July evaluation period, so I can see for myself what prompted the flood of offers for an under the radar kid, I will continue to be unwilling to hazard any guess as to how good or bad he will be at the college level.

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Pretty much agree here, while not impressed with the highlights Dylan released, I havenā€™t seen him live or in a full game against legit competition.

That said, Brooks did play on the same circuit/venues as Cormac Ryan, and both Scout and Rivals have ranked him. I really donā€™t care to be honest, as I just want to see him play live. There has to be something to warrant those offers, more than the highlights reflect. At least I hope

I have always said I would take Cain if he wants to commit.

If Mo Bamba wants to come here we will have room because I believe 1 of our current 5ā€™s/centers will transfer.

I played against Cj Lee in high school many times. For what itā€™s worth Brooks appears to be slightly better talent wise than him at the same point.

Who are the 5 you refer to. I can think of only 3.

5s as in the other reference to center.