Recruiting Rodeo: Biggest commitment flips in hoops recruiting

What are the biggest commitment flips in college basketball recruiting in recent memory? Which five-star guys are paving their own path? And much more.

Illinois fans will not soon forget when Eric Gordon flipped on his pledge and went to Indiana. (Getty Images)

College football’s signing day took place on Wednesday, with several elite prospects making decisions. College basketball has two signing periods, but nothing compares to National Signing Day of football. One of the primary differences between football and hoops recruiting is the last-minute commitment flips. Players take visits in the days and weekends leading up to signing day -- and suddenly change their pledge. Basketball isn’t without decommitments and flips, though.

With that in mind, we took a look at some of the biggest commitment flips in recent history. 

Eric Gordon -- Illinois to Indiana: This one will not be forgotten by Illinois fans. Gordon flipped within months of Indiana hiring Kelvin Sampson back in 2005 and led the Big Ten in scoring.

Michael Beasley -- Charlotte to State" data-canon="Kansas Jayhawks" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">: When assistant coach Dalonte Hill went from Charlotte to Kansas, Beasley followed, and he led Kansas State to the Big Dance.

Terrence Jones -- Washington to Kentucky: Jones committed to the Huskies, and only a few minutes passed before Jones talked to John Calipari and began reconsidering his pledge.

Eric Bledsoe -- Ole Miss to Kentucky: The stud point guard committed late on a Tuesday night, and by Wednesday morning, Bledsoe was back on the market -- and eventually headed to Lexington.

Xavier Henry -- Memphis to Kansas: When Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky, Henry was out. It was between Kentucky and Kansas, and after plenty of indecision, he decided not to follow Cal.

DeMarcus Cousins: UAB to Memphis to Kentucky. (US Presswire)

DeMarcus Cousins -- UAB to Memphis to Kentucky: Cousins didn’t follow through on his UAB commitment because it deleted a clause that said he could leave if coach Mike Davis left, and then decommitted from Memphis when John Calipari left the Tigers for Kentucky.

Marcus and Markieff Morris -- Memphis to Kansas: This could say Memphis to Memphis to Kansas. The twins decommitted twice from Memphis before winding up at Kansas.

Austin Rivers -- Florida to Duke: Imagine if Rivers and Brad Beal could have shared the perimeter last season? Rivers needed more time to ponder his decision after committing to the Gators as a 15-year old.

Josh Selby -- Tennessee to Kansas: Selby was a Bruce Pearl pledge until the summer before his senior year -- when rumors began circulating once he went to the LeBron James Skills Academy. Rumors were right.

Luke Babbitt -- Ohio State to Nevada: Babbitt wanted to be closer to his family, and he averaged nearly 22 a game with the Wolf Pack before going pro.

Derrick Williams -- USC to Arizona: This one is a bit different, but Williams was granted his release from USC when Tim Floyd resigned, and he nearly led Arizona to the Final Four once deciding on Tucson. 

Renardo Sidney -- USC to Mississippi State: Sidney had one of the more crazy recruitments in the past several years, and there are rumors that USC backed away more than Sidney decommitted.

Enes Kanter -- Washington to Kentucky: At the time, this was a big deal. Of course, Kanter ended up never playing a game for Kentucky after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

Taylor King -- UCLA to Duke: King committed to the Bruins as an eighth-grader, and he wanted to explore other options. He never truly panned out at Duke (or Villanova or anywhere else).

Eric Devendorf -- Michigan State to Syracuse: Devendorf upset many people in the state of Michigan by decommitting from the Spartans and leaving the state to play high school ball at Oak Hill Academy -- and then college hoops at Syracuse.

-- Five that have affected this season:

• Trey Burke -- Penn State to Michigan: The Wolverines would be nowhere near a No. 1 seed without the Player of the Year frontrunner.
• Jahii Carson -- State" data-canon="Oregon Ducks" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0"> to State" data-canon="Arizona Wildcats" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">: The Sun Devils are in the NCAA tournament mix -- and Carson’s play is a primary reason.
• Aaron Craft -- Tennessee to Ohio State: We’ve seen Craft lock up star point guard after star point guard. Makes the Buckeyes much better.
• Dominic Artis -- UCLA to Oregon: Without Artis, the Ducks have lost two of three. With him, they were atop the Pac-12 standings.
• Solomon Hill -- USC to Arizona: Hill is one of the most underrated and most versatile players in the country. Leadership has helped ‘Zona.

Other Notables: Carl Hall -- VCU to Wichita State; Scotty Hopson -- Mississippi State to Tennessee; Paul George -- Pepperdine to Fresno State; Alex Legion -- Michigan to Kentucky; Moe Harkless -- Connecticut to St. John's; Gus Gilchrist -- Virginia Tech to Maryland to South Florida; Terrence Ross -- Maryland to Washington; Vander Blue -- Wisconsin to Marquette; Rodney Purvis -- Louisville to NC State; Josiah Turner -- Arizona State to Arizona; Momo Jones -- Louisville to Virginia Tech to USC to Arizona; Matt Carlino -- Indiana to UCLA; Noel Johnson – USC to Clemson; Waverly Austin -- South Florida to Oregon; D’Vauntes Smith-Rivers -- Xavier to Georgetown; Carrick Felix -- Duke to Arizona State; Brandon Austin -- Penn State to Providence; Robert Upshaw – Kansas State to Fresno State; Melvin Johnson -- Miami (Fl.) to VCU; Greg Smith -- Arizona to Fresno State; Nigel Williams-Goss -- UNLV to Washington; Katin Reinhardt -- USC to UNLV; Caris LeVert -- Ohio to Michigan; Robert Vaden -- Purdue to Indiana

(Thanks to @NorthstarBball and @EvanDanielsFOX for help with names.)

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On the trail: Surprising five-star commitments

Cincinnat wooed Jermaine Lawrence from New York. (Nike)

Every year, we see the same programs getting the five-star prospects. Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida, Kansas, Duke, Louisville, Arizona, Indiana --all seem to consistently get elite prospects on a regular basis. The class of 2013, however, has seen some surprising programs break into the five-star group. Here are three five-star players going to schools off the beaten path.

-- Jermaine Lawrence, Cincinnati: The New York native chose the Bearcats over St. John’s and UNLV. Assistant coach Darren Savino has had success in the New York area in the past, and the last five-star player Cincinnati recruited was high school legend Lance Stephenson. Lawrence is a future star at Cincinnati, as his improvement over the past year is outstanding.

-- Jabari Bird, California: Before Bird, the last five-star recruit the Golden Bears had was 2003 with Leon Powe. Bird was a prospect from the Bay Area, and California worked very hard to keep him home. Arizona and Washington were strongly in the mix, but Mike Montgomery was able keep him in Northern California. His ability to score will make an immediate impact.

-- Jarell Martin, LSU: Like Bird, Martin’s decision had plenty do with location. Martin is a Louisiana native, and the ability to stay close to home helped the Tigers beat out schools like Louisville, UCLA, St. John’s and several others. Martin’s inside-outside ability and effectiveness at crashing the glass will help boost an LSU program in the midst of a rebuilding period.

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Mailbag: High school vs. AAU, Okafor and Jones, sleeper prospects

-- Which is more useful for evaluating a kid: AAU performances or high school season? (via @onlinerailbird)

They’re completely different scenes, and both are useful for evaluating. High school sometimes has more of a stricter system, with more plays being run and more organization on the defensive end. With that said, watching a player on the AAU scene almost guarantees he will be going against talented players. There are so many high school games that don’t feature similarly talented players, meaning it’s sometimes difficult to evaluate how good a player actually is. We don’t run into that issue as much at AAU events.

-- Will Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones package up or do you see the two playing in different spots? (via @DMads)

Okafor and Jones are top-five talents, and both have stated multiple times they want to go to school together. Okafor is the best low-post player in the country, and Jones is an absolute stud of a point guard. While both are Midwest prospects, it’s not hard to see them leaving the region to go to school. Michigan State, Ohio State, Duke and Kentucky are among the primary schools recruiting the players, and I do think they will eventually end up in college together. The frontrunner could be the Blue Devils.

-- Is there a recruit in the upcoming class who is not in the top 20 who could be before next season? (via @nyyankes82mr)

There are several players outside the top 20 in the class of 2013 who could be difference-makers at the next level. Duke-commit Semi Ojeleye has been lighting up scoreboards during his senior season, and his ability to knock down 3-pointers will be a factor. Maryland-bound point guard Roddy Peters should grab the starting spot immediately when he gets to College Park. Of course, Nigel Williams-Goss and his winning DNA will boost Washington. In the class of 2014, 7-foot-1 Trayvon Reed is not ranking in the top 20 but he has a world of potential and could be a future NBA player.

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Lists and the latest intel

MiKyle McIntosh is beginning to blow up during his senior year at 22-Feet Academy (Ky.). UCLA and Miami (Fl.) offered, while Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and numerous others are showing interest . . . Aaron Gordon added Oregon to his final list, which had previously just included Arizona, Washington and Kentucky . . . Four-star forward Demetrius Henry tripped his list to South Carolina, Miami (Fl.) and South Florida . . . Rysheed Jordan is one of the top unsigned players left on the market. The talented guard went to a Temple game on Wednesday night . . . Elite junior Trey Lyles is beginning to take some visits. He went to Louisville and Butler in the past week . . . Five-star junior Theo Pinson took a trip to Indiana last weekend . . . There aren’t many quality big men left on the board, but Matt Atewe is down to Charlotte, Clemson, Nebraska, Nevada, Wake Forest and Auburn.

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