Recruiting Roundup: Local high school/college hoops update

For more on recruiting, go to City of Basketball Love at cityofbasketballlove.com

With eight Division I scholarship offers already, Seth Lundy is a fairly hot commodity on the recruiting trail.

But the Roman Catholic High School junior believes he might be on the verge of an explosion.

How can he tell?

"Villanova definitely is on me heavy, and Notre Dame, Virginia, and Pittsburgh … and Butler," he said. "Those schools, plus schools like Maryland … have been on me a lot."

An impressive group, to be certain. But Lundy has yet to score an offer from any of them.

They're certainly tracking him — an assistant from Pittsburgh was at his game against Cardinal O'Hara last week;  'Nova assistant Ashley Howard has also been at recent Roman home games.

And with good reason: The 6-foot-5, 180-pound wing is complementing his smooth outside shot with increased playmaking ability on both ends of the floor, and his lanky frame suggests he could add a few more inches.

Lundy is aware that his newer suitors will likely wait until the end of his junior year — until he gets out in front of hundreds of coaches during the first live recruiting periods of 2018, in April — to potentially offer a scholarship.

"They've been watching me play throughout this past summer and this school year," he said. "This is my last AAU season, I've really got to do [well], just stay composed and let the recruitment come through."

This summer, Lundy will be playing with Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit, after previously playing with Philly Pride on the Under Armour Association circuit.

The eight schools that have already offered Lundy scholarships haven't gone away, either.

"I talk to those schools all the time," Lundy said. "UConn and Oregon a lot; VCU is always hitting me up. Temple is always hitting me up. I talk to all eight of the schools that have offered me."

Bowling Green, St. Joseph's, La Salle, and Penn State are the other four.

Lundy has already visited UConn, Temple, and St. Joe's, and he said he's planning to visit Pittsburgh and Notre Dame after his high school season concludes. With schools on both coasts after his services, he said, location isn't a factor.

"I feel like [I want] a school that's going to be able to let me come off screens and shoot, and will let me put the ball on the ground," he said. "Defending is No. 1 for me, I'm a defender, so if I've got four other guys on the court that's willing to do whatever, give anything up for their brothers, that's definitely a fit for me."

Lundy is not the first member of his family to go through this process. His older brother Xavier, a graduate of Paulsboro (N.J.) High, played at Rider University from 2013 to 2017.

He's always "talking about my body, No. 1," Lundy said. "I definitely have to put on weight, have to be quicker and faster. My brother always says my skill set is good now and I can shoot the ball at the next level now, but it's just about my body: 'You've got to be bigger, got to be stronger.' "

Matt Cotton, Eastern:

The  athletic 6-foot-5 senior, drew widespread college interest after spending his first two high school years at the Academy of the New Church and his junior season at national-power St. Benedict's Prep in Newark.

But when it came time to narrow his choices, Cotton came with a final three with something in common: They all were Ivy League schools.
Cotton has committed to Yale. He also seriously considered Harvard and Penn.

"It's a great atmosphere," Cotton said of Yale. "When I visited, I loved it there. I loved the campus, the guys on the team. I felt a real connection with the coaches."

Cotton, who lives in Voorhees, enrolled in Eastern to play his senior season for his hometown school with old friends from middle school.

Cotton sat out the first 30 days of the season under New Jersey transfer rules. He averaged 18 points and scored in double figures in every game since becoming eligible to play for the Vikings, who are ranked No. 9 in South Jersey by the Inquirer.

Cotton said he narrowed his choices to three Ivy League schools with thoughts of his life after basketball. He plans to major in architecture.

"There's so much more to life after basketball," Cotton said. "I want to put myself in good position to be able to make some money, have a good career, and take care of my family."  — Phil Anastasia

Chris Arcidiacono, Neshaminy

He is doing his best to impress college recruiters in the final stages of his high school career.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior guard racked up a career-high 43 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in Tuesday's 71-70 overtime triumph against Suburban One League National Conference rival Harry S Truman.

Arcidiacono has scholarship offers from Eastern Kentucky, Mount St. Mary's (Md.), Quinnipiac, and Rider. He has recently visited Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac.

Of Mount St. Mary's, he said, "The team qualified for the NCAA tournament last season, so it's trying to build on that success."

And Quinnipiac? "It's clear the program is trying to become one of the best squads at the mid-major level," the 17-year-old said.

Arcidiacono, who is averaging 25.4 points and has buried 45 three-pointers in 22 outings, has also drawn interest from Delaware, Drexel, Fordham, Hofstra, and Marist, among others.

The Langhorne resident said he was also considering going to a prep school in the fall. If he takes that route, Hun School (N.J.), Lawrenceville School (N.J.), and St. Thomas More (Conn.) are possible destinations.

"I'm thinking it over," Arcidiacono said. "It would give me another year of academics and basketball."

Arcidiacono's brother, Ryan, starred as a point guard at Neshaminy (class of 2012) and Villanova. He is a reserve for the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
Their father, Joe, excelled as a football lineman at Father Judge and Villanova. "He tries to tell you he played quarterback, but he didn't," Chris said with a laugh.   — Rick O'Brien

Antwuan Butler, Cardinal O'Hara

He is a 6-foot, 180-pound senior point guard who committed to Austin Peay in the fall.

Butler, who played at now-closed Del-Val last year, reunited with former Warriors coach Jason Harrigan, now in his second season at Cardinal O'Hara.

When Del-Val closed, Butler had several options to choose a school but chose the young Lions in part to force himself into a position of leadership.
Harrigan said he's been impressed with Butler's increased vocal leadership on this year's team.

"I think he's grown tremendously over the last month or so, picking guys up, giving them direction, and really taking control of the basketball game as a senior point guard," Harrigan said

Butler is a savvy point guard who can score in bunches but is also a willing passer. He also hit game-winning shots as a sophomore for Del-Val's first Public League championship team.  — Aaron Carter

By Josh Verlin

Current scholarship seniors: B.J. Johnson, Pookie Powell (will apply for sixth year of eligibility), Johnnie Shuler, Amar Stukes, Tony Washington
Committed players: Jack Clark (Cheltenham, Pa.), Ed Croswell (St. Joseph's Prep, Pa.), Jared Kimbrough (Neptune, N.J.), Osun Osunniyi (Putnam Science, Conn.)
Open scholarships remaining: 1
Notes: The Explorers are quite content with their quartet of committed players, which includes a 6-6 wing guard in Clark plus forwards in the 6-7 Croswell, 6-8 Kimbrough, and 6-10 Osunniyi, which stocks up the frontcourt for the foreseeable future. If Powell, who sat out his first year at Memphis and also took a transfer year to La Salle, can't get a sixth-year waiver this offseason, look for them to go after another guard, perhaps as a post-grad.

Current scholarship seniors: James Demery, Shavar Newkirk, Jai Williams
Committed players: Jared Bynum (Georgetown Prep, D.C.)
Open scholarships remaining: 2
Notes: With four of his five sophomores and both of his freshmen all seeing plenty of minutes, Phil Martelli doesn't need to bring in a ton of talent for next year. But he has started his 2018 class off strong with Bynum, a 5-10 combo guard who enjoyed a terrific summer with the D.C. Blue Devils on the Under Armour circuit. If St. Joe's hadn't snapped him up in May, there's no doubt that high-major programs would have come after the well-rounded lead guard with a college-ready body.

Southeastern Pennsylvania
Player, School, College
Chase Audige, Hill School, William and Mary
Allen Betrand, Roman Catholic, Towson
Ahmad Bickley, Cheltenham, Chestnut Hill College
Tyrel Bladen, Coatesville, Eastern Kentucky
Antwuan Butler, Cardinal O'Hara, Austin Peay
Kyle Cassidy, Central Bucks East, DeSales
Jack Clark, Cheltenham, La Salle
Ed Croswell, St. Joseph's Prep, La Salle
Kevin Dodds, Bishop Shanahan,  Gannon
Eric Esposito, Conwell Egan, Holy Family
Jake Forrester, Westtown, Indiana
Andrew Funk, Archbishop Wood, Bucknell

Ajiri Johnson, Bonner-Prendergast, Rider
Marcus Littles, Neumann-Goretti, George Washington
Da'Quan Morris,  Hill School, Randolph Macon
Dymir  Montague, Neumann-Goretti, Holy Family
Arashma Parks, Phelps, Temple
Tyree Pickron, Archbishop Wood, Quinnipiac
Tom Quarry, Father Judge, Johns Hopkins
Kharon Randolph,  Haverford School,  U. of Sciences
Cameron Reddish, Westtown, Duke
Sam Sessoms, Shipley, Binghamton
Charlie Schappell, Conestoga, Denison
Karrington Wallace, Archbishop Wood, Central Connecticut State
South Jersey
Ray Bethea Jr., Atlantic City, Howard
Myles Thompson, Camden, St. Francis
Matt Cotton, Eastern, Yale
Caleb Fields, Wildwood Catholic, Bowling Green

— Rick O'Brien, Phil Anastasia, Josh Verlin

National Letter of Intent Day regular period: April 11, 2018; Division I: May 16, 2018; Division II: August 1, 2018.

As a senior in high school:
— you can receive material and information from the coach.
— texts and emails are unlimited between coach and student-athlete.
— all forms of electronic correspondence are allowed starting June 15th after your sophomore year. Correspondence must be private between athlete and coach.
— off-campus contact is alowed starting Sept. 9th.
— you get one official visit per college and a maximum of five visits to D-I school. Unofficial visits are ulimited.
Also:
— College coaches have 130 evaluation days to recruit you during the academic year.
— A college coach cannot evaluate and/or contact you more than seven times during your senior season. Only three of those seven can be an off-campus contact.
— During a contact period college coaches can make only one visit per week to your high school.
— All communication is prohibited during a certified event

NCAA Division I men's basketball recruiting  calendar

March 29 through April 5 (noon) 2018: Dead period
April 5 (noon)-18, 2018: Recruiting period
April 9-12, 2018: Dead period
April 19 through July 5, 2018: Quiet period
April 20-22, 2018: Evaluation period (for certified
events only)
April 27-29, 2018: Evaluation period (for certified
events only)
NBA draft combine: Evaluation period for combine only
May 17-25, 2018: Dead period
July 6-31, 2018: Dead period
source: ncaa.org