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Today in the Morning Rumble, Xavier lands a transfer big man, Michael Porter Jr. cuts his list to 17?, Louisville lands another 5-star recruit, and who are the top five Big East coaches right now?
We begin with Xavier as they have acquired some front court depth for the 2016-17 season. RaShid Gaston, a Norfolk State transfer, committed to the Musketeers on Tuesday and he will have one season remaining after sitting out this upcoming year.
Gaston is a physical presence in the post as he averaged 15.5 points per game, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in his junior year. He has struggled playing against stronger competition (Baylor, Vanderbilt), but has dominated within MEAC, which shows he is capable of improving. Sitting out a year will help his development and watching the Musketeers play from a far in the gritty Big East Conference will also help him adjust quicker.
Well I've never seen someone cut their college list to 17.
Michael Porter Jr., ranked as the number 2 player in the class of 2017 by ESPN, cut his list to Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Washington, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA and Virginia.
Marquette was targeting the 6'9" small forward, but that seems like a distant memory now.
On to Louisville where Rick Pitino landed a hot, coveted 2016 target in V.J. King.
The 6'7" small forward from Virginia is ranked 25th on ESPN's top 60 and has been very popular with some of the top schools in the nation including Arizona, UConn, Georgetown, Cincinnati, Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, amongst others.
King is born to school the basketball and his long frame, freaky athleticism and strong body control will make him a key piece from day one for Pitino and the Cardinals.
Back to some Big East news, where Virginia (ACC defending champs) and Villanova (Big East defending champs) will play a home-and-home over the next two seasons. The Cavs will host the Wildcats on December 19th at Paul Jones Arena while the return game will be played at the Wells Fargo Center in 2016-17.
Expect some physical, low scoring battles between these two schools, but we do know there will be plenty of talent on the court no matter what the score is.
After offering three players on Monday, Chris Mullin and the Johnnies kept their activity going on Tuesday as they spoke to 2017 target Sidney Wilson.
Wilson, a 6'6" small forward from the Bronx, is a talented four-star prospect that is quickly improving his stock. He also has an offer from Minnesota and has interest from other high quality programs. Mullin wants to build relationships and snag all the best talent in the New York area, so contacting all these young New York high school stars is the best way to leave an impact during the summer months.
Who are the top five Big East coaches? Our friends at Banners on the Parkway have a nice rundown. John Thompson III and Chris Mack are one and two on the list but who's number one? Is it Ed Cooley? Is it Jay Wright?