by Alex Schwartz

Three of the top 17 players in America (according to Rivals) have yet to decide on a college, and two of them are ranked in the top four of Northstar Basketball's Class of 2009 Terrific 35. John Wall '09 of Word of God Academy (NC) is considered by most people to be the best player in America. A 6'4 point guard, Wall is considering (in alphabetical order) Baylor, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Memphis, Miami, and North Carolina State, while North Carolina and Kansas have also been mentioned, though those seem to be out of the picture. Lance Stephenson '09, a 6'6 wing from Lincoln (NY) will decide between . . . well, that's really unclear at that point, though Arizona and Memphis seem like the main options, while St. John's, Kansas, and Maryland seem to have been ruled out of contention and Florida International is supposedly making a push. Latavious Williams '09 of Christian Life Center (TX) is the lone post grad amongst the trio, and a 6'7 power forward, he is also the only big man. Williams appears to be considering Georgetown, Memphis, and Florida International, while Kansas State, Florida State, and Baylor have tried to land him too. It's time to take a bit more of an in-depth look at each of these three players' recruitment:

John Wall was going to go to Memphis, or so many people believe. The gifted floor general had admitted that the C-USA power was his favorite, and then Head Coach John Calipari bolted for Kentucky, leaving Wall—amongst others—in an interesting situation. Other schools such as North Carolina and Florida then tried to enter the picture, though UNC never seems to have been extremely serious and is not actively pursuing Wall. UF on the other hand is doing just that, while Kansas is likely out of the picture in light of adding a fourth player, Xavier Henry '09 of Putnam City (OK), to its recruiting class. Of the other six mainstays on John's list, there seem to be three in the best position: Duke, Kentucky, and Miami. It looks as though if Wall wants to stay in the Tar Heel State, he will attend Duke, which leaves North Carolina State out of the picture. Memphis probably lost out when Coach Cal left, and if Baylor was going to land Wall, he would have committed by now, as his former AAU coach Dwon Clifton—the brother of his current AAU coach with D-One Sports, Brian Clifton—was hired to the Baylor staff last summer. This leaves Duke, Florida, Kentucky, and Miami as the quartet of schools really vying for Wall, with the Gators probably having the smallest chance. Billy Donovan is already bringing in a big-time guard in Kenny Boynton '09 of American Heritage (FL) and UF entered the picture very late. It's going to come down to the other three schools: Duke, Kentucky, and Miami. Right now, it looks as if the only way Wall ends up as a Blue Devil is if he decides he wants to stay close to his mother in NC. The Hurricanes may not be the place Wall himself wants to go, but it looks as if—besides Baylor—it is the school that his "people" want him to attend. At UM, the offense would be centered around Wall and it would truly be his team. As for Kentucky, it really seems like that is where the player himself wants to go, as it appears he wants to play for Calipari. Yet, if it was that simple, why hasn't he signed yet? Don't forget that talented point guard Eric Bledsoe '09 or Parker (AL) recently inked with the Wildcats, and he thinks he will be the starting point guard. If Wall goes there then there is another talented PG to compete with, though he would almost certainly still be the starter. John supposedly liked to visit to Coral Gables and that, along with the fact that those close to him might want him playing for Frank Haith, could sway him towards Miami. Again though, if Wall ends up making the decision alone and going wherever it is he wants, it looks like that place will be Kentucky, unless he wants to stay quite local and picks Duke. Nothing is for sure right now, but I'd handicap Kentucky as the leader, with Miami right behind, and Duke in third, with Florida still trying to make a play.

Lance Stephenson's recruitment has been one of the most interesting ones we have seen in a while. Despite being one of the best players in the nation, many schools do not seem to want the physical specimen. Some have concerns about the people attached to Lance, while others worry about his amateur status, and some are turned off by the perceived attitude problem of the one they have called "Born Ready" for quite some time. Kansas appeared to be a lock to get a commitment from Lance at the McDonald's All-American, and a press conference was scheduled for him to announce. Then John Calipari left—there were many repercussions to that move—and Xaiver Henry was released from Memphis. Bill Self seemingly put Lance on the back burner and went back to his original wing target, Henry, and landed him. That ruled out KU for Lance. It looked to be down to St. John's and Maryland, but then rumors started swirling that Lance had cut both of them from consideration, and that does indeed seem to be the case. Now it looks as though Arizona, upon hiring Sean Miller, has come out of the blue and is one of the two main schools, along with Memphis, that is vying for Stephenson. Both schools will be under a new coach this year, and Josh Pastner and Memphis could really used a big-time recruit to show that Memphis will still be a player on the national scene. In addition, according to Z Smart's Sports Blog, new Florida International Head Coach Isiah Thomas is making a play for the Coney Island product. FIU probably has the least chance of the three, as Lance wants to play for a team that will at least make the NCAA Tournament, if not contend for a title. Memphis probably makes the most sense. The Tigers have been on him the longest and need him the most, while there is no reason why UA truly needs "Bord Ready" at this point. That doesn't mean Lance won't go there, and there is a connection as fellow NYC wing Kevin Parrom '09 of South Kent (CT) is headed there. It's a tough call between Memphis and Arizona, but it looks as though Lance Stephenson will be playing for one of those two schools nest year. I'd give a slight edge to Arizona at this juncture though.

Latavious Williams, like Stephenson, was set to announce his college decision, but then posted it. It looked as though he would be signing with Memphis, but then took a surprise visit to Florida International, and will then be visiting Georgetown. That could leave Memphis in a tough spot, but it's really unclear. Williams will decide between those three schools, as Kansas State, Florida State, and Baylor seem to be out of the picture. FIU is likely appealing because Isiah Thomas is the coach and Latavious supposedly enjoyed his visit, but it is so late for the Sun Belt school to get involved that it really is unlikely. Williams' AAU coach with Brandon Bass Elite, "Scooter" Owens, is his main adviser and he will probably have at least some say in where the star ends up. Georgetown was considered the heavy favorite at one point, but that wasn't long after Memphis was thought to be just that. It's likely going to be between the Big East power and the C-USA monster for Latavious. As of now, Georgetown probably holds a slight advantage, but it would not be a surprise if Williams announced for Memphis either.

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