by Alex Schwartz

On 9/9/09, Division I coaches were finally able to begin in-home visits with class of 2010 prospects as well as head back on the trail to watch players workout. Considering that the weekend before was the first weekend that senior prospects could take official visits, this week should be filled with commitments. A handful of players popped on Wednesday, and I had a chance to get in touch with two of them.

Jerian Grant '10, a 6'5 small forward from DeMatha (MD), ranked #95 in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125, is following his high school and AAU teammate Victor Oladipo '10 to the state of Indiana. Although the players are headed to the same state Grant is not going to Indiana with Oladipo and will not even be in the same conference. Jerian is going to rival Notre Dame. "That's going to be great," said Grant on what that will be like, adding, "I've been playing with Victor in AAU and high school since freshman year, so to finally get to be his rival and hopefully play against him is going to be fun and exciting." I inquired if it was merely a conincidene that they took their names off the board within days of one another, and Grant informed me that was not the case. "Not really because [Victor is] like my brother and we talk about almost everything and I actually think I told him about Notre Dame before I told my family." What makes this situation even more interesting is that the Irish were in Oladipo's final five.

How did Grant decide on Mike Brey and Co.? "Well, some main factors were me being able to play right away when I get there, being able to help the team win, and me having a great relationship with the coaching staff and players." The wing also considered DePaul, Providence, and Virginia. Asked when he decided that Notre Dame was the school for him, Grant stated, "I made my mind up [on Tuesday] and I committed a few hours ago [as of 9:00pm on Wednesday]." Now that he has the decision behind him, Grant is feeling great and is focused on something that Oladipo wants to accomplish as well. "It feels great. Now I can just go into the high school season and hopefully lead my team to a national championship and also look forward to being in South Bend next year and not worry."

Frantz Massenat's commitment to Drexel will not get as much national attention as Grant's pledge to Notre Dame will, but the 6'3 point guard from Trenton Catholic (NJ) is a big get for the Dragons. The news, which was broken by Northstar Basketball via Twitter, came soon after Massenat's in-home visit with Head Coach Bruiser Flint and Assistant Coach Mike Connors. What led the Garden State star to his decision? "Well, the fact that I didn't want to go far away [and I] wanted my parents to watch me play [was big. It has] . . . good academics [and] . . . good basketball [at] a good level. I can play against good players. [Bruiser Flint is] . . . a good coach and he has a good history. [I wanted] . . . a coach that can push me. People say he's hard to play for, but I've played for tough coaches my whole life."

Before picking the CAA school, Massenat also seriously considered Boston University, Princeton, Rider, and Niagara. "Those were the five that I really cut everything down to." Frantz told me that he "really just wanted to say thank you to [all the] coaches that recruited" him. Asked when he made up his mind, Massenat stated, "I think it was when I had more understanding of the school. It would better me for basketball and is a top [school] in the country for academics. . . . After my visit and after my talk with the coaches [I knew]."

Massenat, who is the eighth player in New Jersey's class of 2010 to commit (he is the fifth to pick a school in Pennsylvania), was excited to have his choice in the rear view mirror. "It actually feels good. I always knew I wanted to make the decision before my high school season and go in with no worries. It feels god to know I made a good decision and have it off my chest."

Note- photo of Grant is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/ and photo of Massenat is from http://www.nj.com/