by Alex Schwartz

Continuing with my recent string of articles of me catching up with uncommitted 2010 prospects, I got in touch with a quartet of seniors who remain on the board. Of the four, three are low to mid-major players, but one is getting high-major looks. Have a look:

Tyshawn Bell graduated from Caravel Academy (DE) and is now doing a post-grad year at Maine Central Institute. A long forward, Bell was a key member of Team Takeover DE and that helped him draw looks from a handful of schools. Bell lists offers from South Florida, Oklahoma State, Georgetown, Siena, and George Washington. Although right now these are the only schools Tyshawn is considering, he said he is "still open though" in his recruitment. Regarding visits, Bell stated that he is "visiting South Florida next weekend" and that this will be the first school he sees. He currently lists USF as his leader.

Brian Voelkel of Iona Prep (NY) had a lot of people talking during the summer circuit due to his outstanding play with the Westchester Hawks. "Right now I have eight offers, but it's between Manhattan, Vermont, Stony Brook, and Robert Morris," remarked Voelkel. The other schools that have extended scholarship offers are Canisius, Central Connecticut State, St. Bonaventure, and Iona. Asked if the first four were the only ones he is considering, Brian responded, "If others come into the picture I will consider them, but at this point it's between them."

The solid small forward does not have a leader, but has somewhat of a time frame for his decision. "No, not really [any favorites]. I've set up official [visits] for all of them, so I'll probably make my decision after that." What does his schedule for trips look like? "I'm going to Vermont tonight [Thursday], then Manhattan the next weekend, then October 1st [I go to] Robert Morris, followed then by Stony Brook." All four programs under consideration have what Voelkel is looking for in a school. "Just a good school that I can go into and make an impact. Also, the coach is very important, which is one of the main reasons I like those four schools." Speaking of coaches, there are two that Brian claims the best relationship with. "Probably [Head] Coach [Barry] Rohrssen of Manhattan and [Head] Coach [Steve] Piekell of Stony Brook, as I've gotten to meet with them in person."

A lights-out shooter with a 3.7 GPA, Mustafa Jones of Neumann-Goretti (PA) has several schools looking to add him to their class of 2010. Toledo (offer), Howard (offer), Delaware (offer), Hartford (offer), Rider (offer), Lehigh (offer), Columbia (offer), UPenn, Colgate, and Quinnipiac are the ten schools that comprise Jones' list. "I like all of them. I haven't narrowed it down yet," replied Mustafa when asked if he has any favorites.

Jones has already taken trips to five of the schools he is considering. "I went to Toledo, Howard, Lehigh, Columbia, [and] UPenn. I haven't gone on any officials yet." As of now, he has not scheduled any official visits, but stated, "I'm planning on taking one to [both] Toledo and Howard." On another note, I inquired of Jones what he feels the senior-laden team at Neumann is capable of accomplishing this season. "I think this year we are capable of accomplishing out goal of last year [which is] the state title, and of course Catholic League and city champs again."

Chris Thompson was part of a top-notch Life Center Academy (NJ) team last year, and although there were many more big names on the squad, he is still getting his fair share of college interest. The combo guard listed St. Francis (PA), St. Peter's, Rider, Stony Brook, NJIT, and Northeastern, with his lone offer being from Stony Brook. "There are some more, some DII [also], but I can't remember all of them," stated Chris. Although he has DII interest, the Garden State baller informed me that he is "not considering DII" programs.

News & Notes

- Here is the schedule of in-home visits for Rod Odom '10, ranked #121 in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125, of Middlesex School (MA), per his father, Rod Odom, Sr. (note that it is the head coach from each school that is coming):
September 11th, morning- Georgia Tech
September 11th, afternoon- West Virginia
September 11th, evening- Arizona
September 13th, morning- Harvard
September 13th, afternoon- Vanderbilt

- NJHoops posted a link to this dunk. You just have to see it.

- I first saw on Rivals affiliate ASUDevils.com that Keala King '10 from Mater Dei (CA) had committed to Arizona State. This is a huge get for the Sun Devils, as King is a big-time talent. He was ranked #50 in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125.

- A source with knowledge of the situation informed me that Tyreek Duren '10 of Neumann-Goretti (PA) is taking an official visit to Temple this weekend. Look for the point guard's decision to come down to Temple and UMass. Also, the same source informed me that Duren and Jones' high school teammate Danny Stewart '10 is likely to end up at Robert Morris, in what would be a huge coup for Mike Rice and Co.

- According to Scout, Joe Jackson '10 of White Station (TN), the #10 player in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125, has scheduled a press conference for this evening to announce his college choice. Jackson has already cut his list to Memphis, Kansas, and Tennessee. It would be an absolute shock if Jackson did not commit to Memphis tonight.

- Here are the links to all of the player updates Northstar Basketball has done over the past week, as well as links to the articles on player commitments:
James McAdoo '11 (North Carolina), Victor Oladipo (Indiana)
Nate Lubick
JJ Moore, Josh Huestis
Justin Coleman, Tarik Black, Ray McCallum
Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Frantz Massenat (Drexel)
Trae Golden, Denzel Brito, Majok Majok

- Also according to Scout, a couple of mid-major programs got commitments from quality seniors today. Ohio snagged Ricardo Johnson of Holmes (KY) and Drake picked up the #123 player in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 in Centennial (IL) standout Rayvonte Rice.

- Are you following Northstar Basketball on Twitter? If not, do so right here.

Note- photo of Brian Voelkel is from http://www.nydailynews.com/ and photo of Rod Odom is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/