by Alex Schwartz

Jelan Kendrick '10 of Wheeler (GA) pulled a major shocker this evening when he announced that he is headed to Memphis next year. The 6'6 small forward/point guard has already inked his Letter of Intent and is officially a part of Josh Pastner's first recruiting class at the C-USA power. Kendrick is the #11 ranked player in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125 and is second amongst small forwards.

Kendrick is the sixth member of Memphis' class of 2010, joining three other players ranked in the top 75 by Northstar Basketball, including two of whom are in the top 10. The other future Tigers are #8 6'6 SG Will Barton of Bewster Academy (NH), #10 5'11 PG Joe Jackson of White Station (TN), #72 6'4 SG Chris Crawford of Sheffield (TN), 6'8 C Hippolyte Tsafack of The Miller School (VA), and 6'1 PG Antonio Barton of Notre Dame Prep (MD). Memphis is one of just four schools—along with Ohio State, Auburn, and Boston University—with at least six commits in the class of 2010.

Speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes' class has been considered the #1 haul in the nation for well over a year, and it looked like it would stay that way. Now that Jelan Kendrick is headed to Memphis though, that is not longer the case. Memphis grabs hold of the top spot in the nation, followed closely by Ohio State, and then North Carolina, with Syracuse as a distant fourth and Michigan State well behind in fifth. Quite simply, Josh Pastner is a fantastic recruiter. The first year head coach is bringing in a class that will immediately vault the Tigers back to national prominence, and Memphis is still heavily involved with #26 ranked 6'8 PF Tarik Black of Ridgeway (TN).

Jelan played AAU ball with the Memphis Magic in the second half of the July Live Evalution Period. That squad, which won the adidas Super 64, also featured Jackson, Crawford, and Black. That may well have been a key factor in his college selection.

Kendrick, who finished top 25 in scoring at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp and was ranked as the #20 performer by Northstar Basketball, is doing a player diary for Northstar Basketball (as in fellow Memphis-signee Will Barton, amongst others). Hopefully he will discuss his decision in his next entry.

Kendrick's decision to sign in the early signing period was a huge shocker. His recruitment was the most unclear of any player in America. About a month ago, the versatile scorer listed 13 schools that had in-home visits with him when I caught up with him. There were so many schools involved and Jelan did not seem certain as to where he wanted to go, so this is a major coup for Memphis to get this done. I had picked Memphis as 2nd in Line to land Kendrick back in mid-September despite the lack of clarity surrounding him.

Jelan Kendrick joins Hippolyte Tsafack as the players to commit to and sign with Memphis during the fall signing period. That duo, as well as the Barton brothers, Crawford, and Jackson form the premier recruiting class in America.

Note- photo is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/