by Alex Schwartz

When Mike Anderson left Missouri to take the head coaching job at Arkansas, the Tigers were the only team in a BCS conference without a commitment in the class of 2011. However, Mizzou was considered the heavy favorite for 6'8 small forward Otto Porter of Scott County Central (MO), a Jordan Brand Classic All-American and one of the fastest rising prospects in the nation this high school season.

Although unranked in the NBE Post-Summer Class of 2011 Top 150, Porter will likely be in the top 30 or so when the final rankings come out in the next week. He was the second best available player in the country, behind DeAndre Daniels of IMG Academy (FL). The word "was" is key there, as the versatile Show Me State star is now off the board.

Brian Snow of Scout broke the news on Tuesday that Georgetown had received a pledge from Porter. While Missouri had been the favorite for Porter, that clearly changed when Anderson left for Arkansas. New head coach Frank Haith did not have enough time to get in with Porter and land him, leading the standout senior to pick his other finalist. Some had anticipated that Kansas would make a run at Porter, but instead it is the Hoyas that have his pledge.

Otto Porter is the fifth commitment for Georgetown in the class of 2011. He joins #38 ranked 6'9 power forward Mikael Hopkins of DeMatha (MD), #59 ranked 6'9 center Tyler Adams of Brandon (MS), 6'5 small forward Jabril Trawick of Abington Friends (PA), and 6'8 power forward Greg Whittington of Oakland Mills (MD).

Possibly seeing that Porter would not be coming their way, Bill Self and his staff at Kansas got a commitment from 6'8 power forward Braeden Anderson of Wilbraham & Monson (MA).  A former DePaul signee, Anderson was released from his LOI when Donnavan Kirk transferred to DePaul from Miami and crowded the frontcourt. Now, Anderson is headed to Kansas, reportedly selecting the Jayhawks over schools such as Kentucky and Arizona

Anderson, whose commitment was broken by JayhawkSlant.com, the Kansas affiliate of Rivals, is now the third member of Kansas' 2011 recruiting class. He joins a pair of top 100 prospects in #37 6'5 small forward Ben McLemore of Christian Life Center (TX) and #90 5'11 point guard Naadir Tharpe of Brewster Academy (NH).

Kansas was not the only school in its conference to garner a 2011 commitment of late. Rivals' Eric Bossi had the scoop on a pair of JuCo point guards pledging to Big 12 programs. Sam Grooms, a 6'1 native of North Carolina attending Chipola JC (FL) pledged to the Oklahoma Sooners, becoming the first commitment for new OU coach Lon Kruger. Meanwhile, Baylor landed a pledge from 5'10 Pierre Jackson of College of Southern Idaho (ID).

For Oklahoma, Grooms is the second member of the 2011 recruiting class, joining another JuCo prospect in 6'9 power forward Robert Goff of Hutchinson CC (KS). Scott Drew and Baylor now have three pledges in 2011, as Jackson joins Westchester Country Day (NC) teammates Quincy Miller and Deuce Bello. Miller, a 6'9 small forward who will play in the Jordan Brand Classic, is the #2 ranked player in the NBE Post-Summer Class of 2011 Top 150, while Bello, a 6'3 shooting guard, is ranked #41.

A couple of Big Ten programs—one of which will join the conference next year—also landed JuCo commits of late. According to NJHoops, 6'5 shooting guard Dylan Talley of Blinn JC (TX) pledged to Nebraska, the newest member of the Big Ten. The Recruit Scoop reported that 6'7 power forward Andre Ingram of Butler CC (KS) gave his pledge to Minnesota.

Talley, who had a superb freshman season at Binghamton before going to Blinn, is the fourth commit for Nebraska in 2011. He joins #134 ranked 6'6 small forward David Rivers of Little Rock Hall (AR), 6'1 point guard Corey Hilliard of Raytown South (MO) and 6'5 shooting guard Josiah Moore of Norcross (GA). Ingram is the second JuCo player in Minnesota' 2011 haul, with the other being 6'3 point guard Julian Welch of Yuba College (CA). The other players bound for Minnesota are #114 ranked 6'3 shooting guard Joe Coleman of Hopkins (MN) and #142 ranked 6'2 shooting guard Andre Hollins of White Station (TN).

Wes Washpun, a 6'1 point guard from Washington (IA) became the first commitment for new Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin, per the Twitter page of his AAU team, the Iowa Barnstormers. Washpun is a relative unknown who came on strong of late. He currently part of a two-man recruiting class for the Volunteers, joining #70 ranked 5'8 point guard Chris Jones of Melrose (TN), who has decided to stick with UT, per multiple reports.

Within minutes of Tennessee garnering Washpun's pledge, in-state rival Memphis picked up a commitment from 6'9 JuCo center Stan Simpson of John A. Logan (IL). The news was first reported by Nation of Blue. Simpson, who started his career at Illinois before heading to a JuCo, is the second member of Memphis' 2011 class, joining McDonald's All-American and #7 ranked 6'7 small forward Adonis Thomas of Melrose (TN).

From the transfer department, Ramon Galloway of South Carolina has opted to play out the rest of his career at La Salle, according to a source close to the situation. Galloway is one of a few Gamecocks who are leaving the program. The 6'2 shooting guard averaged 10.7 points in 24.5 minutes per game this past season, per ESPN. He will have two years of eligibility left with the Explorers, but will sit out this year due to NCAA transfer rules.

Northwestern landed a pair of underclassmen on Tuesday, according to Brian Snow. In the 2012 class, the Wildcats garnered a pledge from Alex Olah, a 6'11 center from Trader's Point Christian (IN). Bill Carmody and Co. also picked up a 2013 pledge from 6'8 power forward Milos Kostic, a native of Serbia who attends Bishop Noll (IN). Scout lists Olah and Kostic as the first pledges in their respective classes for the Wildcats.

Another school to land a commitment from an underclass big man of late was Bucknell. According to The Recruit Scoop, 6'7 power forward Dominic Hoffman of Gill St. Bernard's (NJ) opted to make an early verbal pledge to the Bison. He is one of the better junior big men in the Garden State and is a superb addition for the Patriot League program.

Now for a smorgasbord of recent commitments:
- JuCo prospect Connell Crossland, a 6'7 small forward from John A. Logan (IL), is headed to TCU, per JuCoRecruiting.com

- Olivier Mbaigoto, a 6'6 JuCo small forward out of St. Petersburg CC (FL), popped to Central Michigan, according to Brian Snow

- Another JuCo player to commit was 6'7 small forward Marcus Damas of Westchester CC (NY), who is headed to Towson, per JuCoRecruiting.com, and will have three years of eligibility left

- According to Eric Bossi, Houston received a commitment from Leron Barnes, a 6'6 small forward out of North De Soto (LA)

- Tyler Hubbard, a 6'0 shooting guard from Montrose Christian (MD), pledged to Loyola (MD), per The Recruit Scoop

- The New York Post reported that Fordham landed commitments from brothers Jared Fay (6'3 2011 SG) and Jake Fay (6'5 2013 SG) out of Brimmer and May (MA)

- Devonte Beard, a 6'2 point guard from St. Vincent-St. Mary (OH), is off the board to Siena, per Eric Bossi

- Tennessee Tech once again tapped into Georgia for a commitment, this time landing 6'1 point guard Lanerryl Johnson of Walton (GA), per Dan McDonald's Twitter page

- Kris Obaseki, a 6'9 power forward from Manvel (TX) has decided to attend Oral Roberts, per multiple reports

- Garrett Jones, a 6'0 point guard from Evanston (IL), is off the board to New Hampshire according to Scott Phillips of The Basketball Report

- The Daily Advertiser reported that Alan-Michael Thompson, a 6'2 JuCo shooting guard from Brunswick CC (NC), has committed to UL-Lafayette

- Paul Tenorio of The Washington Post had the news that 5'11 point guard Austin Hamilton of Herndon (VA) was bound for Elon

- Breon Dixon, a 6'8 power forward from Tift County (GA), has pledged to Troy, per ESPN

- According to the Twitter page of Dave Spahn, 6'6 power forward Lee Skinner of Fork Union Military Academy (VA) has committed to Wofford

Note- first photo is of Otto Porter and is from http://www.standard-democrat.com/; second photo is of Braeden Anderson and is from http://www.masslive.com/; third photo is of Dylan Talley and is from http://thecypresstimes.com/; fourth photo is of Stan Simpson and is from http://www.nationofblue.com/