TKR 2009 Recruit Breakdown: Brandon Davies

Former Zag prospect and current Oregon State commit Joe Burton is the tenth ranked center in the West for 2009 as ranked by Scout.com. Brandon Davies is ranked ahead of him at ninth. For quite some time Burton was big on the Zags radar and then suddenly he disappeared and committed to a team that has been nothing but terrible in recent years. It looks like we finally figured out why our recruitment of Joe Burton cooled and that reason is Brandon Davies. The big man from Provo, Utah has burst on the scene in a big way.

Measurements: 6'9'', 215 lbs

Scholarship Offers and Visits: Along with an offer from Gonzaga, Davies has a number of other scholarship offers. He has been offered by BYU, Utah, Utah State, Cal, and Arizona. Davies has already visited Cal and Utah State. He will be visiting Gonzaga the weekend of September 26th. He also plans on visiting BYU in a few weeks.

Rankings: Rivals- 3 Star
Scout- 4 Star
Scouts Inc- Rated a 68

Teams: Davies plays high school basketball for Provo High School and travels during the summer time with Utah Pump N Run

Quotable: "If Davies was playing at Westchester in Los Angeles, he'd be ranked as one of the top players in the country." a scout said to Scout.com's Greg Hicks.

Strengths: Rarely do you see a player burst on the scene as quickly as Brandon Davies has. In April 2008, Scouts Inc. said that Davies would be a nice mid-major player. Over the summer he proved that he can excel at the major level if he chooses to. The main reason for his jump in recruiting can be attributed to his offensive skill set. Davies is very skilled in the post and rarely loses his post position. He has very soft hands and is able to enforce his will in the paint as he possesses a very fluid hook shot. Usually when players are excellent with their back to the basket they tend to be a little more suspect with their face up game. This is not the case with Brandon Davies as he is a very versatile big man. He has the ability to penetrate from the wing and can dribble without the crowd having to hold their breath. One of my favorite things about him is that he is confident that he can finish around the basket with both hands, something rare among high school players. Everything related to fundamentals Davies does well. He possesses a great feel for the game of basketball and has great footwork. He definitely feels like a player that can have an instant impact if he does in fact become a Zag.

Room for Improvement: Brandon Davies recently turned 17 years of age which means two things. Of course he has some weaknesses in his game but because of his age, he has plenty of time to correct his flaws. Brandon Davies will never wow you with superb athleticism. By no means is Davies a slouch; he is a meticulous student of the game who uses fundamentals to excel. Davies will also have to improve his speed and quickness if he wants to play at a high level especially if he plays at Gonzaga or in the PAC-10. He will face post players much quicker than he is and will have to increase his lateral speed. I have little question that he will be able to do this. At 215 pounds he still has some growing to do and once he fills in to his body he will become even more dominant. To be honest, there are only a few glaring weaknesses about Mr. Davies. An interesting side note that has no relation to basketball is his faith. Davies is a Mormon and he has the option to serve on a two year mission if he chooses to. Davies will not have to go on this mission until his second year of college is complete but the mission is definitely something that will have to be addressed.

Recruiting Forecast: Davies seems to be completely open at this point. Arizona has recently came into play which means that Lute Olsen does not believe Davies will be a one and done player. Many high school players from Utah choose to stay close to home especially if they are in the Mormon faith. For this reason it seems that the Utah schools have an advantage but Davies is visiting soon and I have full confidence that Few and the staff will give him nothing but the star treatment. There are a whole bunch of twists and turns with Brandon Davies but he is a very exciting prospect and whoever gets him will be very lucky.

TKR 2009 Recruit Breakdown: Tony Nixon

Every now and then a recruit will come out of nowhere and emerge on the national recruiting scene. This summer, Tony Nixon went from mid-major recruit to a high-major recruit because of his MVP caliber performances throughout the AAU season. The 6'4 SG, who hails from South Holland, Illinois, impressed coaches from across the country with his unbelievable shooting, especially in clutch situations. It appears that securing a lights out shooter has become a priority for the staff, along with securing at least 2 high level big men.

Scholarship Offers: At this point, Nixon only holds offers from Howard, Northern Illinois, and Montana State. This should all be changing though, because after his break out summer, Nixon now has the likes of Gonzaga, Southern Illinois, Drake, George Mason, Michigan, Fresno State, and Tennessee actively recruiting him.

Rankings: Rivals- 3 star ranking
Scout- 3 star ranking
Scouts Inc- No profile at this point

Teams: Nixon plays his high school ball for Seton Academy in South Holland, Illinois. He is coached by Ken Stevenson at Seton Academy.
Nixon plays his AAU ball for the Mac Irvin Fire.

Stats: At Seton Academy this past season, Nixon averaged 13.3 ppg to go along with 6 rebounds. Nixon shot 46% from the field, and 36% from behind the arc.

Strengths: The reason that Nixon has gone from a mid-level to a high-level recruit, is because of his incredible shooting ability. While he was certainly a good shooter this past high school season, he absolutely set the nets on fire this summer. What makes Nixon such a great shooter, is his ability to consistently his contested jump shots, and also being able to shoot coming off of curls and screens. Nixon gets great lift on his jumper and has a very quick release on jumper. His ability to constantly run off screens and use them well makes Nixon deadly in half-court sets. Perhaps his best performance this summer came at the Desert Dual Memorial, when Nixon hit 10-13 shots from behind the arc. Because of his great size and length, Nixon is also a very good defender. Nixon has mentioned in interviews, that he is a very willing defender, and has no problems matching up with the other teams scorer. This is important, as it is hard for a player to be a high-level recruit if he only has one specialty. By being a strong player on the defensive end, Nixon is able to contribute even during the rare game when his shot is not falling.

Room for Improvement: At this point, Nixon is strictly a shooter on the offensive end of the court. To excel at the next level, he must improve his ability to attack the rim. There have been numerous articles that mention that Nixon looks uncomfortable with the ball, and even afraid to attack off the dribble. To keep defenders honest at the DI level, Nixon must gain confidence and improve his ball-handling. It has been noted that Nixon has developed a better mid-range game over the summer, but is still very reluctant to go all the way to the rim with the dribble. Developing this part of his game is vital for Nixon's success on the offensive end at the next level. Even the ability to occasionally get to the rim will force defenders to back off him just the slighest amount, and with his quick release and good elevation, all he needs is a couple of inches to get his shot off.

Recruiting Forecast: Nixon is very difficult to get a feel for based on the interviews and articles that have come out. His recruitment has only really begun to take off over the past couple of weeks, and with many high-majors coming his way, it will be interesting to see how he handles his recruitment. However, it seems that the GU staff is very interested in Nixon, and has really turned their attention to landing an elite level shooter for the 09 class. We hope to have a better idea of where Nixon stands, as our correspondent is working to get an interview with Nixon and his coach. Nixon reminds me of current GU standout Steven Gray, with his good size and great shooting ability.

TKR 2009 Recruit Breakdown: Anthony Marshall

In the world of recruiting, everyone wants to put a label on a player. Maybe he is a SG, or he is a big man, or he is a shooter, but it seems that every player has some sort of label. However, there is one player in the class of 09 that seems impossible to put a label on. Anthony Marshall, a 6'3 basketball player from Las Vegas, Nevada, does not seem to fit the model of the typical highly rated high school player. He does not focus solely on scoring, he loves to play defense, and he is great at getting his teammates involved in the game. Marshall has also been described as a model for his peers, and is a 3.5 student. With Anthony Marshall, you are not getting a player who can do one thing, but instead a player who can do literally everything on the basketball court, and do it exceptionally well.

Scholarship offers: Marshall holds offers from numerous schools across the nation. At this point, he holds offers from Gonzaga, UNLV, Washington, Colorado State, Baylor, SMU, Miami, Marquette, Virginia, Washington State, James Madison, and Detroit.

Rankings: Rivals- 67th ranked player overall/ 17th at his position
Scout- 4 star recruit/ 68th ranked player overall/ 13th ranked at his position
Scouts. Inc- 79 scout grade/ 92nd ranked player overall/ 17th ranked at his position

Teams: Marshall plays his high school ball for Mojave High school in Las Vegas, and is coached by Tony Hopkins
Marshall plays his AAU ball for the Las Vegas Prospects, and is coached by Anthony Brown

High School Stats: This past season, Marshall averaged 19.0 pts, 9.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists.

Strengths: What makes Marshall such a unique player is the versatility that he demonstrates on the court. Marshall is an exceptional playmaker that has the strength and athleticism to not only get to the basket and score, but to also make plays for the teammates around him. Marshall has the strength, and a flat footed 35 inch vertical leap, that allows him to finish very well when he is in among the bigs. This great athleticism also allows for him to be a fantastic rebounder for his size, as demonstrated with the 9 rebounds he averaged per game last season. Although he is a great offensive player, Marshall is better known for his shutdown defensive abilities. Because of his length, Marshall can guard any of the wing positions, as well as the point guard. He has the strength to really bother and opposite 3, and also has the length to really bother any 1's or 2's. But what makes Marshall so unique, is that he really loves playing defense. In the Las Vegas tourney last month, there was a description of Marshall working so hard on defense and rebounding that he nearly passed out from exhaustion. This is so rare to hear about during an AAU event, and really helps you understand how special of a talent he is.

Weaknesses: The one area of his game that Anthony need to improve the most is his shooting. Because he has the strength and athleticism to blow by his defender off the dribble, he needs to develop a consistent jump shot to continue to dominate offensively at the DI level. Although he gets great lift and arc on his shot, he does not yet hit it consistently enough to keep the defense honest. However, this is something that can be improved with hours spent in the gym, and it seems that Anthony is willing to put in the hard work to take his game to the next level.

Recruiting Forecast: Marshall is one of the more difficult recruits to forecast. He has continually said that he is open to any schools, and still has not decided on any official visits at this point. It has been mentioned, that a long standing relationship with Marshall will be important towards his recruiting. If that is indeed the case, then look for Gonzaga, UNLV, and Washington to be in the Marshall recruitment until the end. However, he has been getting lots of interest recently from UCLA, which could prove to be tough to beat. Marshall has stated that he will make his decision when the feeling is right, so we should know after he has taken his 5 official visits.

Interview with Coach Brown: Earlier today, our correspondent was able to catch up with Coach Anthony Brown of the Las Vegas Prospects. We would like to thank Coach Brown and our correspondent for getting TKR this quick interview.

TKR: How would you describe Anthony's performance in Las Vegas and Los Angeles

Coach Brown: Anthony was exceptional. He did everything possible on the court and he was exceptional. He did a great job getting his teammates involved. You don't know what to expect from kids his age, he could have just showed up and laid an egg. But he played like I thought he would play, he played really well.

TKR: What schools were at his games, and what schools have been in contact the most?

Coach Brown: Honestly, I don't know what coaches were at his games. I am focused on coaching, and you can't really see the logos on the shirts, and I dont know the faces. UNLV, UCLA, Baylor, SMU, Marquette, Creighton, and Kentucky have been in contact the most.

TKR: Why should a school recruit Anthony Marshall

Coach Brown: Because he does everything on the court. He rebounds, he defends, he scores, he is a great student and a good teammate. I have been really blessed to coach Anthony. If you want to win, you recruit Anthony Marshall. Everybody talks about wanting to win, but Anthony does whatever it takes to win.

TKR 2009 Recruit Breakdown: Sam Dower

TKR is excited to begin a new series that will focus on the 2009 recruiting class. As the AAU summer season has finally finished up, TKR felt it was appropriate to take an in depth look at the main targets that GU are currently pursuing. For this series, TKR will be giving a very detailed breakdown of Sam Dower, Anthony Marshall, Joe Burton, Angus Brandt, Anthony Stover, and Devonte Elliot. Each player will have a 2-3 part series that will include a player breakdown, a review of their summer, and hopefully an interview with our correspondent. We hope everyone enjoys this series, and we will be kicking it off with Sam Dower.

It is often said, that the hardest thing to find in the basketball world is a skilled and motivated big man. With most of the highly rated 09 bigs flying off the market early on, the staff focused in and discovered highly skilled big man Sam Dower. The 6'10, 220 pound PF/C from Osseo, Minnesota, is an example of a classic late bloomer. The lefty has really come into his own this summer, and has developed into one of the more coveted bigs remaining in the 09 class. Dower has already visited Gonzaga, as he was a participant in the GU elite camp this summer, and has an official visit scheduled for September 6-8 (the 1st weekend anyone can take an official visit to GU).

Scholarship offers- Dower currently holds offers from Gonzaga, Penn State, Cal, Iowa, Saint Louis, Drake, Illinois State, George Mason, and numerous other mid-majors. There has been reported interest from Indiana, Minnesota, Marquette, Miami-Fl, but none of these schools have offered.

Rankings- Rivals- 130th ranked player overall/ 35th ranked PF
Scout- 3 star recruit/ 25th ranked C
Scouts Inc.- Currently ranked a 40, which means that they have not watched him enough to make an evaluation

Teams- Dower plays his high school ball for Osseo high school in Minnesota, and is coached by Tom Theisen
Dower plays his AAU ball for Net Gain Sports, and is coached by Marquise Watts

High school stats- This past season Sam averaged 13.8 pts, 5.9 rbs, 0.9 block per game. Osseo went 26-1 on the season, which included an undefeated regular season. Sam set a season high of 23 points against Coon Rapids, and had a season high of 11 rebounds twice, against Redwood Valley and Elk River.

Strengths- What makes Sam such an intriguing and highly sought after prospect his versatility. At 6'10, Sam has the height to be a dominant player in the post, and has already developed a very good turnaround jumper, as well as a nearly unstoppable left handed hook shot. He runs the floor very well, and has good hands that allow for him to catch the ball in the post where he either makes a quick post move, or kicks the ball out to a shooter. Sam also has range out to the 3 point line, where he can consistently hit the 3. Sam is also blessed with terrific potential. I know that a lot of people cringe when they see this word, but Sam is not a project, and has already started to reach some of his great potential. According to his coach, Sam is still growing and getting longer. He has also put on lots of weight over the past 6 months, and has greatly improved his conditioning. Although these seem like small things, you could not name 3 more important aspects for a big man. Conditioning and strength are often hard for young big men to achieve, and the fact that Sam is already improving in both areas is very encouraging. Coach Watts also mentioned that Sam realizes he can be great and is starting to dominate on the court, and put in the effort to maximize his potential.

Room for Improvement- Typical of any high school big man, the main area where Sam needs to improve is his strength. While Sam can use his outstanding height and length to dominate at the high school level, he will need to get stronger in the upper body to be able to play at the college level. It is clear that Sam has realized this, as he has added over 10 pounds of muscle in the past 6 months. Sam must continue to get stronger, as he will face much stronger players in the post once he gets to the DI level. A strong upper body is vital for Sam to be able to guard many of the posts that he will face at the next level, and with his length, he could be a great post defender and rebounder. I am very impressed and encouraged to read that Sam has put in the time to get stronger and improve his conditioning, as this is typically where many freshman bigs tend to struggle.

Recruiting Forecast- After a terrific summer, Sam has become one of the more sought after bigs across the nation. There is strong interest going both ways between the Zags and Dower, and the Zags were able to secure an official visit from Dower very early in the school year. TKR really likes the Zags chances with Dower, and it should be fun to follow Dower's recruitment in the next month. Dower has long stated that he plans to commit prior to the start of his high school basketball season, so we should have an announcement sometime before November.