Happy Friday everyone. I figured we were past due for a proper hoops recruiting update, so I was able to put one together.
Let's start with Dereck Lively.
The five-star center and No. 14 overall prospect in the '22 class included Penn State in his top 7 when he released it earlier this month. For those unaware, Lively is from Bellefonte and is the son of Kathy Drysdale, who had a great career with the Lady Lions and currently works in Penn State's athletic department.
Penn State does not lead with Lively, let's make that clear. He's visited Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina so far, and was on campus with the Nittany Lions unofficially as well. But Lively does have an interest, maybe more interest than the staff was expecting.
The whole hometown hero narrative that would almost certainly follow him around should he choose Penn State is something that appeals to him. So, we'll see how that situation develops moving forward.
Transfers
Just a quick update here. Penn State is still open to adding one more transfer ahead of this upcoming season but it doesn't seem like they're particularly close and, frankly, they're not desperate to take a kid who might not be a fit for the sake of filling things out.
Where things stand
The rest of this update is just going to be a little bit of word salad about where things seem to be pointing after the June/July visit window.
Coming out of things, these are the four prospects to monitor most closely
All four of these guys were on campus for official visits this summer and will give Penn State serious consideration when they make their choice.
I was able to catch up with Karaban and Anthony (AJ) Brown following their visits this summer if you'd like to read what they had to say:
bwi.rivals.com
bwi.rivals.com
If Penn State doesn't add any more transfers this offseason, it will head into 2022-23 with between six and nine scholarships free, depending on who decides to use their fifth season of eligibility and who doesn't.
Penn State's working number for the Class of 2022 is five, with one of those being occupied by Kanye Clary, who is Penn State's only commit in that class so far. Obviously, they're not married to that number, but that's the benchmark.
Clary will be the only true point guard Penn State takes in this class. They're open to a combo guard, but he's their guy at the one.
A couple combo guards they're in contact with
This also feels like a good place to talk about Otega Oweh.
Otega is the brother of former Penn State DE Odafe (Jayson) Oweh, as some of you will know. He was on campus right at the beginning of June. Penn State feels good about him, he's not a lock just because of his brother. There's a FutureCast in for Penn State from one of our national guys here but I'm not ready to follow. He's a really private kid and he's not giving the staff much of a lean either way.
Moving down the line, let's talk about some forwards.
Penn State was in early on Cam Whitmore, who has blown way up on the AAU circuit this summer and now has an offer from UNC. Penn State thinks this is legitimately the best visit they've had all summer. The relationship here is great, but we'll see where that leads.
Christian Watson is another guy they like. He'll be on campus in the fall.
A couple more forwards on their radar:
Let's start with Dereck Lively.
The five-star center and No. 14 overall prospect in the '22 class included Penn State in his top 7 when he released it earlier this month. For those unaware, Lively is from Bellefonte and is the son of Kathy Drysdale, who had a great career with the Lady Lions and currently works in Penn State's athletic department.
Penn State does not lead with Lively, let's make that clear. He's visited Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina so far, and was on campus with the Nittany Lions unofficially as well. But Lively does have an interest, maybe more interest than the staff was expecting.
The whole hometown hero narrative that would almost certainly follow him around should he choose Penn State is something that appeals to him. So, we'll see how that situation develops moving forward.
Transfers
Just a quick update here. Penn State is still open to adding one more transfer ahead of this upcoming season but it doesn't seem like they're particularly close and, frankly, they're not desperate to take a kid who might not be a fit for the sake of filling things out.
Where things stand
The rest of this update is just going to be a little bit of word salad about where things seem to be pointing after the June/July visit window.
Coming out of things, these are the four prospects to monitor most closely
All four of these guys were on campus for official visits this summer and will give Penn State serious consideration when they make their choice.
I was able to catch up with Karaban and Anthony (AJ) Brown following their visits this summer if you'd like to read what they had to say:
NittanyNation - Hoops: Top-150 forward Alex Karaban breaks down Penn State official visit
Penn State welcomed 6-foot-8 forward Alex Karaban to Happy Valley early in the week for an official visit.
bwi.rivals.com
NittanyNation - Hoops recruiting: Guard AJ Brown breaks down Penn State official visit
Florida guard AJ Brown was on campus last week
bwi.rivals.com
If Penn State doesn't add any more transfers this offseason, it will head into 2022-23 with between six and nine scholarships free, depending on who decides to use their fifth season of eligibility and who doesn't.
Penn State's working number for the Class of 2022 is five, with one of those being occupied by Kanye Clary, who is Penn State's only commit in that class so far. Obviously, they're not married to that number, but that's the benchmark.
Clary will be the only true point guard Penn State takes in this class. They're open to a combo guard, but he's their guy at the one.
A couple combo guards they're in contact with
This also feels like a good place to talk about Otega Oweh.
Otega is the brother of former Penn State DE Odafe (Jayson) Oweh, as some of you will know. He was on campus right at the beginning of June. Penn State feels good about him, he's not a lock just because of his brother. There's a FutureCast in for Penn State from one of our national guys here but I'm not ready to follow. He's a really private kid and he's not giving the staff much of a lean either way.
Moving down the line, let's talk about some forwards.
Penn State was in early on Cam Whitmore, who has blown way up on the AAU circuit this summer and now has an offer from UNC. Penn State thinks this is legitimately the best visit they've had all summer. The relationship here is great, but we'll see where that leads.
Christian Watson is another guy they like. He'll be on campus in the fall.
A couple more forwards on their radar:
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