There is Actually More Than One High School in Kentucky

JMU recuit, Kenyan Pittman

Last week I posted a brief update on the JMU basketball recruits who were expected to sign letters of intent. Fortunately, the two players I said were expected to sign, did sign. Kenyan Pittman and Arman Marks both officially committed to play for Coach Brady this week. Unfortunately, I also wrote that Marks played at the same high school as current JMU Duke Chad Jackson. That’s not true exactly. And by exactly, I mean not at all.  It’s 100% wrong. They’re not even from the same town. Jackson played for Scott County High School in Georgetown, Kentucky and Marks played for Eastern High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Another Scott County players is rumored to be getting some looks from Coach Brady, but that’s really no excuse. It was just a stupid lazy mistake on my part.

Where a recruit played his high school basketball is generally rather insignificant. Unless of course the recruit’s high school was crucial to the point being made in at  blog post. Which it was in this case. Awesome. I was trying to put a positive spin on this class, by arguing that Brady’s ability to recruit high school teammates and friends of current players, was a sign that guys bought into the system. That argument seems a little week now, considering the key piece of evidence was completely incorrect and all. And considering rumors are swirling that Chad Jackson is homesick and possibly transferring, that entire blog post is pretty much crap.

You’d think I’d learn after having to make multiple corrections to posts about last year’s posts about basketball recruiting. I clearly didn’t though. Maybe next year I will. Here’s what we do know though. The Dukes have signed 3 players, Enoch Hood, Arman Marks, and Kenyan Pittman. Hood and Pittman are big men, who are expected to add frontcourt depth. They have athleticism but need to put on some weight and develop their offensive games. Marks is a left handed jump-shooter who made more 3 pointers than anyone else on his high school team. I have no clue how many 3 pointers he took however. None of the recruits seem likely to come in and dominate offensively, but all are reported to outstanding attitudes and a willingness to do the little things. JMU didn’t lack scoring options last season. They did at times lack players who could rebound, run the court, and play defense though. So it’s tough to judge without seeing these guys play, but I’m going to focus on the positive and hope that they can address some of the Dukes needs next year and develop into real threats in a few years.