Smith turns to junior colleges
But landing top talent can be tricky
Once he didn’t qualify academically out of high school, and once it was clear his Division-I basketball dreams would include a detour to a junior college in Georgia, Raynere Thornton decided to tune everything out. Be it praise for his development on the court or doubters that questioned whether his time at Gordon State would lead to anything more, the 6foot-7 forward just kept focusing on improving himself.
This philosophy seemed to be working out just fine for Thornton until a few weeks ago, when everything he had hoped for started to become reality.
“Schools are just hitting me up out the blue. They coming out the woodwork,” he said Friday. “Coming out of high school, I didn’t have one Division-I offer.”
Thornton is one of several junior college prospects Memphis Coach Tubby Smith and assistant coach Joe Esposito are pursuing during college basketball’s late signing period, which begins on April 12. The hope is it will help buttress the Tigers’ 2017-18 roster with three open scholarships and the return of veterans such as sophomore Dedric Lawson, redshirt freshman K.J. Lawson and redshirt junior Markel Crawford uncertain.
Smith said earlier this week at a news conference wrapping up his first season that he’s focusing on the junior college ranks because “we need some guys that are physically ready.”
But many of the Tigers’ options, less than two years removed from largely being overlooked during their initial recruitment out of high school, have become coveted commodities for programs trying to grab a late addition, whether it be because of graduation or transfers. This rush of attention can also lead to hasty decisions.
With just two years of eligibility remaining, “you can’t make a mistake with who you sign [with] because you don’t have time to transfer and go to another school,” Gordon State Coach Bruce Capers said.
Thornton (No. 48 in the Jucorecruiting.com top 100) blossomed into a triple-double threat at Gordon State and is scheduled to take an official visit to Memphis on April 14.
“Coming out of high school, I was a solid big man,” Thornton said. “I could dribble, but my coach wouldn’t let me dribble. I could shoot it, but my coach wouldn’t let me shoot it. But now I can literally play the one through the five.”
Los Angeles native Ron Freeman, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward who played for a year at Kansas State before spending this past season at Northwest Florida State College, also plans on visiting Memphis in the coming weeks. But Thornton and Freeman are also considering power five schools such as Kansas State, Iowa State and Nebraska, underscoring how volatile the junior college market can be now that the season is over for most Division-I teams.
Point guard Chris Darrington of Vincennes Junior College in Indiana (No. 13), perhaps the biggest junior college target Memphis is pursuing, is proof of this. The Toledo, Ohio native averaged a team-high 20.7 points and 5.1 assists while shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range this past season, which also included a 40-point game in December.
Once-forgotten on the high school recruiting trail, Darrington recently picked up scholarship offers from Tennessee, Seton Hall, Nebraska and Colorado. His mentor and childhood coach, Ketaan Wyatt, noted that Memphis “has a great shot” at getting Darrington because of their relationship with Smith. But he’s also waiting to see what other top point guards around the country because he’s now one of the top-rated uncommitted recruits left.
“Chris was an NAIA guy out of high school. They projected him as that,” Wyatt said. “He never was that to himself or myself, but that kind of fuels the fire. It gives you a little extra incentive to go a little harder and be one of those guys that has the higher level schools contacting him. It’s a roller coaster, but we enjoy it.”
Typically, the most talented prospects end up at a junior college for academic reasons and 6-foot-8 stretch forward Kyvon Davenport (No. 19) of Georgia Highlands College was no different. But despite scoring more than 1,000 points and setting a school record for rebounds in high school, he needed to develop his body and shot more.
Two years later, armed with an extra 22 pounds on his 205-pound frame and a reliable outside jumper, his versatility during a 27point, 12-rebound performance on March 11 impressed Smith enough to offer a scholarship. Davenport lists Memphis among his top five schools at the moment and will determine if he’ll visit campus soon. Like Thornton, he’s grateful for the junior college experience, and not just because he’s now sifting through a bevy of potential suitors.
“I’m actually glad I went here because I wouldn’t have been the same person I am now,” Davenport said. “It’s always good to get offered by the head coach.” One game is often all it can take. Freeman left Kansas State a year ago after hardly playing and elected to go to junior college because he didn’t want to miss out on another season. He didn’t want to wait, only to realize his time at Northwest Florida State would test his patience like never before.
For months, the 6-foot-5 guard toiled in relative anonymity in Niceville, Fla, usually coming off the bench in games. Few schools seemed to be paying attention. It was a process, Freeman admitted, until it all changed 10 days ago in Hutchinson, Kansas.
That’s where the National Junior College Athletic Association holds its version of March Madness and Freeman scored 19 points in 17 minutes in front of a bevy of Division-I coaches, including Smith. Within hours, the Tigers and several other schools called Freeman to offer a scholarship.
“Once you get to the [Hutchinson] tournament and show you can play well in those big games and do well in those big games,” Freeman said earlier this week, “that proves you can play at whatever level.”