Tag: Jalen Washington

Dick Vitale has high praise for UNC basketball program

The UNC Basketball program is the top team in the country going into the 2022-23 season according to ESPN’s Dick Vitale.

With the NBA withdrawal deadline officially passed, it’s time to update the early preseason rankings for the 2022-23 season. ESPN’s Dick Vitale published the latest version of his dazzling dozen, spotlighting the top 12 teams as it stands right now.

And sitting right at the top are the North Carolina Tar Heels.

UNC takes the top spot again in Vitale’s updated rankings, holding serve from the previous version. The Tar Heels beat out Kentucky (No. 2), Arkansas (No. 3), Houston (No. 4), and Gonzaga (No. 5) for the top spot.

Here is what Vitale had to say about UNC in his latest rankings ahead of the new season:

It’s great to have an All-American in Armando Bacot returning up front. Having Caleb Love, Leaky Black and R.J. Davis provides continuity and experience. The Tar Heels also bring in 6-9 recruit Jalen Washington and point guard Seth Trimble, providing lots of depth. Hubert Davis has a reason to smile and the Heels may add another transfer. They tried to get Matthew Mayer from Baylor but fell short. Look for bigger things from Puff Johnson.

While Vitale notes the usual suspects he also mentions [autotag]Puff Johnson[/autotag] and to expect big things from him going into the season. The Tar Heels have an open spot in their starting rotation after missing out on Matthew Mayer and if Johnson can fill it and improve, UNC could be even better.

We should also keep an eye on the recruiting class and especially Seth Trimble who is really elevating his game. [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] and Tyler [autotag]Nickel[/autotag] will join him while Will Shaver has already been on campus.

UNC commit Tyler Nickel earns big honor for senior season

UNC basketball recruit Tyler Nickel earned a big honor to wrap up his high school career in the state of Virginia.

The 2022 recruiting class for the UNC basketball program is the first true class for head coach Hubert Davis and his staff. The four-man class, including early enrollee Will Shaver, is set to be here this Summer and is considered a top 20 class per the recruiting rankings.

While [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] and [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] lead the way in terms of rankings, one player continues to fly under the radar.

Four-star forward [autotag]Tyler Nickel[/autotag] put together a historic final season in the state of Virginia, breaking the state’s all-time scoring record. And for his play in his final season, he’s earning another honor.

Nickel was named the 2021-22 Daily News-Record All-Valley Boys Basketball Player of the Year. The honor is a big one for Nickel before he gets on UNC’s campus, and caps off an awesome final high school season.

The forward averaged 34.7 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game for East Rockingham.

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Dick Vitale thinks highly of UNC going into 2022-23 season

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has the UNC Basketball program as his number one team for the 2023 season in his early elite eight.

We are still months away from the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season but already the UNC basketball program is receiving praise by national analysts. The latest is ESPN’s Dick Vitale who put out his top teams for his “Elite Eight” going into next season.

And right there at the top stand the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Vitale listed Hubert Davis’ team No. 1 in the rankings beating out No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 Gonzaga. Here is what Vitale had to say about the Tar Heels’ squad for next season with some decisions from players still pending:

Hubert Davis was 20 minutes away from the national title as his Tar Heels had a 15-point halftime lead on Kansas. Carolina will learn from that. Davis was thrilled when [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] and [autotag]Leaky Black[/autotag] announced their plans to return to Chapel Hill. The success of the upcoming season will depend on the status of [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag] and [autotag]R.J. Davis[/autotag], who are determining their futures. The Tar Heels also welcome 6-9 recruit [autotag]Jalen Washington[/autotag] and point guard [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag].

As it stands right now, UNC is set to return starters Armando Bacot and Leaky Black while guard R.J. Davis is also likely coming back. The biggest decision left is Caleb Love who should announce his decision any day now.

The Tar Heels will have to replace Brady Manek but do return key players like Puff Johnson who got good minutes down the stretch last season. Plus, they welcome in a very talented recruiting class headlined by Seth Trimble.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Notre Dame gives offer to power forward recruit Jalen Washington

The Irish could use some size in the future.

When Anthony Solomon returned to Mike Brey’s staff, it was fair to wonder how soon he would pay dividends. While we don’t know yet as far as landing recruits, we now know as far as presenting offers to them. Jalen Washington, a power forward going into his senior season at West Side in Gary, Indiana, can add Notre Dame to the list of offers he’s already gotten. He credited both Brey and Solomon for their interest in him:

Washington has received over a dozen offers so far. The schools he’s mostly trending towards are North Carolina, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, Stanford and Alabama. He visited the Tar Heels on June 2 and is scheduled to meet with the Cardinal on Saturday. The other schools in the mix are Louisville, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland, DePaul and Oklahoma.

The Irish really need some depth with their size, and Washington would fit the bill perfectly.

Michigan State Basketball conducting calls with top-20 2022 PF Jalen Washington

Michigan State Basketball has made an offer to top-20 2022 PF Jalen Washington out of Gary, IN. Check out some details on this prospect.

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Michigan State Basketball’s recruiting efforts have been stellar lately. According to Endless Motor Sports, Spartans have conducted calls over the last week with 2022 5-star PF Jalen Washington. Note, this comes after MSU has already been in contact with Washington.

Jalen Washington stands at 6-foot-8 and currently weighs 200-pounds. He hails from Gary, IN, where he currently plays for West Side High School. According to 247Sports Composite Rankings, Washington is the No. 18 prospect in his class, the No. 4 Power Forward in his class, and the No. 1 prospect in all of Indiana.

This previous week, he has also been in contact with Alabama, Purdue, Indiana, South Carolina, and Tulsa.

You can check out some highlights here.

Right now, Washington’s other offers come from Illinois, Xavier, Duke, Louisville, and Iowa.

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Michigan State Basketball ‘in touch’ with 2022 5-star PF Jalen Washington

Michigan State is reportedly in touch with a major recruiting prospect in 5-star power forward Jalen Washington.

Michigan State Basketball fans have had a lot to be excited about lately as Tom Izzo has had probably the most impressive week and a half in program history, landing the commitment of two 5-star recruits in Emoni Bates and Max Christie, but it looks like the positive developments are going to keep rolling in. On Wednesday, it was reported that the Spartans are now also ‘in touch’ with 2022 5-star power forward Jalen Washington from Gary, Indiana.

I first saw this reported by EndlessMotor.net.

As Washington is from the midwest, it’s not shocking to see three Big Ten school in the mix for his recruiting (Purdue, Michigan, MSU), but the recent additions of Bates and Christie certainly make Michigan State the most attractive option of that group, one would think. It’s unclear at this point if either Christie or Bates will be with the team in 2022 but there is a possibility that both will in East Lansing for the 2022 season which should make MSU a fairly attractive, high-profile destination.

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