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With the early period for high school basketball players to sign their National Letter of Intent closing this evening, let's revisit our TCU basketball recruiting board and update where the Frogs stand with a handful of different recruits.
The only prospect to sign with TCU during the early period was four-star guard Josh Parrish out of Seguin High School in Arlington. The younger brother of current TCU guard Brandon Parrish, Josh will come to TCU next fall ranked the 15th best player in the State of Texas by 247 Sports. He also checks in at #149 nationally on the Rivals Top 150 list. The 6'5" senior was named first-team all-District 14-5A after averaging 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game during his junior campaign. Parrish had been near the top of Trent Johnson's wish list for some time and is no doubt a significant pickup for the Frogs. He chose to attend TCU over Arkansas, SMU, VCU, Fresno State, and Rice.
Since our last update, several top TCU targets have either signed or committed to play for other programs:
- Junior college transfer PG Darrion Strong* committed to Oklahoma
- Four-star 2016 PG Eric Hester* (Olsamar, FL) signed with Florida
- Four-star 2016 C Schnider Herard* (Plano, TX) signed with Mississippi State
- Three-star 2016 PG Justice Kithcart* (Durham, NC) signed with Pittsburgh
- Three-star 2016 PG Shawn Williams* (Little Rock, AR) signed with Texas
- Three-star 2016 SF Travis Atson (South Kent, CT) signed with Tulsa
- Two-star 2016 PG Jalon Gates (Schertz, TX) committed to Houston Baptist
- Two-star 2016 SG Brandon Armstrong (Converse, TX) signed with South Dakota
- Two-star 2016 SG J.C. Younger (Metarie, LA) committed to Louisiana-Lafayette
- Two-star 2016 PF Gilbert Thomas (Houston, TX) committed to Murray State
- Two-star 2016 PF Karthic Reddy (San Antonio, TX) committed to Columbia
- Two-star 2017 PF Tristan Clark (Converse, TX) signed with Baylor
(asterisk denotes players who received scholarship offers from TCU)
The next signing period for men's basketball will begin on April 13, 2016 and run until May 18, 2016. As TCU is expected to have at least two additional scholarships to use during that signing period, let's take a look at the prospects still available on TCU's recruiting board.
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Transfers
Trent Johnson has utilized transfers several times during his tenure at TCU in order to build depth on his rosters. Most recently, Trey Zeigler, Chris Washburn, and Kenrich Williams have joined the Frogs after transferring in from other programs.
Point Guards
Alex Robinson
Height: 6'1" Weight: 176
Hometown: Arlington, TX Former School: Texas A&M
Status: Seeking Transfer
Admittedly, this is a bit of a hunch on my part. Texas A&M announced on Monday evening that Robinson would be seeking a transfer away from the school. Rumors swirled that Robinson was upset over a perceived lack of playing time. He appeared in 32 games for the Aggies a year ago where he averaged 5.2 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.3 rebounds. Common sense would lead one to believe that Robinson would at least consider making a move to Fort Worth to use his remaining three years of eligibility. He was ranked the 63rd on the ESPN Top 100 for the Class of 2014 and was heavily recruited by Trent Johnson out of Timberview High School in Arlington. Before choosing Texas A&M, Robinson had TCU in his final six alongside Memphis, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, and Florida State.
2016 Recruiting Class
TCU's recruiting board for the Class of 2016 looks a bit thinner than it did during our last update, mainly as the result of many top prospects either signing or committing to other programs prior to beginning their senior high school seasons. However, the Frogs are still holding out hope on a handful of prospects, including five-star center Marques Bolden.
Point Guards
Mike Bibby, Jr.
Height: 6'3" Weight: 175
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ High School: Shadow Mountain High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
The son of legendary University of Arizona and NBA journeyman Mike Bibby has already captured a State Championship with Shadow Mountain. The younger Bibby has received offers from Florida State, Gonzaga, Memphis, Oregon, Oregon State, and USC, in addition to TCU. He is listed as a four-star recruit by ESPN and a three-star recruit by Scout.
Shooting Guards
Andrew Jones
Height: 6'4" Weight: 180
Hometown: Irving, TX High School: MacArthur High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Andrew Jones is one of the new additions to the TCU recruiting board since our last update. Trent Johnson offered Jones a scholarship over the summer, pushing his total number of offers to 24, including 10 from inside the State of Texas. Jones is a four-star recruit according to 247 Sports and ESPN.
Shooting Forwards
Josh Parrish
Height: 6'5" Weight: 190
Hometown: Arlington, TX High School: Seguin High School
Status: Signed
As was mentioned previously, Josh Parrish has signed his National Letter of Intent to play for TCU in 2016.
Power Forwards
Nolan Taylor
Height: 6'7" Weight: 235
Hometown: Keller, TX High School: Keller High School
Status: Target
Taylor is a two-star forward that has received attention from a handful of schools including TCU, Clemson, Rice, Richmond, UT-Arlington, and others. He has yet to receive an official scholarship from TCU.
Centers
Marques Bolden
Height: 6'10" Weight: 236
Hometown: DeSoto, TX High School: DeSoto High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Bolden is a prized recruit from DeSoto. He is listed as a five-star prospect by Scout and a four-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN. He recently trimmed his list of finalists to seven: Alabama, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, TCU, and Wake Forest. With Bolden's hometown so close to TCU, it wouldn't be surprising to see the big man make an unofficial visit to Fort Worth. From there, it will be up to Trent Johnson to work his magic.
Jordy Tshimanga
Height: 6'10" Weight: 230
Hometown: Granby, MA High School: MacDuffie School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Jordy Tshimanga is a four-star recruit that has received offers from Boston College, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, and TCU. While it is believed that Tshimanga is leaning toward Boston College, don't count out Trent Johnson's ability to work with big men.
2017 Recruiting Class
The high school Class of 2017 still has two years before advancing to college. Many players in this class are being monitored by universities, and it is not unusual at this stage for a highly-touted player to only have a handful of scholarship offers. It is clear just by looking at TCU's recruiting board that point guards are a major point of emphasis for Trent Johnson in the Class of 2017.
Point Guards
R.J. Nembhard
Height: 6'3" Weight: 170
Hometown: Keller, TX High School: Keller High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
R.J. Nembhard is big prospect out of Keller High School that Trent Johnson and his staff are monitoring. The junior point guard has received offers from New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Creighton, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, and TCU. Nembhard is a four-star recruit according to Rivals.
C.J. Roberts
Height: 6'1" Weight: 165
Hometown: Richland Hills, TX High School: Richland High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
C.J. Roberts is a four-star point guard playing right in TCU's backyard. The junior at Richland High School has received offers from Alabama, Illinois, LSU, SMU, Virginia Tech, Baylor, Kansas State, Purdue, UT-Arlington, Wichita State, and TCU.
Trae Young
Height: 6'1" Weight: 170
Hometown: Norman, OK High School: Norman North High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Trae Young, a four-star guard out of Oklahoma, recently received a scholarship offer from TCU, pushing his total to 27. Young took an unofficial visit to TCU in late 2014. A handful of elite programs are monitoring Young, such as Michigan, Kentucky, Duke, Florida, Arizona, UCLA, Virginia, and Kansas.
Jay Jay Chandler
Height: 6'4" Weight: 171
Hometown: Katy, TX High School: Cinco Ranch High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Jay Jay Chandler is also a fairly new addition to TCU's radar. The four-star guard has received 32 offers from all over the nation, including the likes of Kenucky, Alabama, Oklahoma, SMU, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas. Chandler had an in-home visit with TCU coaches on October 8 of this year before taking an unofficial visit on October 25.
Jade' Smith
Height: 6'2" Weight: 162
Hometown: Oakland, CA High School: St. Joseph Notre Dame High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Jade' Smith is believed to be a newer addition to TCU's recruiting board. The three-star guard out of California has received a ton of offers from his home state, including San Diego State, California, USC, San Jose State, and Saint Mary's.
Nate Pierre-Louis
Height: 6'3" Weight: 170
Hometown: Jersey City, NJ High School: St. Benedict's Preparatory School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Nate Pierre-Louis is a prospect that Trent Johnson and his staff have been monitoring for quite some time. Pierre-Louis has received 19 total scholarship offers and is believed to be leaning heavily toward Connecticut.
Kaleb Fitzgerald
Height: 6'0" Weight: 180
Hometown: Palm Beach, FL High School: Cardinal Newman High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Kaleb Fitzgerald has received scholarship offers from Chattanooga, Virginia Tech, San Francisco, North Carolina - Greensboro, and TCU. The point guard is listed as a two-star recruit.
Shooting Guards
Greg Floyd, Jr.
Height: 6'8" Weight: 195
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV High School: Desert Pines High School
Status: Scholarship Offered
Trent Johnson and his staff are keeping an eye on Greg Floyd, Jr. The four-star shooting guard has received 24 offers, including one from TCU, but has yet to narrow his list since he is so early in the recruiting process.
Power Forwards
Billy Preston
Height: 6'8" Weight: 220
Hometown: Dallas, TX High School: Prime U (Formerly Prime Prep Academy)
Status: Target
Billy Preston is a five-star recruit out of Prime U in Dallas, the same institution formerly known as the Prime Prep Academy where Karviar Shepherd attended before coming to TCU. Preston has received offers from Kansas, Maryland, SMU, UCLA, Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, and others.
Xavier Tillman
Height: 6'8" Weight: 230
Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI High School: Forest Hills Central High School
Status: Target
Xavier Tillman has only received two offers - Kentucky and Purdue - however, he is being watched closely by a dozen other programs, including TCU. Tillman is listed as a four-star recruit by 247 Sports.
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As the high school and college basketball seasons proceed full steam ahead, it is likely that we will see more and more recruits, especially from the Class of 2016, announce their destinations in the coming weeks and months. With a lot to be optimistic about surrounding the TCU basketball program, stay tuned for updates.