2012 official visit this weekend. One of the very best 2013 guards in the country setting up an unofficial. Maybe recruiting isn't that frustrating, after all...
-- One of the few remaining prospects in the 2012 recruiting class will take his official visit this weekend. Demarquise Johnson, the talented small forward from Westwind Prep Academy in Arizona, has already visiting Washington State and is still considering Washington and UNLV in addition to the Zags.
Johnson has been on the Bulldogs' radar for quite some time now and, to his credit, he is one of the lone remaining summer targets that have kept the staff's interest. Others like Skylar Spencer, Richard Longrus, Tyrone Wallace, etc have come and gone. Demarquise's skill set is particularly interesting to the staff becauses he is a long, athletic wing, that can score in variety of ways which, to be honest, is something the Bulldogs are lacking at this point. Que would be a very welcome addition as Marquise Carter departs after this season. The other official visit that has been lined up is Chris Reyes on October 7th. Reyes has shot up the recruiting boards over the past few summer months and will decide between Gonzaga, Boston College, St. Mary's, and UC-Santa Barbara. For those looking for depth in the paint, Reyes would seemingly supply that as he stands at 6'8'' and is a lanky prospect with nice touch around the hoop.
-- If you are wondering who is going to be the Gary Bell Jr. type prospect for the staff in 2013...I'd wager that Zach Lavine is a soiid early candidate. Lavine, by most accounts, is the top point guard on the west cost in the 2013 cycle and is in the running for top point guard in the entire nation. The 6'1'' point guard has been offered by Texas, Washington, Cal, Baylor, in addition to the Zags and others. In August, Lavine named UCLA as his leader but in this morning's Scout.com Recruiting Report, this little piece of information was passed along:
* 2013 guard Zach Lavine has backed off his claims of a leader.
"All the schools are pretty even to me right now," Lavine said.
Lavine says that Washington, Gonzaga, Washington State and Oregon State have been by to see him since the Evaluation Period began and he's working on an unofficial visit to Gonzaga.
A week ago, Dave Telep reported that Mark Few was checking in on Zach on the first first day of the September contact period and that has apparently paid off. Similar to Bell Jr., it is going to take Mark Few being there early and often throughout Lavine's recruitment to land the talented point guard. Much, much more to come on Lavine.
-- Lastly, Gonzaga's schedule continues to evolve as the Bulldogs will play Hawaii on November 19th. Will mentioned on September 8th that Hawaii was one of the few schools still looking for a game as well so it appears the Basketball Travelers message board has linked these two programs up. Also added to the annual "Does that school really exist, let's demolish them on senior night" game is the Longwood Lancers.