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Recruiting Season Begins: Josh Perkins Set To Visit Gonzaga

The AAU season is underway and the Zags staff is looking to lock down a huge 2014 class...

By Zach Bell
USA TODAY Sports

Now that Kelly Olynyk has made his decision and will enter the NBA Draft, it is time to focus our full attention on those who will be donning Gonzaga uniforms next season and in the future. There are a few big things going on at the moment, the first of which is transfer season. As we discussed last week, UNLV transfer Mike Moser has risen to the forefront. The Bulldogs are in desperate need of frontcourt help for next season and Moser would fit the bill. He is scheduled to visit Gonzaga this coming weekend and then he'll make his choice. The other main contenders for his services are Oregon and that purple school out west.

What stole my attention this past weekend, however, was the unofficial start of the AAU season. With thousands of high school kids scattered across the country looking to attract the attention of a few college coaches, there is a whole lot of information to sort through. With that, let's take a look at some of the big themes from the weekend.

Josh Perkins To Visit Gonzaga

The biggest news of the weekend revolves around the five-star guard from Aurora, CO. Perkins was at the Pangos AAU event this weekend and...well...he drew some rave reviews.

Then this...

The last piece of that tweet is obviously most important. To get a visit from Perkins in May is huge. The multi-talented guard from Colorado has seen his stock blow up over the past few months and it is sure to get even crazier for him as he hits the AAU circuit. Jerry Meyer of 247 said that Perkins is one of the best passers he has seen in recent memory. As we have said in the past, at this point, Perkins is a more athletic version of Matt Bouldin. Incredible vision, fantastic offensive skill set, and a knack for bringing out the best in those around him. If Mark Few can somehow land him on the upcoming official visit, we could be looking at the start of a truly special class.

Zags Hard After Jordan McLaughlin

One guy that we have had a harder time getting a read on throughout the recruiting process is Jordan McLaughlin from Etiwanda, California. Like Perkins, McLaughlin is a five-star guard who continues to dazzle those who see him play. Jordan is more of a pure point guard than Perkins at this point and the Zags appear to be in contention for his signature. Per a recent article on Scout.com:

"UCLA, San Diego State, USC and Gonzaga came out (to his school over the past few weeks)," said McLaughlin. "I'm going to have in-home visits with UCLA and Gonzaga."

When asked if he has a feel for which programs have been recruiting him the hardest, McLaughlin replied, "UCLA, San Diego State, Gonzaga and USC."

We'll work to get more on McLaughlin over the next few weeks but it is very exciting that the staff continues to chop wood with him as he is such a special talent down in California.

New Offer Out In The 2014 Class

While guys like Josh Perkins have been on the staff's list for quite some time, you can rest assured that new prospects will seemingly pop up every weekend.

One of the more intriguing names to pop up this weekend was Trey Kell. Kell, who has been somewhat under the radar up until this point, really made a name for himself this weekend and received a verbal offer from the staff. We will see if an official visit comes next. Kell is from the San Diego area and holds a San Diego State offer as well as a few others. Joe Francisco of ESPN in particular raved about Trey:

As always, we will keep you up to date on all future developments...

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