Dan Wiederer of the Fayetteville Observer writes, "remember the name Bradley Beal," a 6-3 177 lb. prospect from Chaminade Prep in St. Louis. ESPN ranks Beal #22 in the class of 2011 and the 6th best shooting guard. Says Wiederer, "This summer, the talented shooting guard has been one of the most impressive prospects on the recruiting trail. Beal already has scholarship offers from eight majors, including Kansas. Villanova and Kentucky are paying close attention."
Adam Zagoria provided several updates on Villanova recruits Kyle Irving, Tony Wroten, Achraf Yacoubou, and Corey Joseph. He says, "Kyrie Irving, the 6-foot-1 point guard out of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2010 by Rivals, announced that he had cut his list of potential colleges to six." Villanova did not make the cut, but Seton Hall and UConn are still in the hunt.
Tony Wroten, the 6-foot-5, 206-pound PG from Renton, WA (ESPN ranked #5 overall / #2 PG in Class of 2011), says Villanova and Syracuse are his top two favorites. Of Villanova, he says he likes their “guard play; they get after it.” ESPN says “[Wroten] is physically over-powering at this level and can explode into the paint at will, but he is going to have to become a more consistent threat from the perimeter in order for his game to translate at the higher levels.”
Achraf Yacoubou, a 6-4, 200-pound 2011 shooting guard out of Long Island Lutheran (ESPN #30 overall; #11 SG), says “My top three [are] UConn, Villanova and Kentucky.” He said he plans to visit Kentucky and also plans to see UConn and Villanova again. Zags says he “saw Yacoubou drop in 23 points on Villa nova’s Dominic Cheek in a game that also featured Tobias Harris, Devon Collier and Derrick Williams.” Zags says that “Yacobou was the best player on the floor.”
Looking at the Class of 2010, Corey Joseph from Findlay College Prep, visits Villanova today according to Zags and IBB&W. ESPN ranks him #30 overall in the Class of 2010, and the #6 PG. Says ESPN, “He plays with a great feel and pace using his court vision to pick apart the defense … can attack effectively going either direction … consistently buries open shots and has a good mid-range game…plays very unselfishly … can take over a game at any time.”