ACC plays catch-up in hoops recruiting

With summer recruiting about to heat up, basketball coaches at ACC schools have a lot of work to do.
Five of the top 11 players on scout.com’s top 100 list for the Class of 2010 have committed to schools. None is headed to the ACC. Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas have chosen Ohio State, Tristan Thompson picked Texas, Jeremy Richmond chose Illinois and Perry Jones picked Baylor (insert Dwon Clifton joke here).
The top ACC commitment is from Kinston wing Reggie Bullock, who’s rated No. 14 and committed to North Carolina. Duke also has a top-20 commitment in guard Andre Dawkins of Virginia Beach, Va., who’s at No. 18.
Scout.com’s No. 12-rated prospect, Raleigh Word of God Christian Academy forward C.J. Leslie, recently withdrew his commitment from N.C. State, though he’s still considering the Wolfpack.
The good news for the ACC is that it already has commitments from three top-50 point guards – Kendall Marshall of Arlington, Va. (North Carolina), Ian Miller of Charlotte (Florida State) and Ryan Harrow of Marietta, Ga. (N.C. State).
And there still is plenty of high-level uncommitted talent out there for the ACC to chase. The list is led by forward Harrison Barnes of Ames, Iowa, who is the top-rated player in the nation and still is considering Duke and North Carolina.
But there’s no doubt that the ACC has some catching up to do after several early commitments after the Big Ten and Big 12 got out to a fast start among the elite prospects for 2010. – Ken Tysiac