STATE COLLEGE — The Penn State men’s basketball team has experienced a bit of a resurgence on the recruiting trail under new coach Micah Shrewsberry. Class of 2022 commitments Jameel Brown and Kebba Njie are two of the Nittany Lions’ highest-rated pledges of the rankings era.
On Monday, Penn State has a chance — albeit a slim one — to add its best recruit ever.
Westtown center Dereck Lively II will announce his college decision 6 p.m. Monday, and the five-star listed Penn State among his top seven schools next to North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Florida State, Southern California and Michigan.
Read more: Penn State men’s basketball: 4-star center commits to Micah Shrewsberry’s Nittany Lions
Lively has been one of the highest-profile risers in the Class of 2022. A year ago at this time, he was a top-40 recruit. Now, the 7-foot-1, 220-pounder is the No. 2 overall recruit in his class in the 247Sports composite rankings. Given his profile, it’s hard to see Penn State beating out the other six schools on Lively’s list.
But there’s at least one strong connection between Lively and Penn State. Lively is from nearby Bellefonte, and Lively’s mother, Kathy Drysdale, played basketball for the Lions in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Drysdale scored more than 1,000 points in her Penn State career, and she currently works as a director of marketing for Penn State athletic department.
Lively took an unofficial visit to Penn State in June before announcing the Nittany Lions were in his top seven.
Lively played for Team Final on the AAU circuit this summer, where he was teammates with five-stars Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren, both of whom reclassified to the Class of 2021 before signing with Memphis. Lively was also teammates with Brown, a three-star guard who committed to Penn State earlier this summer.
Read more: Penn State football recruiting: 3-star cornerback commits to Nittany Lions during Whiteout
Previously, former Penn State standouts Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens were the program’s highest-rated commitments in the rankings era. Carr was a four-star recruit and the No. 51 player in the Class of 2016, while Stevens was also a four-star recruit and the No. 98 player in the class.
Penn State’s Class of 2022 currently ranks No. 18 nationally after Njie, a four-star center, announced his commitment Saturday. Blair Academy (N.J.) four-star Otega Oweh, another Team Final player with Penn State connections, is slated to announce his decision Friday.
Earlier this year, three-star forward Evan Mahaffey and three-star guard Kanye Clary announced their commitments as Shrewsberry constructs his first class at Penn State.
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Penn State coverage on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
"lively" - Google News
September 20, 2021 at 07:07PM
https://ift.tt/3hRI5KB
Penn State men’s basketball recruiting: Five-star Dereck Lively II lists Nittany Lions among top schools ahea - PennLive
"lively" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35lls9S
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Penn State men’s basketball recruiting: Five-star Dereck Lively II lists Nittany Lions among top schools ahea - PennLive"
Post a Comment