Get schooled.
ChicagoHoops.com reports Dan Monckton of Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, IL, has given a verbal commitment to Penn. The article states that the 6-6 wing chose the Quakers over offers from Brown, Princeton, and Eastern Illinois. He was a teammate of Columbia freshman Kevin Bulger last season on a team that went 24-5. Also a talented wide receiver on the football team, Monckton is extremely athletic and plays above the rim.
James Jones is racking up the early commitments, as High Hoops is reporting that Mike Sands of Carey High School in Franklin Square, NY, has verballed to Yale. According to a July article on Scout.com, the 6-6 forward also had received early interest from Columbia, Quinnipiac, Hofstra, St. Peter’s, St. Francis (NY), and Fordham, though in the end his options reportedly came down to Lafayette, Quinnipiac, Princeton, Siena, and Yale. Following a junior season in which he averaged 21 points and 13 rebounds, Sands becomes the third Long Island prep star to commit to an Ivy League program this year.
ChicagoHoops.com is reporting that Garrett Leffelman of St. Joseph High School in Westchester, IL, has committed verbally to Brown. Leffelman previously was reported to have attracted the interest of Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale, and high-academic Division III schools Oberlin and the University of Chicago. The 6-4 wing joins high school teammates Demetri McCarney (Illinois) and Evan Turner (Ohio State) as Division I commitments. St. Joseph went 27-2 last season and is one of the top contenders for the Class AA title this season.
In response to media reports — including an article by Basketball U. — that sophomore Geoff Kestler is no longer with the Princeton varsity program, the school issued a “roster clarification” that claims:
“Contrary to erroneous media and online reports, sophomore Geoff Kestler has not left the Princeton basketball program. He continues to suffer from an injury that is currently not allowing him to play basketball.”
Scout.com reports that Garrett Fiddler of Doherty High School in Colorado Springs, CO, has made a verbal commitment to James Jones’s Yale program. Though listed as a Penn and Princeton target early on, Fiddler’s other options reportedly came down to Denver, Portland, and Southern Methodist. The scouting report on the 6-9 center pegs him as first and foremost a defensive specialist and rebounder, though Scout.com’s articles offer up conflicting scoring averages from his junior season, when he was named Honorable Mention All-State in Colorado.