|
Villanova pulled off an impressive recruiting coup on Tuesday evening, beating Kansas for top-40 prospect Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. Robinson-Earl chose the Wildcats over a final five that included Kansas, Arizona, Notre Dame and North Carolina. He officially visited all five schools over the past two months. For most of Robinson-Earl's recruitment, it was thought to be a battle between Kansas and North Carolina. Robinson-Earl is from Kansas, and his father, Lester, played for Roy Williams at Kansas -- and the Jayhawks and Williams appeared to be the two main parties vying for his commitment. However, over the past few weeks, Villanova made a strong push for Robinson-Earl as North Carolina faded. Ultimately, the Wildcats overtook Kansas in recent days. A 6-foot-9 power forward now playing at IMG Academy (Florida), Robinson-Earl is ranked No. 38 in the ESPN 100 for the class of 2019. He slots in as the No. 9 power forward in the country. He led the Under Armour Association circuit in rebounding last spring and summer, grabbing 11.4 per game, and finished in the top 10 on the circuit in points (19.5 PPG), field goal percentage (54.6 percent) and blocks (2.1 BPG). Villanova coach Jay Wright now has four ESPN 100 commitments in his 2019 class, with Robinson-Earl joining five-star shooting guard Bryan Antoine (No. 12) and four-star prospects Justin Moore (No. 48) and Eric Dixon (No. 68). Villanova has eight freshmen or sophomores on this year's roster, giving Wright a deep nucleus for the 2019-20 season.
|
