Until yesterday, CJ Leslie, as the highest rated uncommitted player left in the 2010 HS Recruiting Class, held the power to transform the collegiate landscape by lending his immense talents as a ball player to three schools, namely Kentucky, UConn, and NC State. In a decision which was to be announced on Friday at a press conference, Leslie apparently just couldn’t wait, and officially declared himself to play for coach Sydney Lowe(for the 2nd time) at NC State for the ’10-’11 season.
NC State was considered having the 3rd best chance of landing the talented 6’9 205 lb forward, especially after Leslie originally committed to play for his hometown collegiate team, but re-opened his recruitment after a number of top tier schools expressed interest in arguably the most athletic player in the class, during his senior season at Word of God Christian Academy, in North Carolina. Kentucky figured to be the front-runner for his services since Leslie’s former teammate at Word of God last season, John Wall, along with coach Calipari were putting on the full court press to add Leslie to an already stellar 2010 recruiting class. UConn also stood a decent chance of landing the #11 rated player in the ’10 class especially since he just made an official visit to the campus at Stoors last week. Leslie’s choosing NC State probably puts Kentucky in the lead for the last remaining unsigned Top 10 player, PF Terrence Jones, who is expected to declare on Friday.
Leslie has been compared favorably as a slightly shorter Kevin Garnett clone, with better handles, but is every bit as athletic, and is widely considered one of the most entertaining above the rim players in the class. In spite of his immense talents, which he showcased in both the McDonalds All American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic, Leslie ranks as only the 5th best PF in the class because of a slight frame, which projects as a SF at the next level, and because of a supposed lack of desire and lack of maturity by some scouts. With that being said, Leslie could very well be an immediate game changer at the collegiate level as a freshman, and is a likely one-and-done player.
In the end, Leslie chose to play his college ball closest to home at State, and because of the special relationship he formed with current head coach Sidney Lowe during his sometimes chaotic recruitment. Along with Calipari at Kentucky, Lowe has also had a history of sending a number of talented players to the NBA as well, like most recently Cleveland’s JJ Hickson, and because Lowe was a great NCAA and NBA player in his own right.
Of course having some of his “boys” coming with him to the Wolfpack next season won’t hurt either, like the Top 40 rated Ryan Harrow, who is one of the top point guards in the entire class. Harrow is also a high flyer and has been known to pull off some sweet off the glass dunks of his own. Also underrated, TaShawn Mabry, who is also a friend from the state of North Carolina has decided to commit to the Wolfpack. Another Top 40 rated player, Lorenzo Brown also has committed to NC State earlier this year, and should form a talented core group of freshmen around returning leading scorer and rebounder from last season, Tracy Smith, who could make some serious noise in the ACC next season.
After a disappointing 5-11 mark in the conference last season and a very potent but young incoming recruiting class, Leslie has already made some bold predictions for the ’10-’11 season. He can foresee possessing a Top 5 rated recruiting class, a Top 5 pre-season ranking, an ACC Tournament crown, and a Final Four appearance. Don’t set your sites too low CJ!
Check out Leslie’s awesome 180 Windmill at the Jordan Brand Classic:
Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for thehoopdoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, UpperDeckblog.com, and his own site, Hoops Haven.
