Lost in the shuffle of the commitments of high profile HS seniors like Nerlens Noel, Shabazz Muhammed, and Kyle Anderson, was the fact that their were still several top flight uncommitted prospects still on the board even though we are well into May.
Topping the list of undecided impact freshmen was Canadian native Anthony Bennett, the #7 ranked player in the 2012 Class. He is a 6‘8 and 230 lb power forward that recently chose the hometown UNLV Runnin Rebels over other top tier schools like Kentucky, Florida, and Oregon. Bennett starred alongside fellow impact incoming freshman Brandon Ashley(Arizona) on Las Vegas based high school powerhouse Findlay Prep, who won the National HS Invitational.
During the offseason, Bennett played with super sophomore Andrew Wiggins on Canada’s CIA Bounce on the AAU circuit, in addition to being named to this year’s McDonald’s All American team, and playing a starring role for the World in beating Team USA in the 2012 Nike Hoops Summit.
Bennett has a unique skill set in that despite possessing the physique of a power forward, Anthony is more comfortable from the perimeter, capable of either taking his man off the dribble or shooting over the defense with above average 3 point range. While he stands barely over 6‘7, Bennett does have a 7‘1 wingspan and has elite level jumping ability to more than make up for it, at least on the collegiate level. There’s no doubting that Bennett will remind many longtime Rebels fans of former NCAA great Larry Johnson.
Although some high profile recruits like Shabazz Muhammed spurned the Rebels, they did reel in a Top 20 rated recruiting class lead by Bennett and 4 star shooting guard Katin Reinhardt, in addition to Pitt transfer Khem Birch, a former Top 10 prospect in the 2011 Class, and Demetris Morant. In addition to the top notch incoming class, coach Dave Rice returns a number of experienced players like NBA hopeful Mike Moser, Quintrell Thomas, Carlos Lopez, and Anthony Marshall. UNLV should begin next season with high hopes as a preseason Top 25 team.
Check out Anthony Bennett in action this Spring:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
