Perhaps no player other than current Washington Wizards point guard John Wall have been given such a boost in recruiting and national following through social media than that of 5‘6 Aquille Carr. After all, his extensive library of YouTube mixtapes and highlight videos have received millions of hits to date.
One would think that one of flashiest and most exciting HS players in the game today would relish holding a national press conference to announce his college decision but the rising Class of 2013 junior decided to announce his choice through Twitter by typing two words……..“Seton Hall”.
Getting a commitment from Carr, who arguably has the best handles in HS basketball, is huge for the suddenly surging Pirates program, who have struggled in recent years to compete against the big boys of the Big East Conference like Georgetown, UConn, and Syracuse. Carr will be the biggest recruit to lace them up in South Orange, NJ since the late Eddie Griffin in 2000 became a national sensation.
Carr has been lighting it up for some time for Paterson HS in Baltimore. He draws crowds so large to watch his HS games that he has been dubbed “The Crimestopper” since so many fans come out to watch him play that he effectively lowers the crime rate.
The 5’6 and 140lb junior isn’t just about lightning end-to-end speed and highlight reel ankle-breaking moves but is pound for pound one of the nation’s most prolific scorers as well. He amazingly topped the 1,000 point barrier at Paterson as a sophomore and scored a career high 58 points in a Christmas Tournament in 2010.
He reportedly has a 48 inch vertical leap and even was even rumored to have a $750,000 offer to play professionally in Europe for Brandon Jennings old team Lottomatica Virtus Roma, after averaging 40+ppg in a Summer Tourney in Italy.
It’s great to see a top flight recruit commit to a school other than the usual suspects like Duke, North Carolina, or Kentucky from time to time. By name and YouTube recognition alone, Carr will once again breathe some excitement into the Seton Hall fanbase, helping to remember the glory days of Terry Dehere and coach PJ Carlesimo from the 1989 National Championship Game.
And, oh by the way, the actual reason why Aquille didn’t have a flashy press conference to announce his decision was because he was once again puttin’ in work by dropping 19 points and earning MVP of the 2012 Brandon Jennings Invitational, leading his Paterson teammates to the 1st place crown.
Aquille Carr’s 2011 Mixtape:
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.
