Ranking the Contenders: Four-star Jamier Jones
A Mother’s Day commitment looms for four-star forward Jamier Jones, who recently released a top five and is looking to put a bow on his recruitment this month. Officially, Kansas, LSU, Providence, Houston and South Carolina remain alive in the hunt for Jones’ commitment, but those five programs don’t stand on equal footing as we race toward decision day.
Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy breaks down Jones’ list of finalists, cuts through the noise and ranks the contenders to land the four-star forward’s commitment on May 12.
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1. PROVIDENCE
Providence feels like one of the two programs to beat based on a handful of factors, not the least of which being the fact that Jones visited campus in the fall and now says he intends to return on May 9, just days prior to his scheduled announcement.
The four-star forward has been high on the Friars for some time and the buzz around his recruitment is starting to point toward Providence as his most likely landing spot. The timing of his return visit to campus seems to back up that point as well.
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2. LSU
Jones has a strong bond with the LSU staff, and assistant coach Tim Kaine in particular. He’s already visited campus and seems to have been intrigued by what he saw in Baton Rouge during his official visit, which came on a fall weekend and included a football game at legendary Tiger Stadium.
If anyone is going to topple Providence to land Jones’ commitment, it’ll be Matt McMahon and company, as LSU definitely remains alive and in the hunt. There’s not much to separate the two teams at the top of this list for the time being, and a case could be made for putting the Tigers at No. 1.
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3. SOUTH CAROLINA
Jones has visited South Carolina, and the Gamecocks are serious players because of that. That said, Lamont Paris’ program seems like a less likely option than both Providence and conference rival LSU.
If South Carolina is to pull a slight upset, it will be on the back of assistant coach Eddie Shannon, who has shined as Jones’ primary recruiter. It feels as though the Gamecocks have some ground to make up in the final weeks, but they shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.
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4. HOUSTON
There seems to be some lingering mutual interest between Jones and the Cougars, even final sand grains of Jones’ recruitment are racing through the hourglass. Over the weekend, the Florida-based forward said he would ideally like to work in a visit before his decision but didn’t seem particularly confident about his ability to make such a thing happen before his announcement date arrives.
If an 11th-hour visit takes place, Houston will be a serious threat to steal his commitment. If not, it can probably be counted out entirely.
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5. KANSAS
If Kansas is to be a serious player in the Jones Sweepstakes, it’ll need to get the four-star forward on campus with haste. Jones says he has no interest in pushing back his May 12 decision date, and there doesn’t seem to be much serious discussion between the sides about a visit to Lawrence at this time. Saying the Jayhawks are unlikely to be the pick is understating the point.
