Three-Point Play: Caleb Love, Cam Hayes, 2022 rankings
Have the chances of one of the schools involved with point guard Caleb Love been too easily dismissed? National Analyst Eric Bossi takes a look at the five-star’s recruitment, discusses Cam Hayes fit in the class of 2020 and more in today’s edition of the Three-Point-Play.
Starting Five: More big-timers closing in on decisions
2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2021 Rankings: Rivals150
1. IS THE CALEB LOVE RECRUITMENT GETTING MORE INTERESTING?
Courtesy of USA Basketball
Thanks to a terrific summer that he finished strong at USA Basketball in July, St. Louis (Mo.) CBC point guard Caleb Love proved himself as a legitimate five-star prospect and candidate for the McDonald’s All-American Game.
The 6-foot-3 senior is down to final six of Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Missouri and North Carolina. Prior to announcing his list, most figured that Love was bound to leave the St. Louis area and that he wasn’t likely to have any local schools on his list of finalists. So, when Mizzou was included, many speculated it was a “favor” listing while he picked between the real finalists.
Here’s the thing, listing Mizzou is looking to be far more than a favor and based on what I’ve been hearing the last few weeks, Cuonzo Martin and the Tigers are emerging as a very legitimate contender to land Love. Love was in Columbia over the weekend and the early buzz is that Martin and his staff continued to build on the momentum they’ve been gaining.
Now, I’m not ready to proclaim the Tigers a favorite over the two that have seemed to be in the best position for a while – North Carolina and Louisville – but I do think it’s time we stop poo-pooing any thought that Love could stay local and play for his home state program.
2. HOW DOES CAM HAYES FIT IN 2020?
Rivals.com
Over the weekend, my coworker Corey Evans reported that four-star point guard Cam Hayes will make the move from the class of 2021 to 2020. So, the question is where does he fit in 2020’s national rankings?
Well, I’ve got the answer. The floor general from North Carolina will enter the Rivals150 for the senior class at No. 46 overall.
Now, what to make of his recruitment?
First of all, the programs recruiting him have been expecting this change for a while so nobody should be behind or caught by surprise with the class change. Over the weekend, Hayes was visiting with Kevin Keatts and NC State officially and this weekend he’s scheduled to head to Tennessee. He’s then scheduled to take trips to Louisville and Maryland over the last two weekends of September and others involved at one level or another include Indiana, North Carolina and Texas Tech.
There are visits to come, but the way things stand I see Keatts’ group as the team to beat and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Hayes ends up playing his college ball in Raleigh.
