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The Takeover Recap

BOWIE, MD - At Team Takeover's own event, The Takeover, several of their players stood out. The event was packed with college coaches on hand to see some of the premier players on the east coast as Georgetown, NC State, Virginia, Clemson, VCU, South Carolina, Villanova and more packed the building. Here's a recap of the top players from the event and their recruitment.
Meeks & Thornwell Far Off From Deciding
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Playing in their final AAU tournament with Team United (NC), 2013 Rivals150 stars Kennedy Meeks and Sindarius Thornwell are nowhere close to making major decisions in their recruitment. Meeks - a 2013 center from West Charlotte, ranked No. 67 - showed off his outlet passing and post moves. A very skilled big man who needs to shed some weight, Meeks holds offers from North Carolina, NC State, Indiana, Xavier, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Georgetown, Louisville and most of the ACC, outside of Duke. Kentucky and Syracuse are also showing some interest. Meeks told Rivals.com that North Carolina, Kentucky, NC State, Indiana, Georgetown and Louisville were recruiting him the hardest and that he will likely narrow his list of options to around ten schools in August. While he is not sure of who those will be, Meeks says that Georgetown and North Carolina are two schools who will receive official visits from him. His teammate, Thornwell - a shooting guard ranked No. 47 - is heading to Oak Hill (VA), via South Carolina, in the fall. Thornwell has thought about cutting his list, but insists he has no intention of doing it anytime soon. A great player in the open court, the rising senior got to the rim with ease. As Thornwell told Rivals.com that a spring decision is looming, he holds nearly 30 scholarship offers. He listed offers from, "every ACC school except Duke, Maryland and North Carolina; every Big East school except Georgetown, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Seton Hall; every SEC school except Kentucky, LSU and Arkansas." While he isn't revealing much, Thornwell did say that NC State, South Carolina, Florida and Missouri were recruiting him the hardest, but that had no indication on his favorites. While he is from South Carolina, the Gamecocks have no advantage in his recruitment other than the comfortable feeling of being home. Georgetown's John Thompson, NC State's Mark Gottfried, Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Villanova and Clemson were on hand to watch them at the event.
Hart's Recruitment Elevates
Over the past few months, the recruitment of 2013 Team Takeover DC wing Josh Hart has picked up. With plenty of new offers, the No. 85 talent from Sidwell Friends (DC) has offers rolling in. Miami, Georgetown, NC State, Villanova, San Diego State, DePaul, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Penn State, Temple, UConn, Clemson, VCU and St. Joseph's are in the mix, while Arizona, Pittsburgh and Indiana have shown some interest. The most consistent player for the Nike squad this summer, Hart looks to cut his list to seven or eight schools sometime in August and decide before the high school season starts. While his potential visits have no indication of who might make the list, Hart wants to try and visit UConn, Kansas State, Villanova, Cincinnati and Indiana and eventually make a college decision before his senior season starts.
Team Takeover Forwards Becoming Popular Names
Two names that stood out at The Takeover were Lennard Freeman and Cam Gregory . Freeman - a 2013 power forward from St. John's College High in Washington DC - has high-major schools on his tail, while Gregory - a combo forward - recently reclassified to 2014 and will play at St. Stephen's & St. Agnes in Virginia. Freeman's size, athleticism and rebounding were evident on the court as he made his physical presence felt. The rising senior holds offers from Memphis, Xavier, UAB, VCU, Charlotte, Temple, George Washington, Rice, Towson and Delaware. Interest is picking up from Villanova and Cincinnati, too. With post-July visits hopeful for Charlotte, Xavier, UAB and Memphis, Freeman told Rivals.com that Memphis' move to the Big East will have no impact on his decision. As for Gregory, his reclassification has helped him out a lot. A strong all-around defensive player who can finish inside and shoot it a little, Gregory holds offers from Kennesaw State, Boston U, Bucknell and Holy Cross with interest from Stanford, Mercer, Colgate, Fairfield and most of the Ivy League schools. As Gregory is still getting his first taste at the recruiting process, he is enjoying it. Gregory's only set visit in August will be to Boston U, as of now, yet his stock is bound to rise.
Booth's Philly Connection
The most interesting note of the event was the buzz around the gym surrounding Team Takeover 16's and Paul VI (VA) coach Doug Martin , who will take an assistant coaching position on Jay Wright's staff at Villanova starting this Wednesday, sources confirmed to Rivals.com. As Villanova target and Takeover ball player Phil Booth is one who will be impacted by this move, he addressed the situation. "Coach Martin's move to Villanova will impact my recruitment considering he has coached me these past two years and knowing he is a Takeover guy, that means something," Booth told Rivals.com. As his father hails from Philadelphia, the 2014 guard from Mount St. Joseph's is ranked No. 73 in the Rivals100. After recently being offered by SMU, the Larry Brown-Philadelphia connection will also impact him. "Probably so considering my dad is from Philly and we are big fans of Larry Brown," Booth said. With no current favorites, Booth is also considering Rutgers, Georgetown, Indiana, Maryland, NC State, Ohio State, Xavier, Seton Hall, South Florida and more.
Cuthbertson Shooting His Way Onto Mid-Majors Radars
While his name is not that well known yet, his game makes up for that. A 2013 small forward from NC XPress and West Craven (NC), Joshua Cuthbertson was tremendous as his three-point shot went in one by one. He currently holds offers from James Madison, Campbell, Presbyterian and Gardner Webb, with interest from Liberty, Murray State, Kansas State and Southern Miss. With three favorites in James Madison, Murray State and Campbell, Cuthbertson will take official visits to James Madison and Murray State in September with no other plans for now.
For recaps of the five July Live Period events covered by The Recruit Scoop - Hoop Group Elite Camp Session II, Reebok Showdown Series Championships, Under Armour Summer Jam, Live In AC and The Takeover - head to TheRecruitScoop.com
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