Tuesday Recruiting Blitz: 6/26

With the July Live Period about two weeks away, schools are offering players and getting them on campus in order to generate mutual interest. As players of all calibers are working hard to gain major scholarships this summer, they must go through the recruiting process, too.

KENTUCKY HOSTS 2014 GUARDS

Kentucky head coach John Calipari may be the best salesman in college basketball, but it takes a well-rounded staff of assistant coaches to make a head coach as successful. Leave it to Kenny Payne to make a great impression on Mondays in-state visitor, D'Angelo Russell . The 2014 6-foot-4 combo guard from Montverde Academy (FL) - a Louisville, KY native - took an unofficial visit to Kentucky on Monday and thoroughly enjoyed it. "Coach Kenny Payne was the highlight of the visit," Russell told Rivals.com following the visit. "Just the way he cares for his guys stood out. He made it noticeable to me." Russell - who has yet to receive a Kentucky offer - is being heavily recruited by Cincinnati, Missouri, Louisville, Purdue, Ohio State, Tennessee and more. After visiting Cincinnati last week and recently adding offers from Virginia and Missouri, the final pre-July visit for the No. 16 rising junior in the Rivals50 could be to Tennessee within the coming days. Following the Russell visit, the reigning national champions will host Jaquan Lyle , a 2014 6-foot-4 combo guard from Evansville Bosse (IN), for a campus visit on Tuesday. Ranked one spot ahead of Russell at No. 15 in the Rivals50 for the class of 2014, he is fielding looks from Cincinnati, Louisville, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee and many more.

BAYLOR HOSTS IN-STATE/OVERSEAS PHENOM

Class of 2014 power forward Khadeem Lattin may be the toughest player in the state of Texas to get on a college campus. With a state that includes the Harrisons Twins, Julius Randle, Jordan Mickey, Emmanuel Mudiay, Mickey Mitchell and plenty more, Lattin is simply the toughest because of where he goes to high school. The 6-foot-9 forward spent his sophomore year at the Canaries Basketball Academy in the Canarias Islands in Spain. As he heads to numerous camps and spends time at home in Texas with his family, the talented prospect will take his first unofficial college visit in a long time. The rising junior informed TheRecruitScoop.com that he will be on the Baylor campus on Tuesday. The Bears - along with Texas A&M, Kansas, Oklahoma, Houston, TCU, Memphis, Arizona and many others - plan to make a strong pitch to the Texas native gone overseas. "I'm looking forward to making this visit and experiencing the recruiting process," he told Rivals.com prior to the visit. Look for the Bears to make a strong pitch to the talented forward, who is attempting to make himself more versatile and become a combo forward.

*Lattin reported back on his visit to Baylor by saying, "Baylor was sick. They really know how to make me feel at home. The coaches were really cool. We walked around and just hung out. Baylor seems different compared to other schools." This has to be a good sign for Scott Drew's squad.*

BELL & HART ADD TRIO OF OFFERS

Two top-85 players in the class of 2013's Rivals150 picked up three interesting offers last week that may or may not impact their decisions. 2013 6-foot-7 power forward Jordan Bell of Long Beach Poly (CA) - ranked No. 78 - picked up offers from Memphis, Hawaii and Wyoming, while 2013 6-foot-5 wing Josh Hart of Sidwell Friends (DC) - ranked No. 83 - reeled in scholarships from Cincinnati, DePaul and Kansas State. While Bell's offers from Hawaii and Wyoming came out of left field, he is considering all of his options, especially Memphis. "I'm very excited to hear that Memphis offered," he told Rivals.com. "It's far away but has a great reputation, coaching staff and will join the Big East." On Tuesday, he landed an offer from Nevada and took an unofficial visit to USC. With a number of decisions coming up for the shot-blocking stud, Bell will have to sort through his other options in the Pac-12, San Diego State and more. The Aztecs have also offered Hart - who is currently attending the Kevin Durant Skills Academy with LeBron James Skills Academy and the Nike Peach Jam on tap this July. All three offers - Kansas State, Cincinnati and DePaul - came out of left field for the undecided wing from Team Takeover (DC). As NC State and Georgetown were in the best shape for Hart, his options and opinions could change. As he has taken a number of unofficial visits already, three more trips could be on tap in August.

ARIZONA IN GOOD SHAPE WITH RECRUITS

Sean Miller and his Arizona program are not only trying to win the Pac-12 this season. A national championship is in sight for the Wildcats as they continue to recruit and draw in the attention of players coast to coast. As the Wildcats recently got involved with 2013 Chester (PA) guard Rondae Jefferson - who cut his list to seven today, including Arizona - sources tell TheRecruitScoop.com that the Pac-12 school is a legit contender in the recruitment of the No. 23 rising senior in the Rivals150. Although Temple and Rutgers still remain the local schools to beat, could the Wildcats pull a Hail-Mary and bring the Pennsylvania product 3,000 miles over to Tucson? On top of that, Miller's squad is making strong pitches out west with regards to Parker Jackson-Cartwright , Shaqquan Aaron , Stanley Johnson , Marcus LoVett , Tyler Dorsey and even 2016 talent Derryck Thornton . The Wildcats are high on the lists of Aaron - the No. 22 rising junior in the Rivals50 - and Dorsey - who has had an offer from Arizona since he was in eighth grade. Along with that, Jackson-Cartwright - the No. 25 player in the Rivals50 for the class of 2014 - told GOAZCATS.com on Monday night that he has a visit to Tucson scheduled for July 2nd. Johnson - the No. 18 player in the Rivals50 for 2014 - is expected to take his first college visit of the summer on August 6th to the Pac-12 school. After reeling in the No. 3 class in 2012, second to UCLA, things appear to be on the rise for the Arizona program heading into Sean Miller's 4th year on the job.

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