St. Benedict’s Reloading, Canty’s List Getting Longer and more

Since Wagner College hired Dan Hurley away from St. Benedict’s (NJ) last spring, the Newark school has been is disarray.

St. Benedict's looks to rebound after a disappointing 2010-11 campaign (13-12).

For a school that was a staple of high school basketball in New Jersey for nearly a decade under Hurley, since departed head coach Roshown McLeod’s 13-12 record wasn’t quite cutting it. McLeod’s parting with the Newark school resulted in the hiring of Mark Taylor this April. Taylor was the coach of Ridge HS (NJ) and formerly St. Joseph’s of Metuchen (NJ), where he coached future NBA players Jay Williams and Andrew Bynum.

Taylor has had his work cut out for him since day one. St. Benedict’s graduated five seniors, including Tyler Harris (NC State) and Vaughn Gray (George Mason), and lost several players to other high schools after McLeod left the school in early April. Among those players lost were Jaylen Reid (2013), Phillip Nolan (2012), Jamel Artis (2012) and Mike Young (2013, sources say hes headed to Hudson Catholic). As Adam Zagoria wrote, rising junior Tyler Ennis and Jack Dywer were the only two players left on the team in late April.

Since the talent exodus from St. Benedict’s this spring, Taylor has convinced Tyler Ennis to stay put at St. Benedict’s and be the floor general for the Gray Bees next season. In addition to Ennis, one of the best 8th graders in the country, Isaiah Briscoe, will attend St. Benedict’s this fall. Mark Taylor has looked for local talent from New York as well as international talent to bolster the roster at St. Benedict’s. Kevin Mickle (Adelphi Academy) will attend St.  Benedict’s this fall and Melvin Johnson of the soon to close Rice HS (NY) is strongly considering the Gray Bees.

The aftermath of Dan Hurley’s dynasty at St. Benedict’s has been undeniably rough. Despite their strong showing against St. Raymond (NY) in the Hoop Group Tip Off at Seton Hall last December, the Gray Bees had what would be a rough season for just about any high school team. Will Mark Taylor be able to reel in a new era of St. Benedict’s basketball that produces the level of talent seen over the past decade?

Tyler Ennis holds offers from West Virginia, Seton Hall and Rutgers. He also claims interest from Kentucky, Georgetown and Florida. His stock will undoubtedly rise this coming season at St. Benedict’s. Ennis is already ranked as one of the Top 3 sophomores in NJ, according to NJHoops.com.

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In less than a week, three schools have entered the recruitment of Kareem Canty (Brooklyn, NY). Canty, who was previously listing Xavier, Miami (FL) and Seton Hall as his favorite schools, now has the luxury of mulling over Virginia, Cincinnati and Tennessee, according to Alex Kline.

Canty's list nearly doubled in just a few days.

Canty took an unofficial to Seton Hall last weekend and is scheduled to visit Xavier on June 24th and Miami (FL) in August. He also rescheduled his visit to Providence, which was supposed to take place two weeks ago.

In addition to the laundry list of schools that have reached out to Canty, the point guard was invited to the NBA Camp and the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp – tall tale signs of Canty’s Top 100 skill level.

With visits scheduled through August, it seems as though Kareem’s escalating recruiting process could last right up until the fall period – or longer.

Canty is considering both South Kent (CT) and Brewster Academy (NH) as possible locations for a prep year – he reclassified from the Class of 2011 last fall.

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The DeAndre Daniels saga has taken another turn, he has backed away from Duke and is considering Oregon, San Diego State and Kansas … Jabari Parker, who is the #2 player in the Class of 2013 according to ESPN, picked up an offer from Missouri yesterday … Florida has offered 2013 guard Kasey Hill out of Montervale (FL) and Brannen Greene of Mary Persons (GA), Hill also spoke with Florida State yesterday … St. Patrick’s (NJ) 2013 star Austin Colbert picked up an offer from Miami (FL) this week … Iona is now recruiting 2012 guard Eric Fanning of Perkiomen (PA) … 2012 guard Daiquan Walker of Constitution (PA) will take an unofficial visit to Rutgers next week … 2013 PG Allerik Freeman of Olympic (NC)  was offered by South Carolina yesterday… Brewster Academy’s PF Mitch McGary (2012) will visit Connecticut this weekend … Julius Randle, the #1 prospect in the 2013 Class according to ESPN, spoke with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski last night … 2012 PG Montay Brandon has received calls from Stanford, Oklahoma State, Miami (FL), Virginia Tech and WKU this week … Rutgers and Florida have inquired about 2013 PF Jermaine Lawrence … 2014 guard D’Angelo Russell picked up his first college offer yesterday from Xavier … University of Dayton’s Brandon Spearman is headed to Indian Hills CC (IA)