Looking ahead: 2009 recruits

Since the Red Foxes do not play again until Nov. 29, I figured now was as good a time as any to look at Marist's future. At this time, the Red Foxes only have nine players on scholarship. In addition, freshman Dorvell Carter tore his ACL and will likely miss the rest of the season.
Matt Brady's late and unexpected departure handcuffed current head coach Chuck Martin as far as recruiting goes. Give Martin and his staff credit for acquiring the recruits they did so late in the signing period. His signing of R.J. Hall has genius written all over it. The 5-foot-10 point guard from Bloomfield, N.J. has averaged 10 points and nearly 18 minutes per game. Martin also brought current starter Javon Parris with him. Parris began his collegiate career at the College of Charleston before transferring to a JuCo in Kansas. Finally, Martin lured Daye Kaba from Boston College. Kaba is currently serving his year in residency following his transfer.
Martin fortunately will not have to wait until April and May to start recruiting. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, wing guard Sam Prescott has verbally committed to Marist. Prescott is currently a senior at Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia. Prescott did not expect to have this opportunity. "It's an honor and a privilege to get a scholarship," Prescott said in his interview with the Philadelphia Daily News' Ted Silary. "In the back of my mind, I never thought this would happen. I'm being very humble about this. I didn't think I was a very good basketball player until I started getting calls from a couple of schools."
Marist was one of several schools reaching out to Prescott. According to Rivals.com, the 6-foot-3 guard received interest from Howard, Stony Brook, and Saint Francis (PA).
Prescott will not be the first Imhotep Charter product to grace the MAAC. Niagara's freshman forward Kashief Edwards also hails from Imhotep Charter. The MAAC named Edwards the conference's rookie of the week on Nov. 17 based on his performance against Towson.
Prescott is not the only high school senior to commit to Marist though. Anell Alexis verbally agreed to join in the Red Foxes in 2009 as well. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward chose Marist over Penn and Elon. Alexis played his high school basketball at N.J. powerhouse Saint Benedict's and is spending this year at Saint Thomas More Prep School. There's no doubt that Marist assistant coach Bashir Mason played a large role in Alexis' recruitment. Mason coached at Saint Benedict's Prep prior to joining Martin's staff. According to an interview with CAA Insider Bill Martin, Mason played a large role in Alexis' choice. "Coach Mason played a part in my decision because of the fact that we came from the same high school program [and that] makes it easier for me to know what to expect in terms of the program," Alexis said. "He's someone that I can work out with and talk to at the same time and help me go in the right direction."
Elon and Penn offered Alexis a scholarship outright, but he was also being looked at by Buffalo, Tulane, and Boston University. Coach Martin made Alexis one of his top priorities and according to Alexis, Martin attended a vast number of the player's games. "Coach Martin made Marist feel like the right place for me, in that it would be an ideal situation for me to develop as a player and a person," Alexis said. "The school community and the coaching staff would help me in doing that. I feel that over the next four years at Marist, my skill level and overall game is going to improve significantly. The fact that Coach Martin came to almost all of my games showed that he really wanted me there as a part of his program."
Marist will need a solid recruiting class to keep pace with top MAAC schools Siena and Niagara. Siena has already signed 6-foot-8 power forward OD Anosike to a letter of intent. Anosike is a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com and received interest from Fordham, Temple, George Mason, and Delaware. The Staten Island native played his AAU ball with the N.J. Shoreshots.
Niagara also has a three-star recruit of its own. Rivals.com reports that Niagara has a solid verbal commitment from Andre Gillette (pictured below), a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward from Philadelphia. Gillette has received interest from Pittsburgh, Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Xavier. It's obvious that Siena and Niagara are bulking up on the front line, something that Marist will need to do as well.
It's still way too early to predict which prospects will attend where, but the process is interesting to follow. Marist is loading up on faster players that can shoot while the other MAAC schools seem to be targeting big men. This fits right into Martin's dribble-drive motion offense. It is also important to note that nothing is final until a national letter of intent is signed, and even then nothing is certain. Former Marist head coach Matt Brady is the prime example. Highly touted recruits Julius Wells and Andrey Semenov were expected to show up in Red Fox uniforms this season, but they chose to forgo the opportunity and follow Brady to James Madison. Wells currently leads James Madison in scoring with 14 ppg.