Seton Hall Basketball: 2012 Recruiting Prospectus - Power Forwards & Centers

The last and sometimes the most important position when playing in the Big East: forwards. We saw under Bobby Gonzalez what could happen if forwards aren't properly recruited: Larry Davis and Robert Mitchell playing the 5. 

The current staff has brought in two power forwards in Patrik Auda and Brandon Mobley and three centers in Aaron Geramipoor, Eugene Teague and Kevin Johnson. Teague is not eligible until 2012-13 and Johnson has not yet been deemed eligible for the upcoming season. The staff also landed forward Isaiah Hill but the center from God's Academy (TX) will have to prep for a season.

Team these four eligible players (assuming Johnson will be eligible) with senior Herb Pope and I personally feel the front line will be the deepest and most talented in quite some time, possibly since Kelly Whitney's junior and senior seasons (2004-2006).

With Herb Pope graduating, Gene Teague, Kevin Johnson and Aaron Geramipoor will share time at the five in 2012-13. However, the staff seems set on landing at least one more forward between the 2012 & 2013 classes - to see who they are targeting in 2012, follow the jump.

Jerami Grant (Hyattsville, MD -- DeMatha Catholic HS, MD, 6'7, ESPN: 95 - #42 Overall, Rivals: 4 Star - #57 Overall, Scout: 4 Star)

Grant is one of the most talented 4s in the country and he is still rapidly improving. Right now, he is more of a face up four (like Auda & Mobley) that has a strong mid-range game and great athleticism. 

Right now, it seems like Grant is way above Seton Hall's realistic recruiting level. Grant has interest from Maryland, Georgetown, Kansas, Arizona, Virginia, Syracuse and more. Seton Hall staff watched DeMatha workout earlier this year and they expressed interest in Grant and his teammate BeeJay Anya, a 2013 forward.

Phillip Nolan (Milwaukee, WI -- St. Benedict's Prep, NJ, 6'10, ESPN: 92 - #96 Overall, Rivals: 4 Star - #87 Overall, Scout: 3 Star)

Nolan is a versatile forward who can play all three front court positions at a height of 6'10. Nolan has the ability to knockdown shots within 15 feet. Phillip needs to work on his strength which in return will improve his pure post play which is strangely one of his weaknesses despite his frame. 

Nolan holds offers from Baylor, Marquette, Texas, Iowa State, Clemson and St. Louis. He attended the Seton Hall - Syracuse game this past January with a boatload of other targets.

Richard Peters (Toronto, Ontario, CN -- Westwind Prep Academy, AZ, 6'10, ESPN: 91 - NR, Rivals: N/A, Scout: 3 Star)

Peters is another forward  target who looks set to commit elsewhere. Peters decommitted from Oklahoma this past fall and has since opened up his recruitment. However, it looks like Washington is his favorite right now. There had been talk of Peters reclassifying to be part of the 2011 class, but it looks like that ship has set sail. Peters holds offers from a long list of schools including Seton Hall, Washington, Alabama, Georgia, Gonzaga, Indiana, Marquette and Minnesota. 

Unlike the first two forward targets, Peters is a true post player - anything within 10-15 feet is his territory. Think Kevin Johnson and Gene Teague.

Jalen Robinson (Columbus, OH -- Northland HS, OH, 6'8, ESPN: 88 - NR, Rivals: 3 Star - #141 Overall, Scout: 3 Star)

Robinson decommitted from West Virginia last fall and has since been hearing from Wisconsin, UCLA, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Xavier, DePaul, Penn State, Cincinnati, Michigan and several mid-majors. As of now, it doesn't look like Jalen has offers from any high major schools. He holds offers from Kent State, Ohio and Akron.

Jalen is described as a talented offensive post player who can add overall strength and defensive post ability to his game. He is also described a well coached player.

Robinson was teammates with former target 2011 G Trey Burke who also went to Northland HS -- that may be the connection between the staff and Robinson. 

Jalen averaged 12.9PPG & 9.8RPG as a junior at Northland last season.

Glenn Feidanga (Gainesville, FL -- The Rock School, AL, 6'8, ESPN: 85 - NR, Rivals: N/A, Scout: 2 Star)

According to ESPN, it seems like Feidanga is in the mold of former Pirate Anali Okoloji. He is described as dangerous in transition, very athletic and a solid rebounder. His weakness is playing in a structured offense as he lacks developed technical skills. 

Feidanga has been hearing the most from Miami (FL), Stanford, Seton Hall and LSU although none of the schools have offered him as of yet. He has also received interest from Virginia Tech, Indiana, South Carolina and Marquette.

Kamari Murphy (Brooklyn, NY -- Lincoln HS, NY, 6'8, ESPN: 85 - NR, Rivals: N/A, Scout: 3 Star)

Despite Murphy's modest rankings, he is apparently hearing from an impressive list of schools. This spring, he said his rough list was Kansas State, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Arizona and Pittsburgh. The rising senior forward claims offers from Pittsburgh and Arizona. Murphy took his first unofficial visit this spring to Temple.

Murphy is described as an athletic face up four who has range up to 18 feet. While this is a strength, it shows that Murphy is not a true post forward and sometimes relies on his perimeter shot too much (Jeff Robinson?). Kamari needs to work on his overall strength and rebounding skills in order to improve. 

T.J. Parker-Rivera (Bridgeport, CT -- St. Joseph HS, CT, 6'7, ESPN: 85 - NR, Rivals: N/A, Scout: 3 Star)

To start, Parker-Rivera is a tough target to track down as he listed under four different names on recruiting services: Timajh Parker-Rivera, Timajh Parker, T.J. Parker-Rivera and plain T.J. Parker.

Parker is more of a Jeff Robinson type four. He is a hard worker in the paint and has an effective mid-range game as well as a range up to 18 feet but is significantly undersized.

T.J. has been hearing from Fairfield, Iona, St. Joseph's, Rhode Island and Seton Hall. He has also received light interest from Florida and Marquette. At this point, it seems like Fairfield is his favorite.

Tiers of Importance:

1A = Good/Great get ... 1B = Solid get ... 2A = Decent get ... 2B = maybe staff sees something we don't ... 3s = Stretch -- mid-major player

1A: Jerami Grant

1B: Phillip Nolan & Richard Peters

2A: Jalen Robinson

2B: Glenn Feidanga & Kamari Murphy

3A: T.J. Parker

Summary:

Jerami Grant and Richard Peters are studs but seem like they are beyond stretches to land at this point. Phillip Nolan is the highest rated player who seems to have some significant interest in the Pirates. Beyond Nolan, I'm not too excited about the rest of the targets -- Glenn Feidanga seems like he has been receiving the most interest from Seton Hall among the lower tiers.