Wired Wednesday With Wilson 8-28-19

<p>The weekly column is back with an array of topics including VCU's involvement with <strong>Elvin Edmonds</strong>, a look at some prospects from the DMV <strong>Rhode Island</strong> is keeping tabs on and what <strong>SEC</strong> basketball should look like in the coming years.</p> <p><strong>“Do you see Elvin Edmonds and VCU as a possible match for each other?” –@TheEllyO</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>VCU</strong> offered the local Richmond product back in August of 2018 and has offered quite a few 2021 prospects since then, including three other guys at the same position. I do believe there's definitely mutual interest between both parties right now, but it is also a little too early to get a true grasp on where things stand at the moment. By the time high school season starts and next AAU season, we will definitely know what the interest looks like between the Rams and Edmonds.</span></p> <p><strong>“Do you know which big from the DMV URI is closely looking at and where they stand with Ishmael Leggett's recruitment?” –@GSanz</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Rhode Island</strong> has offered three of the top 2020 bigs from the DMV area in <strong>Paul Smith</strong>, <strong>Andre Screen</strong> and<strong> Noel Brown</strong>. I know that the Rhode Island staff is definitely keeping close ties on the three and I would expect visits to happen this fall. Until visits are scheduled, I do not have a firm understanding on where things stand with the three and the A10 program. But as mentioned above, look for visits to happen which could ultimately lead to new momentum between the program and different recruits. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In terms of Ishmael Leggett, Rhode Island was the first program he took an official visit to which is a great sign for the Rams. Leggett also included the Rams in his final six which also included, <strong>South Florida</strong>, <strong>DePaul</strong>, <strong>Wake Forest</strong>, <strong>Illinois</strong> and <strong>UNC Charlotte</strong>. This past weekend he took an official visit to UNC Charlotte and we are paying close attention to where he will take his other official visits and once those are all taken, we might have a better understanding on where things with him stand.</span></p> <p><strong>“How do you think the SEC will do in the upcoming years?” –@balesofclay</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The SEC conference has been a really good conference the last few years as it has had a team in the final four 2 years out of the last 3 and great success in that category in previous years before that. On the recruiting side of things, programs other than Kentucky continue to bring in top talent which ultimately benefits the program in the long run. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Looking ahead to this year, the conference could easily have 4-5 teams in the preseason top 25 which is up there at the top with other power five conferences.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Going back to recruiting, programs realized they will have to keep bringing in top talent to compete with the Kentucky’s of the world, and as long as programs keep on doing that, this conference will continue to have a team represent the conference in future final fours. </span></p>