WILLIAMS: Five hoops recruiting need-to-knows

The July basketball recruiting period began today and with that, news of offers will be flying around social media over the next couple of weeks. Here are five things you need-to-know as the busiest recruiting period on the basketball recruiting calendar is now officially underway.

1 – A lot of work to do

As it stands, Iowa State has six scholarships to give in its 2017 recruiting class.

That’s a lot.

Don’t expect the Cyclones to fill all of them during the fall (early) signing period though. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Iowa State only signs two or three prospects this fall, electing to bank the others for the spring where targeting a JUCO, sit-out and fifth-year transfer seems realistic. 

2 – Competition tight for Nick Weatherspoon

The good news in Iowa State’s quest to land this stud point guard out of Mississippi is that assistant coach William Small has developed a great relationship with Nick’s family.

The bad news is that Weatherspoon’s brother, Quinndary, is already on Mississippi State’s roster. For this reason, Mississippi State is an overwhelming favorite to land the four-star prospect. In fact, 247 has Weatherspoon has tabbed at a “100 percent” chance to eventually end up at Mississippi State in its crystal ball section.

3 – Probably crazy talk

There are no certainties in recruiting but the chances of Iowa State landing a guy like Collin Sexton – who Scout ranks as the 10th best player in the country – are incredibly slim. 

Sexton, a five-star point guard out of Georgia, is another southern point guard who Iowa State has been courting for some time. 

He’s a big-time, national recruit but geography isn’t on Iowa State’s side here.

Another issue that the Cyclones are facing: Prohm’s staff has only been on the job for a little over a year. Compare that to others staff’s that have been in on Sexton since he was in middle school and it’s easy to see where Iowa State is a bit behind. 

4 – Keep an eye on this kid

I’ve had a few people ask me who I thought would be the first commitment of the 2017 class. 

If I had to guess, I would go with Terrance Lewis, a 6-foot-6 small forward out of Milwaukee. Scout has him as a four-star prospect. Rivals has him as a three-star. 

Lewis has multiple high-major offers from Iowa State, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Illinois and Minnesota, to name a few.

He’s competing at the NY2LA tournament in Milwaukee this weekend where sources say Steve Prohm and Daniyal Robinson will both be in attendance.

5 – An under the radar guard 

Not many people have heard or talked about Elijah Joiner, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard out of Chicago but it sounds like his recruitment is picking up.

Iowa State still hasn’t offered, but Xavier and DePaul have.

Prohm and Robinson will evaluate Joiner this weekend in Chicago and if the head coach likes what he sees, an Iowa State offer could be within his grasp.