Philadelphia point guard Daron Russell commits to URI
The University of Rhode Island has reeled in the top target in its 2016-17 recruiting class.
Philadelphia point guard Daron Russell verbally committed to the Rams on Tuesday night in a formal announcement at his high school, extending the recent run of early success the program has enjoyed off the floor.
A consensus three-star recruit according to the major scouting services, Russell selected URI over Western Kentucky, La Salle, Grand Canyon, Seton Hall and SMU. He took official visits with the Hilltoppers, Explorers, Rams and Antelopes, ultimately cutting out the Pirates and Mustangs before making his final decision to join Dan Hurley’s preseason Atlantic 10 title contenders.
“He really believes he’s going to have a chance to compete and play in the NCAA Tournament all four years that he’s there,” said Andre Noble, Russell’s high school coach at Imhotep Charter. “With what Coach Hurley and they have done up there, he feels like they have something really special there.”
Russell was one of the breakout stars on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball circuit this summer, earning All-Peach Jam honors in July while running with a loaded Team Final roster. He averaged 21.4 points on 55.6 percent shooting from 3-point range and led his club with 4.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game, doing the bulk of his damage in front of the watchful eyes of URI head coach Dan Hurley and assistant David Cox. Team Final closed 3-2 in pool play thanks to Russell and other big names like five-star 2018 forward Cameron Reddish, top-100 2017 shooting guard Lonnie Walker and four-star 2017 center Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, an early pledge to defending national champion Villanova.
Russell will play his senior season at Imhotep Charter, hoping to lead the Panthers back to the PIAA Class AAA state semifinals and beyond. The slippery 5-foot-10 scorer has already surpassed the 1,000-point milestone and will attempt to follow up a junior season that saw him earn Philadelphia Public League Division A Most Valuable Player honors.
“He’s the kid that spends double the amount of hours in the gym as the average kid,” Noble said. “After workouts he’s going to stay and shoot more. He’s here all the time.”
Grand Canyon was in the running for Russell – an Arizona native who moved to the East Coast after his mother, Terri Sutton, remarried – thanks to some family ties. His older brother, DeWayne, will be a redshirt senior in the program’s first season of NCAA Tournament eligibility this year. Russell visited the Antelopes last weekend but couldn’t shake the feeling he took home from Kingston.
“The visit was awesome,” Noble said. “Coach Cox and Coach Hurley had spent a lot of time recruiting him, and they made the visit incredible.”
Much like during the last recruiting cycle, URI has done its most important work early. The Rams secured verbals from guard Jeff Dowtin and frontcourt players Cyril Langevine, Mike Layssard and Michael Tertsea before the end of last September, allowing the Rams’ staff to focus on the upcoming season and future classes. URI has one scholarship remaining and is in search of a wing scorer, with the transfer or junior college routes both actively in play.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25