Notebook: Scholarship chart, hoops recruiting nuggets

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMWilliams

With Georges Niang becoming Iowa State’s first 2012 basketball recruiting commitment on Sunday, I figure now is as good of time as ever to post an updated scholarship chart. In addition to listing Iowa State’s upcoming rosters (as they stand now), I’ve added a few extra recruiting notes as well.

(Note that this chart features scholarship players only).

2011/12 ROSTER

Seniors

Chris Allen, G Scott Christopherson, G

Juniors

Tyrus McGee, G Chris Babb, G Anthony Booker, G

Sophomores

Melvin Ejim, F Royce White, F Jordan Railey, C

Freshmen

Tavon Sledge, F

NOTE: That Korie Lucious and Will Clyburn will be sitting out during the 2011-12 season. Both men will have one year of eligibility that will be used during the 2012-13 season).

– After dismissing Calvin Godfrey from the program last week. Iowa State now has two scholarships available for next season. Former Dayton signee Percy Gibson was on campus this past weekend for an official visit. Gibson appears to be the program’s top target going forward, with no other known names for 2011 in the mix (that doesn’t mean that more couldn’t emerge from here). Signing Gibson and banking the second scholarship for future use appears to be perfect-world scenario for Iowa State.

– One other scenario would be Ames’ own BuBu Palo earning that final scholarship to put Iowa State at 13 heading into the fall.

2012/13 ROSTER

Seniors

Korie Lucious, G Tyrus McGee, G Chris Babb, G Will Clyburn, F Anthony Booker, F

Juniors

Melvin Ejim, F Royce White, F Jordan Railey C

Sophomores

Tavon Sledge, G

Freshmen

Georges Niang, F (committed)

NOTES: Depending on what happens with the second available scholarship for the 2011 class  over the next few weeks, Iowa State will for sure have one spot open in addition to Niang in 2012. I have a hard time believing that Iowa State will add two more players to the 2011 class, so chances are that two spots will be available.

– The top prospect to watch from here on out is likely St. Raymond (N.Y.) shooting guard Nkereuwem Okoro. Iowa State assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih has been relentlessly recruiting Okoro since landing the job last month.

– Another storyline to keep an eye on regarding the 2012 class is in-state prospects. Iowa State has officially offered West Des Moines Valley standout Kale Abrahamson. Abrahamson, a 6-foot-7 wing, averaged 21 points per game for Valley as a junior. According to Rivals.com’s database, Abrahamson has additional offers from Creighton, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wake Forest and Albany.

Former Iowa State (under Greg McDermott) commitment and current Sioux City Bishop Heeland guard Wes Staten could potentially be a factor down the road in 2012. Staten averaged 19.2 points as a junior.

– A couple of longshots in 2012 are Negus Webster-Chan and Anthony Bennett. Don’t hold your breath on either of these guys.

– One final note to keep in mind regarding 2012 is the fact that Cornell Mann hasn’t been on the job for very long. It is very possible that Mann could have additional prospects in mind going forward, who could appear on the map over the summer months.

– I’ll stop the scholarship chart here, as Iowa State doesn’t have any known commitments beyond Niang in 2012. The 2013 class (which at this point will have five available open scholarships) is still in the very early stages of being put together and more details on its progress should surface throughout the summer AAU season.