Real College Basketball

One of the bright spots this year for the Tennessee recruiting class is a guard from Powder Springs, Georgia. This 6-1 combo guard is multi-talented from his array of showtime pases to his high arcing 3 pointers, this guy is your man. Some call him the best combo guard in Georgia this year. That player, is Trae Golden. The four star recruit compares his game to Deron Williams. When asked about his strengths and weaknesses he said "Strengths are passing, scoring, winning, and making my teammates better," and for weaknesses "None really, working on my defense though."

Last season, Trae averaged 27 points per game, 6 assists per game, and 7 boards per game so you can see Trae consistently effects all aspects of the game. Last season, Trae's high school team, McEachern High School, lost to Walton High School in the state playoffs. Trae says that better things are in store for this season. When Trae was asked about his goals for his senior season, he said "State championship, that is the main goal. Just want to win."

On September 16th, Trae committed to the Tennessee Vols over home town Georgia, and many others. The main reasons Trae chose UT were "They've got a good situation over there, its close to home, I really like Bruce Pearl, and the SEC is the best conference in the world." With the depth that the SEC has this season with Kentucky, Mississippi state, who I love even though they lost to Rider, Tennessee and an underrated group of teams such as Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and South Carolina, the SEC is definitely up there this year as one of the best conferences in all of college basketball.

When asked about him relationship with Coach Pearl, he responded with "It's really good, he's a cool guy." Pearl is an obvious choice as one of the best coaches throughout the college ranks. He has a career record of 416-121, including his 231-46 record at Southern Indiana. At Tennessee, Golden said that Pearl plans to use him as a combo guard but mainly at the point. As for what he plans to accomplish at UT, "National title, just want to win." Last season, the Vols went 19-11 but this season, UT is ranked 11th and is 1-0 this season.

Trae is also helping recruit for Tennessee. "Tobias Harris, he's the main one [I'm trying to recruit]." Tobias would certainly help out the already great UT team and an already above average UT recruiting class. Tobias Harris is currently considering Maryland, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, West Virginia, and Syracuse along with the Vol's and he has no clear leader at the moment. Tobias is set to commit sometime in the next couple of days.

He went on to say that his Letter of Intent has been signed and should be in soon, as of November 12th, but isn't in yet due to complications with his sister. He has talked to Scotty Hopson and thinks he is a really nice guy. Last year as a freshman, Hopson averaged 9.2 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game and in the first UT game of the season, he scored 16 points and collected 4 boards. Hopson was also heavily recruited out of high school including the honors of being a McDonald's All American among others.

I would like to thank Trae for doing this interview with me. Good luck for the rest of your high school season and your college career.

There are plenty of big names coming out of the northeast this year. People familiar have definitely heard about this one. It’s Rod Odom! The 6 foot, 8 inch small forward is a senior this year at Middlesex High School, just outside the Boston area in Massachusetts.

Odom is a very solid player with an all-around game. He can pass the ball well, shoot it with some range, and play lock-down defense using his great length. He doesn’t have extreme quickness or explosiveness, but his sky high basketball IQ will earn him all types of accolades at the next level. Odom is a top 100 player on Rivals, ESPN, and on RealCollegeBasketball.com.

Today we sat down to learn a little more about Odom’s game and his recruitment.

When I asked Odom on his opinion about his game, he responded, “I do a lot of things well, I’m versatile. The best thing about my game is that I have no weaknesses.”

As for his recruitment, there are many things that Odom addressed. Odom was very quick to say “Academics are definitely important.” Along with academics, Odom wants a “significant playing opportunity, and just an overall good fit."

Odom has narrowed down his schools to 6. They include Arizona, Boston College, Harvard, Louisville, Connecticut, and Vanderbilt. So Rod, any team ahead of the pack? “I can’t say right now, they are all pretty much even.”

Last weekend he took an official to Harvard, and the week before to Arizona. This weekend he is going to take his final official to Boston College. So far, “(The official visits) have all gone well,” Odom said.

What does he like best about the Boston College Eagles? “They win games,” replied Odom.

Odom plans to commit some time in October and we will be the first to break the news.  Also, Odom stated that distance will not be a factor in his decision. “In the end, I feel I can’t go wrong with any of the schools that are left,” Odom said. Odom has talked to pretty much every committed player for every team that is left in his recruitment

Tobias Harris a 6'8" PF and a consensus top ten recruit for the 2010 class. He has lost plenty of weight over the past year or so and has also a great job in adding strength. Those things both have clearly helped spike up his performance in games, as he now runs the floor extremely well, and can muscle down players inside. This kid is still undecided on where he will attend college, so the next few months could be a recruiting war for him.

Tobias was nice enough to take a few minutes and answer some of our questions for him:

RealCollegeBasketball.com: What did it mean to you repping Team USA (East) in the Nike Global Challenge over the summer?

Tobias Harris: It meant a lot to go out and represent USA in the Nike Global Challenge. It was a great expierence to play against other international players and see where we match-up.

RCB: How was your overall experience over the challenge, playing with and against some of the best players in the world, and actually winning the tournament?

TH: The whole expierence was great to be the only USA team to get out the (second) round was also big. We played like a team and came together and took home the gold.

RCB: You are still undecided for college, what are you looking for in a school?

TH: I'm looking for a school with great academics, nice campus and overall atmosphere, having a great trust with the coaching staff, and a school that has my type of style of play.

RCB: Which schools are on the top of your list thus far?

TH: Right now, I don't have a top list, but the schools right now I am looking at are Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Louisville, Syracuse, Connecticut, St. John's, Tennessee, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Maryland. After the home vists I will narrow my schools to 5.

RCB: It has been seen before that some players try to recruit others to there school... Are there any players that have tried to recruit you at all?

TH: Eric Atkins with Notre Dame; Dion Waiters with Syracuse. That's about it.

RCB: What was up with you switching High Schools from Half Hollow Hills West to Lutheran and now back to Half Hollow Hills West?

TH: I transferred in the beginning to get better competition and excel in my game. The competition was good but I just thought I needed to get back at West (High School) and be with my friends and have more fun with the game.

RCB: For those who don't quite know much about your game yet, give us a quick scouting report on yourself.

TH: I'm 6'8", can handle like a guard, pass very well, like to get everyone involved... Have a good jump shot but need to shoot more in games, (I'm) more of a slasher right now in my game but looking to expanded on my jump shooting this year.

RCB: What areas of your game have your worked on in-particularly over the off-season to improve upon?

TH: I worked on my defense and toning my body in the off-season. This all helped me a large amount during the summer.

RCB: Any goals you have, both as an individual and as a team, for your senior season at Half Hollow Hills West?

TH: Only goal is to win a state championship this year... And to have every senior on my team the opportunity to play college basketball at either D. 1, 2, or 3.