Mann to FSU

Wednesday, prized recruit Terance Mann verbaled to Florida State. As a local product and one of BC's biggest targets, this is disappointing all around. Donahue worked Mann hard and the new staff kept the pressure on the Tilton School product. In fact there was gossip in the final weeks of the season that if Mann committed, it would have saved Donahue's job. In retrospect, things weren't that close.

Where does this leave Christian and Company? He now has to find more perimeter prospects. It would have been nice to close out on the best kids in New England, but there are plenty of good players out there. BC also has a ton of available scholarships, so I expect them to include a transfer or two in this recruiting class.

I am still giving Christian plenty of time. Losing out on one or two high profile guys is not the end of the world. Think of the bloggers though. Losing Terance Mann means we don't get to fill posts and twitter with tons of Field of Dreams references.

Can BC close on their rumored hoops prospects?

Earlier this week a flood of tweets and articles came out regarding Jim Christian's recruits (here, here and here). BC is in play for four elite 2015 prospects: Terance Mann, Donovan Mitchell, Josh Sharma, and Aaron Falzon. Recruiting a bunch of elite guys is an improvement. Getting mentioned by a bunch of elite prospects is an improvement. But none of it matters if Christian's staff doesn't close on a few of these guys.

In fairness to Donahue's recruiting, he was involved with Mann and Falzon. However, in most cases he was looking for certain types of players and often moved off elite guys if BC was getting ignored. That's not the case with the new staff. By all accounts they are bulldogs and are travelling more than their predecessors.

I think Christian will land at least one of these targets. Hopefully one will lead to another. Right now they are selling playing time and the opportunity to bring BC back. "Putting a ______ on the map" is an old trick of every struggling program, but it works.

Landing elite recruits doesn't guarantee anything. Skinner's most coveted class disappointed. Christian will still have to fill out his roster with a few mid-level guys and he will also have to prove that he can develop the talent once it is on campus. But for now we have hope...at least on Twitter.

Basketball recruiting roundup

The basketball coaches have been very active on the road, scouting and recruiting players. The first need is the 2014 class, but they are also building their pipeline for the 2015 and 2016 classes. Here are some of the most important names and what's going on with their respective recruiting.

California wing Elijah Stewart is a 2014 recruits and uncommitted. He's also a Top 100 player.

From @JoelFranESPN about Elijah Stewart 5 schools..Cincinnati (visiting this weekend), Pitt , USC, OK State, BC. Plans to take all visits .
— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) May 1, 2014

Supposedly Stewart will visit BC next week.

Local 2014 prospect Jared Terrell is also visiting. He had a previous relationship with Preston Murphy and is probably our best chance at an elite recruit in this first class.

Hearing BC and Providence are most likely landing spots for former Oklahoma State pledge Jared Terrell
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 30, 2014

As for 2014, Terrace Mann remains the centerpiece of the 2015 recruiting class.

Terance Mann remains the centerpiece of the 2015 class. Virginia Tech just offered him too.

BC is also involved with transfer Tevon Saddler.

UNC Greensboro transfer Tevon Saddler will visit Butler tonight, source told @CBSSports. Just visited Temple. Will also visit BC next week.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 1, 2014

Christian and company are also sending out their first offers for the 2017 class. It's never too early.

Boston College has offered Cushing Academy (MA) & @RivalsNation '17 PG Makai Ashton-Langford after watching him this weekend in Dallas
— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein) April 30, 2014