One of the perks of coaching at a school that has a big time football program is that you get to bring recruits on visits during the big games. There might not be a bigger football game this weekend than the Florida Gators vs the LSU Tigers. Both schools are ranked in the AP Top-10, and a win will instantly vault either team into prime position for the National Title game.
Bringing basketball recruits into this environment is a key strategy for Billy Donovan. He understands the recruiting game, and wants to drop kids in front of 90,000 screaming fans at The Swamp.
So it's no surprise that this is a big weekend for the Gators basketball team.
The Gators are already loaded (and should be a lock for preseason No. 1 next year) and will be hosting two committed players in Kasey Hill and Chris Walker. Hill (No. 8) and Walker (No. 9) are both top-10 recruits according to ESPN.
But that's just the beginning.
Florida has a huge weekend. No. 4, 6 & 8 in the '13 class, No. 6 in '14 class & No. 1 in '15 will all be on campus … scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=9&c…
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDanielsFOX) October 4, 2012
While Evan Daniels is using his own Scout rankings, the players he is talking about are Julius Randle, the No. 3 player in 2013 according to ESPN, Dakari Johnson, the No. 4 player in 2014, and Karl Towns Jr., the No. 1 player in 2015.
That's five top-10 recruits (over three classes) that will all be enjoying the game together, and two are just there to sell the program. They'll be getting plenty of help as well, especially if it's a good game which the crowd stays in to.
The only downside is the weather. It's supposed to be hot and humid in Gainesville on Saturday. But four of these five currently live in the south, so it's not likely to be a big deal.
Regardless, the eye of the recruiting world is currently focused on the Harrison Twins and their looming deadline. But don't sleep on Gainesville. Billy Donovan is on a roll.
