D’Angelo Russell Goes Off for 21, Talks Recruiting

By SEVE COUSINS

Special to ZAGSBLOG

ROSELLE, N.J. — Kevin Boyle and Dakari Johnson enjoyed their homecomings this week in New Jersey.

But D’Angelo Russell looked right at home, too.

The 6-foot-4 Montverde (Fla.) Academy guard scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second quarter as Montverde, the No. 1 team in the ESPN.com rankings, routed host Roselle Catholic, 77-51, in the Holiday Hoops for Troops event. Russell made five 3-pointers in a three-minute span in the period.

West Virginia-bound forward Devin Williams also had 21 points for coach Boyle’s team in its return to New Jersey. Syracuse-bound Tyler Roberson led Roselle Catholic with 14 points and Haikim Santil added 12.

”D’Angelo Russell broke the game open when he hit the five straight threes,” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “he’s got to get a little better playing off the dribble but he’s a terrific spot-up shooter.”

Russell’s performance came in front of a packed house that included the likes of DaJuan Wagner, William Wesley, aka “World Wide Wes,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III, Terry Dehere, Malik Allen, Syracuse associate head coach Mike Hopkins and North Carolina assistant Hubert Davis.

Russell plays alongside Florida-bound point guard Kasey Hill, West Virginia-bound forward Devin Williams and Johnson, the No. 1 center in the country who is considering Kentucky, Georgetown and Syracuse.

Russell is from Louisville, Ky., and has been talked about as the best player to come out of Louisville since Rajon Rondo, who went on to star at Kentucky.

Rondo was said to have been overlooked by Louisville coach Rick Pitino and the Cardinals program that chose to go with Sebastian Telfair (who went straight to the NBA instead).

The same thing cannot be said about Russell, who already holds offers from Louisville Florida, Indiana, Ohio State, Missouri, N.C. State, Xavier and Tennessee, among others.

Russell told Alex Kline he plans to visit Missouri, Florida, N.C. State, North Carolina, Ohio State and Louisville soon.

”I just look at the coaching staff, the guys that are there and who’s leaving when I get there,” Russell said.

He has no plan on committing any time soon.

“I’m probably going to make my decision as late as possible to let the class of 2014 commit,” he said. “I’ll be able to see if I want to play with somebody or separate myself.”

Photo: Rivals.com

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