EAGAN, Minn. – With a year left at
Columbia (Decatur),
Tahj Shamsid-Deen has a chance to become one of the most highly-decorated players in Georgia history.
Shamsid-Deen has led the powerhouse Eagles to three state titles and was named Class AAA player of the year as sophomore and junior.
Tahj Shamsid-Deen
Photo courtesy of Chick-fil-A Classic
"Going into ninth grade I wasn't really thinking about championships," Shamsid-Deen said. "I was just thinking about getting a starting spot and playing on varsity.
"After the first championship, I loved the feeling so my team got committed to trying to win four in a row. We've got three so next year we've got one more to go."
Yet he isn't viewed as one of the nation's elite recruits (ranked No. 100 in MaxPreps Class of 2013 Top 100). Standing
maybe 5-foot-9, his size – or lack thereof – seems to have deterred many programs from getting involved.
He showed at Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League opening weekend that his game translates to elite competition, as well, averaging 17.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
Auburn, Northwestern and UCLA have offered and are in regular contact, according to Shamsid-Deen.
In addition to those schools, there may have been some new sets of eyes on him over the weekend at the High Performance Academy just outside of Minneapolis.
"I saw Tennessee over there (in the stands) a couple of times and my coach says Kentucky might be looking at me," Shamsid-Deen said.
He would be a bit of departure from Kentucky's parade of five-star signees in recent years, but his quickness and decision making more than make up for his sub-5-10 frame.
Five-star updates*
James Young, a 6-7 do-it-all guard/wing, is getting the most attention from Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Providence and USC at the moment. Tom Izzo was among the coaches Sunday taking in The Family and
Troy (Mich.) star, who is ranked No. 10 in the MaxPreps Class of 2013 Top 100.
Keith Frazier
File photo by Keith Owens
Young was an absolute monster for The Family this weekend, leading the event in scoring at 26.7 points per game to go along with eight rebounds – including a 29 and 14 effort against Shamsid-Deen and Southern Stampede.
*
Keith Frazier, a 6-5, 190-pound guard out of
Kimball (Dallas), is ranked No. 13 in the MaxPreps Class of 2013 Top 100. He has Baylor, Houston, Marquette, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M at the top of his list, but there is plenty of time for other schools to get involved. Frazier's timeline for a decision is, "As late as possible."
Frazier averaged 13.2 points per game to help the Houston Hoops go 4-0.
Big weekends* Jordan Mathews, California Supreme: Perhaps no rising senior outside of the Top 100 had a bigger weekend than Mathews, who averaged 19.5 points per game and drilled five triples in a Saturday morning contest.
* Jarquez Smith, Georgia Stars: Smith impressed just by showing up. He isn't always productive at this point (posted 7.7 points, 4.7 rebounds per game), but he was one of only a handful of players in the entire event truly in the 6-10-plus range and has a wingspan to match. The
Jones County (Gray, Ga.) big man is a fluid athlete who could climb the rankings rapidly if he can consistently impact games.
* Austin Price, The Family: The 6-3 shooter was a bit quiet through the first three outings for The Family, but picked a good time to get hot Sunday afternoon. The
Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) product buried six threes en route to 23 points in a wild loss to the Houston Hoops.
