Emmanuel Negedu, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound power forward, has the Vols on the short-list of schools he’s considering attending, along with Memphis, Georgia Tech and Indiana.
Negedu originally signed with Arizona last fall, but because of turnover on the Wildcats’ assistant coaching staff, asked for and was recently granted a release.
The Vols have one scholarship left available in this recruiting class after the announcement that point guard Ramar Smith and power forward Duke Crews would not return to the team.
Jason Smith, who coached Negedu at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., said UT’s style fits Negedu’s abilities.
“Emmanuel, athletically, is affectionately described as `freakish,’ ‘’ Smith said. “He’s explosive; he plays a lot bigger than his size.’’
Smith said Negedu, a Nigerian native who came to the U.S. 3 ½ years ago, averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and nearly four blocks per game last season. He played in the New England Prep School League, which features teams with no less than five Division I signees apiece.
“We’re not playing the normal competition,’’ said Smith, who had eight players on last year’s team who signed with Division I teams. “Emmanuel can run and jump all day long. He could play the front or the back of the press.’’
Negedu is rated 40th overall in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com and is the No. 13-ranked power forward.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Tennessee 60, Connecticut 57 men's…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 44
GreerVol22 writes:
Niiiice!
auttat writes:
Seems like too much of a tongue twister for Kesling.
ncvol writes:
Hope he decides on UT. Sounds pretty good.
volball7222 writes:
Hey Negadu!!! COME ON DOWN!!!!!!!
beachvol1 writes:
If you read posts, read this one, it is a no brainer that Coach Pearl puts them all in a back seat when it comes to motivating and coaching on and off the floor....need to be able to handle yourself in a professional manner to play for the UT Basketball Program....so if you meet the criteria, welcome to the program of the future and the next "NATIONAL CHAMPION".....
caskew#218608 writes:
It's NegEdu, not NegAdu!
kepvol writes:
only about a week late
budrhon writes:
The new asst coach with Memphis Josh Pastner (fomerly at Arizona) also recruited him and has a close relationship with him. This will be a tough one to get because the Tigers lost out on Ebanks and two of their recruits Simpkins and Garcia might not make the grade along with rumors now sufacing that Dozier may not return and might opt for the European League (dumb ass move if he does)Thus immediate playing time might be appealing to him but with that being said Pearl will probably get him.
BigOrangeJeff writes:
Predicted future post from a Generic Memphis State Fan prior to Negadu picking a school:
"You Vol fans need to get a grip. No recruit in the world would choose Knoxville over Memphis as long as Coach Cal is in place. I've seen this kid play and he is All-World. He'll make Scotty Hopson look like an old lady, while carrying the mighty Tigers to the NCAA title. Mark it down, this kid is Memphis bound."
Predicted future post from same Memphis State fan if Negadu decides to go to UT:
"This kid sucks. He couldn't throw the ball into the ocean from the side of a ship. I've seen him play. 1) He's only about 6'5", 2) he's slower than molasses on a cold day in Alaska, and 3) he's so weak he can't even do two pushups. Have fun trying to win anything with yet another Tiger reject."
BOJ
Silent_Fulmer writes:
one word.....BBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEE
Hunter writes:
BOJ - you hit it on the head man.
Thanks KNS for yet another scintillating report that's only 4 days old......
It would be great to land this kid and give us a slasher to replace Ramar - preferably one that can finish at the hole, though.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
KingsportVol - could fritters close the deal?
GreerVol22 writes:
pdhuff, ever watch discovery channel and watch a croc snatch a wildebeest?
I imagine a Nigerian on a fritter would be much the same.
chrslyp writes:
hell, this kid has already practically played D1 ball. playing against high school teams where the entire starting lineup is D1 bound? that's amazing.
b_neas writes:
This just speaks volumes for how our program has come. I mean we need a PG and BAM! one day later we get a top PG. We sign a top ten mcdonalds all american. Seems like there is no one we can not get. It will not be long until there is a men's national championship banner up there with the womens. After suffering through 20 years of average men's basketball I am so hyped!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Thank God for CBP! Now it is hardly news that the great prospects are considering us. No one gets everyone they want, and we will probably miss out on many of the ones we do want, but at least we are increasingly in the conversation. Given a decent shot to talk to a kid, I give CBP as good a chance as anyone to get him.
overatedvols writes:
News Flash, It's reported that both Dozier and Anderson will be returning to school. Neither signed with an agent and an article in the Memphis paper this morning says Dorsey has talked to them and they both said they are going back to school.
Thought you people would want to hear some good news. I hope you do get this guy NegEdu or else it could really get nasty in that Tenn/Memphis game next season. By the way, does anyone know the worst beating the Vols have had at TBA? I'm just curious..that's all. I'm not saying anything... just curious how many points it was?
IBleedOrange444 writes:
KingsportVol-
That's too damn funny man! Wrong, but still funny as hell.
IBleedOrange444 writes:
Overated-
What happened to Eubanks? You told us for about a solid month about how he was going to be the next Tiger High great and now he's going elsewhere. Didn't I tell you before not to count your chickens before they've hatched? Kind of like your "when we beat you guys next year, it will be 2-2 over the last 4 years" bullsh!t you always throw out there.
66-62 buddy, 66-62.
GreerVol22 writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
overatedvols writes:
Orange Bleeder is will be 2 and 2 when we win next season? It won't be 3 to 1 it will be 2 to 2. Not sure what you mean? Of course it's a definite that Memphis will win = 2 and 2.
BigOrangeJeff your post described Vol fans perfectly, not Memphis fans. Heck, we rarely loss a recruit. Ebanks... he wasn't really any good! Ok ok.. yes we wanted him but with Dozier and Anderson coming back and the recruits we got we'll be fine.
Speaking of Lofton, have him come to the Memphis Griz tryouts. Griz need a good shooter. They need a good anything/everything. They needed better than a 5th pick in the draft but that's what they got. Of course they are the Griz.. right Brownie.
PaulTheVol writes:
It's no wonder Memphis fans come to this site. You ever read a Memphis blog? Basketball, Basketball, Basketball, UT Sucks, Basketball, Basketball, Basketball, UT Sucks, Basketball, Basketball, Basketball, Louisville Sucks, Basketball, Basketball, Basketball...etc.
threehundredbowler writes:
GreerVol22,your 12:50p.m.post just about brought laughter tears to my eyes.I can hear Bert saying that now.
bowerst#242774 writes:
Ever notice that basketball incites passion in the off-season now, when just a few years ago people were counting the days to kickoff?
overatedvols writes:
Opps.. I'm seeing that his coach/former coach is saying it's down to two schools, Indiana and Memphis. Oh well, he wasn't very good anyway, right BigOrangeJeff.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/81...
indianacurly writes:
his coach, jason smith, said he'd pick from a handful of schools. the olson the article quotes on the indiana-memphis scenario is the coach at arizona (fyi for the mental giant who either a) doesn't have a 10 yr old's comprehension of english, or b) didn't recognize the last name of the arizona coach of the last 25 years)
dvols writes:
its a really easy decision
cotton eyed joes
or
plush club
FUT writes:
Hopefully he won't come to UT and ruin his career. Never seen so many Four-star recruits fail.
Remeber boys and girls, you can't spell the word thug without the letters "U and T"
threehundredbowler writes:
FUT ie Paul Lyndon.FPL.You are one sick dumb ass.Go somewhere else and make those stupid posts.You have posted five times on this site and in every one of them you have refered to all UT players as thugs.Why are you so stupid? Must have been the way you were raised.Quit trying to bring other people down to your level.
CoverOrange writes:
Kevin O'Neal does his thing again. How many scholarships do we have available still?
TommyJack writes:
itsme: Wow. Good one. Did you attend that paragon of academic excellence, Memphis State?
pdhuff#552644 writes:
TJ, I'm impressed. F-150's are good trucks and cost a lot of gelt. I bet "pot" is expensive and gas is high to go purchase it.
I also think Calipari is a good coach and Pearl is a consumate self-promotor who enjoys stirring it up.
I also know neither has won a NC lately.
All are welcome.
Colliervol writes:
I'm wondering if FUT had to stay up all night to come up with that unique saying. That one's only about 20 years old and I'm pretty sure a Bama or Florida fan came up with it. But I will say that if anybody could recognize a thug, it would be a Memphis fan or a Memphis resident. Trust me on that one. We all have lots of experience at that just from watching the local news every day.
Overated, it's hard to come up with the worst beating we've taken at TBA. Under Pearl, it's been so long since we lost at home, we can't remember it and most of us have blocked out the Buzz Peterson years as a bad dream.
Philosophical question though. If Memphis couldn't get it done with Derrick Rose (probably the most talented player in college basketball this past year), CDR and a team of all stars this year in front of 18,000 screaming fans at the Forum, what in the world makes you think they can beat UT at Knoxville with a mostly new cast and especially with an untested point guard against UT's pressure? (You can use that timeout that Cal wasted should you need a little time to come up with some logic instead of blind homerism.)
THE_VOL writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
VOLS85 writes:
itsme, feel free to cut the phooey. I believe "getting it done" means winning a national championship...something Memphis has never done in any relevant sport...ever.
Ohh and another awe inspiring comment from your fine tuned depth of knowledge: "Memphis....measures the season by the ultimate outcome". I don't know if you heard the news, but your poster boy Cal forgot to call a timeout, resulting in a ghastly finish where "the ultimate outcome" was a LOSS. L O S S, you lost, just like 64(remember that there's a play-in game) other teams in the tournament. I bet that consolation trophy would look splendid if anyone cared enough to give one out!
Thanks for paying our taxes though (as if we do not have to do such), that obviously means that Memphis is more validated in hoops. Those taxes really don't fix the fact that Memphis is the 4th most dangerous city out of 330 metropolitan areas in the U.S., just below N'awlins! HIGH FIVE
http://www.morganquitno.com/cit06pop....
The very odd fact involving that little tidbit is that Knoxville did not fall into that list, validating why people do not like the city of Memphis in general. Clean up your crime, or you're going to fit the profile.
Cheers, and GO VOLS. (we'll look to make it 3 out of 4 next year...but until then I guess there's always football season to look forward to for one of us).
overatedvols writes:
Just a quick word to let you guys know the Univ. of Memphis basketball team left for China sunday morning. The team, plus I believe 7 other players from Conf. USA, will play 3 exhibition games against the Chinese national team within the next 7 days. We're hoping one day Yao Ming 2 decides to attend college at the U of M. I thought you'd all be interested. Also a good article in the CA the other day about our new star recruit Tyreke Evans and his workout regime. He's going to be a good one it appears.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/...
Ok, just thought i'd drop in and cheer things up with some good news. Didn't want anybody getting all depressed since the holiday is over. So many harsh comments. If I didn't know better i'd think some of you didn't like Memphis fans on here.
Univ. Of Memphis will beat the Vols next season in a blowout.
overatedvols writes:
Brownie, you still alive? I saw your town on the news last night. Seems you guys got a pretty bad storm. Is Dairy Queen still there? I saw several interesting(?) characters on the news last night that were from Brownsville. Hope that wasn't you.
Colliervol writes:
Surely, you didn't just try to compare a few drug busts with the murder capital of the continental United States, did you? (Evidently, you don't watch the same newscasts that I see every day.) The city of Memphis is a shambles whether you want to discuss crime, crooked politicians, broken educational system, or just about anything else. You really don't want to get into that discussion, do you?
International publicity and acclaim in China? According to whom? Oh yeah, Cal said Memphis is famous over there, therefore it must be so. (Of course, he described his coaching style as "firm and fair" when it comes to punishment of players too. I mean it's not like he's ever exaggerated anything, is it?) Having thought about it though, I guess I'd look to China for support too since 94 of 95 Tennessee counties aren't paying attention.
Bear with me. I can't type anymore until I stop laughing.....
overatedvols writes:
Rob..Robert..Bob..Bobby, I'm just wondering how this became your site. I've looked and don't see anything about a particular group other than the newspaper, owning this site. I don't believe that being a fan of the Vols is a requirement.
overatedvols writes:
Collier, i'm certainly not going to try and defend the inner city of Memphis. True, it has it's problems and has gone downhill considerably in the last decade or so. Actually since the king has been in office(and i'm not talking about Elvis). There's crime in the city, corruption in the local gov. and the school system is in serious condition.
Still, there is still alot of good in Memphis. Also I believe a majority of the most avid fans may have attended the univ but now probably live in the suburbs and there are some nice places to live around Memphis, Collierville being one of those places. I think you probably know there are a lot of Tiger fans in Collierville.
Also the city doesn't have anything to do with the tiger basketball team being superior to the Vols. You guys can talk thugs/crime and we can come back and talk rednecks and trailers. What good does it do? The simple fact is that the Univ. of Memphis has had a better team than the Vols in any year I can ever think of. You guys really just had your first good season last season. We've had many for many years. So, you can say that the facts are simple, Memphis has a lot of problems and you can't argue about it because it is a fact. I can say ok, and the Univ. of Memphis has a better basketball team and program than the Univ of Tenn and has always had a better team. There is also no argument about it. It's a simple fact. Am I correct? Yes I am.
TopTenn writes:
Negedu to visit vols on June 10th. Close the deal Bruce.
VOLS85 writes:
"it's", (insert apostrophe, IQ boy)
let's clear a few of your troubled points up real quickly. I suggest you have a little history lesson on football...(see, Tennessee has been to three SECCG since 1999, not two, but that's not your subject) since we've won a national championship in the past ten years, I believe that we carry an amount of clout that Memphis has NEVER carried in any sport.
You speak of delusional arrogance as if you have never been acclimated to such...See, while your mempiss (your little nicknames are really weak by the way) tigers were sitting on their stumps last summer, coach Pearl took his players to Europe to play basketball, visit sick children in hospitals, and visit nazi concentration camps.
http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2007/a...
See, you act as if coach Cal was the first to traverse the earth with his basketball team. Ahh, but isn't ignorance bliss for you? Now you look like you carry that weight of delusional arrogance strongly on your shoulders.
Now if you really would like to talk football, please feel free, but you should know better. We have a storied program filled with national championships. That budget you speak of has almost always been fully funded by the football team, its attendance, bowl game appearances, and donors. We receive no state funding and the athletic program is independent of the university (and turns a profit). If your IQ is as high as you suggest, it sure does not show. So take a history lesson, read up on some financials, and go back to mempiss (and try not to get shot, I'm told the crime rate is epic!).
cheers for now
Colliervol writes:
Again, itsme, talk all you like and think what you like. In 94 of 95 counties in Tenn., nobody cares. That $80 million will always be there and UT will ALWAYS be the lead dog in this state. Just keep them sending that tax money East.
By the way, that international notoriety (according to WHBQ today) got them about 4000 Chinese at their first game. Of course, they get that many people to watch them skin cats in front of the restaurants over there so I wouldn't get too carried away over that. And, uh, duh, the Chinese government has to approve ANYBODY going over there, including individuals. When I went I had to get a special visa thru the Chinese consulate. So don't act like that's anything special that the "Chinese government had to clear the Memphis trip".
Overrated, I will grant you that Memphis has re-built a successful program and outside of a few years has always been good. And, yes, Memphis has a bigger reputation in basketball than UT does. No big stunner there. Cal is doing a great job at what he does. And that's selling the program and sticking to the "formula" that he's figured out on how to get a high seed every year. But I find it incredible that you can say that "Memphis consistently has a better team than UT" when the head to head record is 12 for UT and 7 for Memphis. Somehow, our little old program that "just got good last year" has found a way to whip that tail TWELVE times. And I don't see how that can just be brushed off when comparing the two.
VOLS85 writes:
Hey tard,
Do you not even know what the most controversial system in sports is right now? IT'S THE BCS - BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. You know, that system of assigning a percentage and ranking to teams based on computer and human polls? I'm not entirely sure what the BSC is, so I will agree with you on that one. Continuing to show your lack of knowledge on football, so save yourself from responding.
Since your ignorance towards anything other than Memphis basketball has become glaringly evident, trying to cover your tracks by saying that you do not care that UT went abroad is pretty weak (DELUSIONAL ARROGANCE IS ALL IT IS PAL). UT goes abroad and does positive things for other people, but out of a pure disdain for this University, you fail to give credit.
Memphis goes abroad and we should all bow our heads in honor. You have a serious little man syndrome going on.
If you want to talk about the wealthiest areas in Tennessee, have a nice gander at Williamson County...Forbes has it listed as the 16th most wealthy county in the country, out of 3141, and it also happens to be where I am from (Franklin). So if you want to talk about wealth, drive on down I-65 and check out the cool springs area.
Your points are weak, and you've been called out on multiple times...doesn't it just eat you up inside? A Tennessee boy one-upping you, but I guess you're used to that, it's the story of Tiger High.
Done with this conversation, done owning you, off to our next sport...IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!
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