SPORTS

Cards land 5-star wing Deng Adel for 2015

Steve Jones
@stevejones_cj

Rick Pitino had been recruiting Deng Adel as heavily as any high school basketball player in the 2015 class, so getting the small forward's commitment on Monday was a happy moment for the University of Louisville coach, to say the least.

"He said that he had not been that happy in 10 years for a kid (to commit)," Adel's coach and guardian, Loren Jackson, told The Courier-Journal.

The 6-foot-7 Adel, ranked No. 18 nationally by Scout.com, gives Pitino a five-star start to his 2015 class. The coach hit a bull's-eye on his top target at the wing position.

"The style of play (of Louisville), and his ability to play on both ends is really what Coach preaches every day," said Jackson, who coaches Adel at Victory Rock Prep in Bradenton, Fla. "It was just the right fit, timing and (the Cardinals') need. They need someone at that position."

Adel is a native of Sudan who moved to Australia as a youngster and is a citizen of that country. He averaged 22 points and eight rebounds last season at Victory Rock after arriving in the United States, and he has been a star this spring and summer on the Adidas travel circuit, where he's built a national profile.

Adel, who can sign a national letter of intent in November, is in line to become U of L's eighth five-star high school signee since 2005, according to Scout's ratings.

"I think Adel is an exceptional athlete," Scout.com analyst Evan Daniels said. "He really plays well in transition and has very good body control. He can make shots to 3-point range, he's improving as a midrange shooter and he's a really good scorer at the rim.

"Defensively I think he fits perfectly into what they want to do from a pressing standpoint because he's long, he's quick, he's athletic. He could wreak havoc in their press."

Adel will follow a similar path to U of L as current sophomore center Mangok Mathiang, his longtime friend who also was born in Sundan and moved to Australia as a boy. Jackson also coached and served as a guardian to Mathiang after he came to the United States. Jackson said Mathiang was "ecstatic" that Adel had committed to U of L.

"Now I've got two Cards; maybe I can get a full deck," Jackson said, adding that U of L is interested in some of his younger players.

The Cards' relationship with Jackson and Mathiang's relationship with Adel helped U of L get an early jump on Adel once he moved to this country, and the Cards have been seen as the team to beat. He also had offers from Florida, Connecticut, Mississippi and Virginia Tech, and Jackson said Kentucky and Oklahoma State had expressed interest.

Adel visited U of L last month, and Pitino watched him over the weekend at the Adidas Unrivaled camp in Chicago. Mathiang also participated in the camp.

"I think (Rick) Pitino and (assistant) Mike Balado really targeted him early, and they were the first high-major school to really prioritize him, and in the end that really paid off," Daniels said. "… At the small forward spot, there's no question he was the guy they really wanted."

Jackson has known Pitino for about 30 years, since he attended the Five-Star basketball camps where Pitino was a young counselor. Jackson said Pitino's coaching philosophy has influenced his own, and his teams play a style similar to the Cards.

That's another reason, he said, that Adel is a good fit for U of L, and Jackson said Adel reminds him of Derek Anderson, one of Pitino's best former players when he coached at UK.

"Me knowing Coach since I was 14 years old, that means a lot to me to see that Hall of Fame coach want someone who is in (my) program that much and that badly," Jackson said. "That's special for me. … It was important (for Pitino to get Adel). They are trying to compete in the ACC and win championships, and that's what it's all about."

Pitino said last week that the Cards were recruiting about 10 players to fill three or four spots in the 2015 class and that he expected to start getting commitments this month. Pitino was right on that prediction.

"I think (Adel) is a great start," Daniels said. "Anytime you can reel in a guy ranked in the top 20 is a big deal. Their next step is to find another perimeter scorer at the shooting guard position and land a big man."

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.

Recent five-star U of L commitments

• 2015 — No. 18 Deng Adel

• 2013 — No. 15 Terry Rozier

• 2011 — No. 17 Wayne Blackshear; No. 25 Chane Behanan

• 2008 — No. 2 Samardo Samuels

• 2006 — No. 24 Earl Clark; No. 25 Derrick Caracter

• 2005 — No. 13 *Amir Johnson

* — Turned professional out of high school

(ratings via Scout.com)

Deng Adel

College choice: Louisville

High school: Victory Rock Prep

Location: Bradenton, Fla.

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Position: Small forward

Height: 6-7

Weight: 190

Rankings: No. 18 Scout.com, No. 28 247Sports.com, No. 47 Rivals.com, No. 83 ESPN.com.