Rodney Purvis has been a star on the national scene since his freshman season at Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. VCU was involved in recruiting Rodney very early on as an underclassman before his commitment to Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals. He later decided that he wanted to explore his options further and opened up his recruitment. Today, a couple of days removed from the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event in California, Rodney released his new list of schools and the VCU Rams made his list. That is what a Final Four and a relentless coaching staff can do for you. Purvis is ranked <a href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/fiu/basketball/recruiting/player-Rodney-Purvis-105796" target="_blank">#7 overall in the Rivals 150</a>, <a href="http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/67459/rodney-purvis" target="_blank">#16 overall (97 grade) in the ESPNU 100</a>, and <a href="http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=4572689" target="_blank">#16 in Scout.com's Top 100</a>.
<a href="http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/948289.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5737" src="http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/948289.jpg" alt="" width="210" height="210" /></a><a href="http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/rodney-purvis1.jpg">
</a>VCU goes up against a venerable who's who of college basketball giants in Rodney's revised list, but that is something the Rams have grown accustomed to as of late. The Rams knocked off a laundry list of basketball heavyweights on their way to the Final Four this past March and are hoping to beat out a similar group of powers in Purvis' recruitment this fall.
The VCU coaching staff has cultivated a very strong relationship with Rodney dating back to his freshman year and apparently the interest from our staff has been reciprocated by Purvis, his mother, and his coaches. Purvis is also familiar with a current Ram as he played against red-shirt freshman Reco McCarter as a freshman at Upper Room when Reco was a senior in high school. The coaching staff has targeted North Carolina as one of it's primary recruiting areas with Juvonte Reddic and Reco McCarter both having come out of the state in recent years and they are hoping to add Purvis to that group. He is quite a talent as these videos attest to:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Qr__iAxiI">6\'3 Rodney Purvis: Best Junior in the Nation? (350,000+ views)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbRSw7ZEsrU">Is 6\'3 Rodney Purvis The Best Player In The Class of 2012? (184,000+ views)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If9odQL-2RQ">Best High School Freshman In The Country? 6\'3\" Rodney Purvis (235,000+ views)</a>
Regardless of what happens in Purvis' recruitment, to be on the list of a player of his caliber is a statement to the recruiting world at-large. VCU receives instant credibility on the recruiting trail with this announcement and it is exciting to see the exhilarating run to the Final Four paying dividends for Coach Shaka Smart and the VCU coaching staff. Rodney Purvis is a game-changer as well as a sure-fire NBA player who would draw a lot of national attention to VCU and attract other elite North Carolina talent with him that VCU is targeting at the present time. He is the type of player that others would follow and although it will be a tall task to go up against some of these traditional heavyweights, it is encouraging to see that VCU is making in-roads with some of the very best players in the nation. If there is one thing that is sure, it is that Ram Nation will be following Rodney's recruitment with great interest!
GO RAMS!
<a href="http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/948289.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-5737" src="http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/948289.jpg" alt="" width="210" height="210" /></a><a href="http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/rodney-purvis1.jpg">
</a>VCU goes up against a venerable who's who of college basketball giants in Rodney's revised list, but that is something the Rams have grown accustomed to as of late. The Rams knocked off a laundry list of basketball heavyweights on their way to the Final Four this past March and are hoping to beat out a similar group of powers in Purvis' recruitment this fall.
The VCU coaching staff has cultivated a very strong relationship with Rodney dating back to his freshman year and apparently the interest from our staff has been reciprocated by Purvis, his mother, and his coaches. Purvis is also familiar with a current Ram as he played against red-shirt freshman Reco McCarter as a freshman at Upper Room when Reco was a senior in high school. The coaching staff has targeted North Carolina as one of it's primary recruiting areas with Juvonte Reddic and Reco McCarter both having come out of the state in recent years and they are hoping to add Purvis to that group. He is quite a talent as these videos attest to:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Qr__iAxiI">6\'3 Rodney Purvis: Best Junior in the Nation? (350,000+ views)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbRSw7ZEsrU">Is 6\'3 Rodney Purvis The Best Player In The Class of 2012? (184,000+ views)</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If9odQL-2RQ">Best High School Freshman In The Country? 6\'3\" Rodney Purvis (235,000+ views)</a>
Regardless of what happens in Purvis' recruitment, to be on the list of a player of his caliber is a statement to the recruiting world at-large. VCU receives instant credibility on the recruiting trail with this announcement and it is exciting to see the exhilarating run to the Final Four paying dividends for Coach Shaka Smart and the VCU coaching staff. Rodney Purvis is a game-changer as well as a sure-fire NBA player who would draw a lot of national attention to VCU and attract other elite North Carolina talent with him that VCU is targeting at the present time. He is the type of player that others would follow and although it will be a tall task to go up against some of these traditional heavyweights, it is encouraging to see that VCU is making in-roads with some of the very best players in the nation. If there is one thing that is sure, it is that Ram Nation will be following Rodney's recruitment with great interest!
GO RAMS!
