A Look Ahead for UW Basketball: 2013 Recruiting

For those who don't follow recruiting very closely, let me get you up to speed on Washington’s current class:

There isn't one.

Washington is the only school in the Pac-12 without at least one verbal commitment; the Huskies did not receive a single LOI during the early period.

Many believe they will be going for broke on a power forward named Anthony Bennett. If they do not land Bennett, then the Huskies will go without a single player incoming from the 2012 class.

Things are not looking very good on the front for Bennett as of right now, but it appears the Huskies may be in the running for the top recruiting class in the nation in 2013. There is a "Big Three" that UW—and the rest of the nation—is gunning after and the Huskies could very well pull it off.

Lets meet the Big Three, shall we?

Standing at 6’6” and 190 lbs., Bird is rated as the No. 4 scoring guard in the country and is a 5-star prospect according to Scout.com and ESPN.

Bird has a great frame and ball-handling skills and sports a very smooth jump shot. He may not be a great outside shooter, but he loves to drive the lane and is not afraid of contact.

A great comparison to which Husky fans can relate is Quincy Pondexter.

Bird has been visiting different schools, but his top two choices are Arizona and Washington. His teammates and he are very close and a possible deciding factor for Bird will be where his teammate goes (read on to find out who he is).

Gordon is on the same AAU team as Bird (Oakland Soldiers) and just might be the single most explosive player in the entire class.

At 6’7” and 210 lbs., he has a great frame for going strong to the hoop and is a great ball-handler for his size. He is also great at running the floor and just being an electric playmaker.

If there were one weakness to Gordon’s game, it would be that he does not have the greatest deep shot. But since he plays mostly in the paint, that shouldn't hurt him.

Gordon is my personal favorite player from the 2013 class because of the show he puts on (watch the video and you will see what I mean). He is ranked as the No. 2 power forward in his class and a Top Five player in the country.

Gordon’s current Top Five consists of Arizona, Texas, Kansas, Kentucky and Washington. Of those five, Washington is his current favorite, but he may holding off on a commitment based on advice from his brother, who played for New Mexico’s basketball team.

Gordon has a great relationship with Lorenzo Romar and raves about how great Romar is in every interview involving his recruitment. 

The cream of the crop, Parker is the No. 1-rated player in the entire class. The 6’7”, 215 lb. forward is sought after by every program in the country.

He may be listed as a forward, but overall Parker plays like a guard. He can drive the lane, shoot the deep ball with great ease and accuracy and is a great ball-handler. There is no noticeable consistent flaw in Parker’s game, making him truly the top player in the country.

Obviously, every program in the country would love to get their hands on him, but who is he favoring?

There are a lot of schools in the mix including Illinois, Duke, BYU, Michigan State, Kansas, Connecticut, Ohio State, North Carolina and Washington. While it may look like a chore to drag Parker to Montlake all the way from Illinois—especially with the tough competition—Washington has an ace in the hole.

Romar played with Parker’s dad in the NBA and has known the family for years, especially Jabari. That great relationship could be exactly what UW needs to land Parker's commitment.

I think that the race will be between Washington and Duke. While recruiting against Duke may be intimidating, I believe that Washington will win the recruiting battle. 

If you were worried about UW's recruiting, I hope this relieves those worries. The Huskies may not land a stud class this year, but if you can be patient, you will be rewarded.

This Big Three would easily give Washington the No. 1 class in the country and would give them their best lineup since they had Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Ryan Appleby, Will Conroy and Bobby Jones in 2004.