Recruiting Update: Meet Daquan Bracey

Potential Hoya: Daquan Bracey

After Bruce Brown and Curtis Jones eliminated Georgetown from their respective lists of schools, John Thompson III and his staff are still on the lookout for guard prospects to bolster the roster in 2016. In addition to Georgetown commit Jagan Mosely and uncommitted top-100 prospect Zach Norvell, the Hoyas are targeting Daquan Bracey, an under-the-radar prospect from Baltimore.

Basic Information:

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 170 pounds

Year: High school senior

School: St. Frances Academy (Maryland)

Recruiting Profile:

ESPN: 3-star recruit, not in the ESPN Top 100

Rivals: Unranked, not in the Rivals 150

247Sports: 3-star recruit, #187 prospect

Scouting Report:

Bracey is not highly regarded by recruiting outlets, but he does have some skills that could translate well to the college game. He has great quickness and an above-average handle, which is a combination that allows him to create off the dribble both for himself and for his teammates. Bracey is the type of guard that can break down a defense, which can be useful on any team, particularly with the new 30-second shot clock.

Despite his strengths, Bracey lacks two of the attributes that are common in top recruits: shooting ability and size. He is listed anywhere from 5'8" to 5'11" on a variety of recruiting outlets, and while some of those measurements are probably outdated, the fact remains that Bracey has below-average size even for the point guard position. In addition, he is not a threat from long-range at this point, and must continue to work on the consistency of his jumper.

It is clear that Bracey is not a prototypical top recruit. That doesn't mean he can't succeed at the college level, and he has been lauded for his competitiveness and confidence in the past. Fair or unfair, however, there is reason to doubt Bracey's ability to be a consistent contributor at the Big East level.

Recruitment:

Georgetown has been involved with Bracey's recruitment for quite some time. Thompson extended a scholarship offer way back in December of last year, and many pundits have listed Georgetown as the heavy favorite for Bracey's services. Bracey was initially scheduled to commit on September 9, his mother's birthday, and many believed that he was set to commit to the Hoyas. However, a week before his commitment date, he announced that he would not choose a school yet.

Bracey's list of scholarship offers includes Dayton, Kansas State, Marquette, and Massachusetts. While that list includes several respectable programs, none of college basketball's powerhouses have gotten involved as of now.

Since he delayed his commitment, Bracey has been mostly quiet about his recruitment, and at this point it's hard to say where the winds are blowing in this recruitment.

Potential Fit:

Bracey would join Mosely, Tre Campbell, Kaleb Johnson, and possibly L.J. Peak in the guard rotation on the 2016-17 roster, with Tyler Foster and perhaps another recruit or two arriving in 2017. As Campbell is the only true point guard in that group, Bracey would have the opportunity to carve out spot minutes from the beginning of his career. However, unless Thompson is willing to downsize and move Campbell to the shooting guard position, Bracey would not have an opportunity to start until his junior season.

In my opinion, Bracey would have a hard time carving out minutes on a crowded roster in the beginning of his career, but if he works hard and improves, he has a chance to be a contributor at the Big East level as an upperclassman. His speed and ball-handling would be useful for a team that is expected to play at a faster pace in the upcoming seasons, and it is always good to have a guard off the bench who can handle the ball under pressure.

Highlights:

Verdict:

Bracey is a good player who has done well for himself so far in his high school career. He could be a useful player at Georgetown. However, in my opinion, Bracey's recruitment is another indictment of Georgetown's consistent failure to bring in high-level guard recruits.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, who is now a senior, was the team's last consensus top-100 lead guard prospect, a span in which the team has brought in five top-100 forwards (Cameron, Copeland, White, Derrickson, Govan) and one top-100 wing (Peak). For a program of Georgetown's status, that is extremely disappointing.

On the other hand, I believe recruiting rankings are overrated and I trust the staff's player evaluation ability. In addition, Bracey has been consistently praised for his intangibles, and I think those are attributes that are overlooked in recruiting circles. There's something to be said for a solid, smart player who knows his strengths and weaknesses and will play for the team and not himself. After losing out on Brown and Jones and with Seventh Woods looking more and more like a pipe dream, Bracey would be a fine late addition to the class.

Still, at some point Georgetown will have to figure out how to attract top guard prospects again.