LEPANTO — Rashad “Ky” Madden has completed the set for Arkansas.
Madden, a point guard at East Poinsett County High School, orally committed to the Razorbacks on Wednesday, joining fellow AAU teammates Aaron Ross of Little Rock Parkview and Hunter Mickelson of Jonesboro Westside.
Madden, 6-5, 170 pounds, received numerous scholarship offers, including offers from Arkansas, OleMiss, Baylor, Kentucky, Connecticut, Oklahoma State, Georgetown, Florida and Marquette. He narrowed his list to Arkansasand Ole Miss before announcing his decision at his high school Wednesday morning.
Madden, Ross and Mickelson are all highly-recruited prospects who in August helped lead the Arkansas Wings to the 17-under AAU national championship, where Madden was named MVP of the tournament. They also formed the nucleus of one of the top high school classes the state has produced.
Ross, a 6-8, 220-pound forward, orally committed to Arkansas as a freshmanin March 2008, and Mickelson, a 6-10 1 /2, 205-pound forward, orally committed to the Razorbacks in May. Combination guard B.J. Young, 6-4, 170, of Florissant (Mo.) McCluer North has also given Arkansas an oral commitment.
Oral commitments are nonbinding.
Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey received a nice assist from Madden’s 2-year-old nephew, Jakyran Madden, on Wednesday morning while Rashad and Jakyran were eating breakfast.
“I pulled out the hats and I asked him which hat he wanted me to pick, and he said, ‘You need to wear the red one and I’ll wear the green one,’ ” said Madden, who admitted that he went to bed Tuesday night thinking he would commit to Ole Miss. “I asked him if he wanted me to go to Arkansas and he said, ‘Yes,’ so that’s when I made my decision to go to Arkansas.
“Then I got a text from Hunter, and Hunter was like, ‘We really need you up here with us to win.’ ”
Madden took an official visit to Arkansas on Sept. 17-19 and was joined on the trip by Ross, who made an unofficial visit.
“Ross came down with me, and we’re talking about how Arkansas will be back the way it used to be if I’m there or not,” Madden said. “I don’t want to miss out on that. I want to be there, too.”
Arkansas’ coaches earned praise from Madden for their recruiting efforts.
“They recruited me real well,” said Madden, who averaged 19.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game as a junior. “They’re down-toearth people and cool to talkto. It’s not just about basketball. It’s about life in general, and I feel like I can trust them.”
Hoopmasters.com national recruiting analyst Van Coleman rates Madden as the No. 43 prospect in the nation.
“He’s a versatile player, a phenomenal athlete that can flat out get it done on both ends of the court,” Coleman said. “He’s the type guy that comes in and you can build a backcourt around.”
Coleman said he believes Madden is capable of playing point guard, shooting guard and even small forward.
“He has a great ability to score off the dribble,” Coleman said. “He has really become a good shooter to set up all that penetration up.”
Arkansas is also waiting to hear from top-100 small forward Antwan Space, 6-7, 203, of DeSoto, Texas.
“This is a class that’s going to approach a top-five status,” Coleman said. “They’ve been on the cusp of a top 10 with the kids they’ve had, but with Madden that puts them into that solidly. If they add Space, I think that’s a class that’s going to challenge for a top-five spot.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 09/30/2010