Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Recruiting Class Ranked 10th Nationally
6/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 2, 2006
Wake Forest's men's basketball recruiting class is ranked 10th nationally by Rivals.com, which announced its list of top recruiting classes today.
The Demon Deacon recruiting class includes L.D. Williams (6-4, East Bend, N.C.), Jamie Skeen (6-8, Charlotte, N.C.), Ishmael Smith (5-11, Concord, N.C.), Anthony Gurley (6-3, Newton, Mass.), Chas McFarland (7-0, Lovington, Ill.) and Casey Crawford (6-9, Overland Park, Kan.).
North Carolina's recruiting class was ranked No. 1 by Rivals, followed by Ohio State, Texas, Connecticut, Duke, Tennessee, Washington, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Wake Forest. Maryland was ranked 19th, giving the ACC five teams in the top 25.
This is what Rivals.com wrote about the Wake Forest class: "The Deacons can't boast a high-profile recruit like the other top 10 classes, but they make up for it with depth and balance. Their six-man class includes a pair of four-star prospects, shooting guard Anthony Gurley and power forward Jamie Skeen and four three-star prospects, point guard Ishmael Smith, shooting guard L.D. Williams, power forward Casey Crawford and 7-foot center Chas McFarland. Crawford signed in April and McFarland (No. 145) earned a spot in the Rivals150 in the spring."
Below is biographical information on each of Wake's signees:
L.D. Williams
Freshman / Guard / 6-4 / 210 / East Bend, NC / Monteverde (FL) Academy
A smooth and athletic player who can play either wing position ... strong and athletic ... has a good basketball IQ ... grew up in the Winston-Salem area and attended Forbush High School, but completed his high school work in Florida at Monteverde Academy... played his junior and senior seasons at Monteverde under coach Kevin Sutton ... averaged 17.4 points, 3.4 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game as a senior for the Eagles ... played on a talent-loaded Monteverde team that was balanced ... both years at Monteverde the Eagles were ranked nationally and within the state of Florida ... Williams helped his team to a combined 42-14 record in two seasons ... named to the All-Central Florida second team by the Orlando Sentinel ... won the Senior Showcase slam-dunk contest in Orlando after jumping over a rack of basketballs for a two-handed dunk, followed by leaping over a local radio DJ for the contest-winner ... named player of the year in Lake County ... was second team all-county as a junior ... named to the Monteverde all-invitational tournament team two years in a row ... Monteverde, a private boarding school that does not compete in the Florida state high school tournament, finished 21-8 in 2006 ... Williams' high school teammates -- Luc Richard Mbah (UCLA), Franck Ndongo (VCU) and Szymon Lukasiak (Jacksonville) - are all playing on the Division I level ... chose Wake Forest overall several ACC and SEC schools ... played on an AAU team that toured Brazil in the summer of 2005... "Wake Forest got a steal in L.D. Williams," Monteverde coach Kevin Sutton said. "He is the complete package: great character, serious student and outstanding basketball player."
Jamie Skeen
Freshman / Forward / 6-8 / 220 / Charlotte, NC / North Mecklenburg HS
A skilled and athletic player who can play either forward position, although the Deacons target him as a small forward ... an unselfish player who gets his teammates involved ... named first team all-state by the Associated Press in 2005 and in 2006 ... the second-leading vote-getter on that team in `06 ... ranked among the nation's top 150 overall prospects, he is considered one of the nation's top high school senior small forwards ... ranked as the 42nd-best prospect nationally by Bob Gibbons ... ranked 85th nationally by Rivals.com ... led North Mecklenburg to the state 4A championship in 2005 ... nearly won a second consecutive state title in 2006, but lost to Raleigh Wakefield, 45-43, in the championship game ... led the Vikings to a 23-7 record as a senior ... averaged 20.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game as a junior ... was North Carolina's Mr. Basketball in 2005 ... played for the Vikings under coach Duane Lewis ... chose Wake Forest over North Carolina, Florida, Clemson and several others
Ishmael Smith
Freshman / Guard / 5-11 / 155 / Concord, NC / Central Cabarrus HS
A true point guard who will compete right away for a starting position ... considered one of the quickest players on the national recruiting scene ... has the ability to create and passing is one of his strengths ... ranked among the top 150 prospects nationally by Bob Gibbons and in the top 125 by Rivals.com ... finished his career with 1,775 points and a school-record 687 career assists ... led CCHS to a 25-3 record and a MECA-6 Conference regular season and tournament title as a senior ... averaged 24.8 points and 9.8 assists per game as a senior ... scored 30 points and dished out 9 assists against powerful Oak Hill Academy in 2005-06 ... led Central Cabarrus to a 20-8 record and to the sectional finals as a junior ... averaged 24.7 points, 8 assists and 5 steals per game as a junior ... named the Charlotte Observer's Piedmont Player of the Year in 2005... played for coach Scott Brewer ... "He is as quick as any player in America with the basketball," Brewer said of Smith ... played in the 2006 Carolinas Classic All-Star game ... chose Wake Forest over a number of schools including Charlotte, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Xavier and Maryland.
Anthony Gurley
Freshman / Guard / 6-3 / 185 / Newton, MA / Newton North HS
A good athlete with outstanding body control and leaping ability ... possesses a very good mid-range jumper ... comes from a winning program as Newton North won back-to-back state championships in 2005 and 2006 while compiling a combined 53-1 record ... ranked as the nation's 79th top prep prospects by Rivals ...ranked as the 68th-best overall prospect nationally by Bob Gibbons ... ranked as the 22nd-best shooting guard prospect ... averaged 22 points per game as a senior as Newton North went a perfect 27-0 ... his numbers increased to 27 ppg in the postseason ... had a single-game high of 33 points and 17 rebounds against New Bedford ... named Bay State Conference co-MVP along with teammate and Providence signee Corey Lowe ... averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per as a junior, earning Bay State Conference MVP honors ... led Newton North to a 26-1 record in 2005 ... named all-conference four times ... a two-time member of the Boston Herald's Dream Team and a two-time member of the Boston Globe's Super Team ... called a "special, special talent" by his high school coach, Paul Connolly ... chose Wake Forest over NC State, Boston College and several other schools.
Chas McFarland
Freshman / Center / 7-0 / Lovington, IL / Worcester (MA) Academy
Attended and played at Lovington (IL) High School before playing last season at Worcester (MA) Academy ... ranked among the nation's top 150 prospects by Rivals.com ... averaged 15 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game last season in the highly-competitive Class A league ... averaged 16.7 points, 14.3 rebounds and 7.5 blocked shots per game as a junior at Lovington HS ... was an all-state selection in 2005 ... played at Worcester Academy for coach Ed Reilly ... Worcester Academy's list of letterwinners is remarkable, including former Georgia Tech standout Jarret Jack.
Casey Crawford
Freshman / Forward / 6-9 / 225 / Overland Park, KS / Blue Valley North HS
A versatile power forward who has the ability to stretch opposing defenses ... named the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Kansas ... averaged 21 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots per game as a senior ... committed to Wake Forest despite coming down with a sever case of tonsillitis during his visit to the Winston-Salem campus in April.
