What does the decommitment of this 2016 high flying guard mean for Wake Forest?
A 2016 guard that Danny Manning and staff were recruiting earlier in the cycle is back on the market in Kwe Parker. He announced via Twitter last night that he was opening up his recruitment again following a visit to Piscataway in late October.
After much thought and prayer, I have decided to decommit from Rutgers & re-open my recruiting. I thank Rutgers for their time & interest.
— Kwe Parker (@iJump_tooMuch) November 4, 2015
There is a lot of speculation at this point as to what, if anything, this means to Wake Forest and its chances of landing Parker for the 2016 class. As of right now there are already no scholarships available for the 2016 recruiting class, but given the recent news of suspensions and transgressions within the current roster, it would not be overly surprising if the staff is assessing different options and routes to take moving forward.
I have no inside sources at all on this matter, but have to wonder if Coach Manning and staff have gotten back into touch with Parker given the recent events. That would make a lot of sense given the timing of Parker's decommitment. This comes right before an early signing period between Nov. 11-18 where Parker could have signed with Rutgers and made it official.
Parker, a 6-2 shooting guard who plays locally at Wesleyan Christian Academy (same team as current 2016 Wake Forest commit Brandon Childress, as well as where Harry Giles played before transferring to Oak Hill Academy for his senior season), committed to Rutgers on August 23rd.
He is a four-star and ranked as the 89th best player in the 2016 according to ESPN.com.
Parker is an exceptional athlete who is slightly undersized for the shooting guard position at this current day and age. He is agile, and uses his athleticism to slash to the basket and loves to play above the rim. Although he isn't a great shooter, based on what I have seen he can hit an open shot if he has time to set his feet and get a good look at it.
If Parker can add another inch or two to his current frame, as well as some additional weight too, he could be a really good player for a top 25 program.
If Coach Manning were some how able to land both Giles and Parker for the 2016 class, the 247Sports class ranking calculator projects a 7th ranked recruiting class if everything else stayed the same. Right now it currently sits at 39th for the 2016 recruiting rankings.
This is a footnote to this article, but certainly more than a footnote as far as most Wake Forest fans are concerned, but Harry Giles suffered a knee injury very early in his game for Oak Hill Academy last night. The extent and severity of the injury are currently unknown, but he went to the locker room and did not return after that. I don't know if it is the same knee that he had surgically repaired back in 2013, but this is obviously something that we will keep an eye on and report on as we know more moving forward.
