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Top 100 prospect Makinde London commits to Xavier

Chris Mack

Xavier head coach Chris Mack talks to his players during a timeout in the second half of their 79-66 win over Fordham in an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

AP

When the realignment dominoes fell more than a few people wondered what would happen with the reconstituted Big East, especially in regards to the caliber of prospect the ten schools would be able to recruit. Well the conference has done quite well for itself on the recruiting trail this offseason, and on Wednesday Xavier landed its third verbal commitment in the 2014 class with four-star power forward/center Makinde London announcing his decision to attend the school according to multiple outlets (subscription required).

London, a native of Spring Hill, Tenn., is a 6-foot-10 big man who attends Montverde Academy in Florida and saw his recruitment gain steam thanks to an 8-inch growth spurt. Weighing 195, London will have to bulk up some in preparation for the college game, but he’s expected to be a factor for a program that needed additional interior depth.

London took his official visit to Xavier less than two weeks ago, and with his decision to commit London joins guards J.P. Macura and Edmond Sumner in head coach Chris Mack’s 2014 recruiting haul. Add in Indiana transfer Remy Abell, who will sit out the 2013-14 campaign per NCAA transfer rules, and the Musketeers have a nice quartet to add to the program.

With forward Isaiah Philmore (7.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) entering his final season, adding London to the mix will certainly help Xavier from a depth standpoint. London will join redshirt junior Matt Stainbrook (11.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg in 2011-12 at Western Michigan), redshirt freshman Jalen Reynolds (sat out the 2012-13 season as a non-qualifier) and sophomore James Farr in Xavier’s interior rotation in 2013-14.

What does London’s commitment mean for the Big East as a whole? He’s another talented prospect headed to the conference, which has seen a number of its members reel in quality prospects this summer. Of course Seton Hall’s received a lot of attention lately with the verbal commitment of guard Isaiah Whitehead, but Georgetown (Isaac Copeland, L.J. Peak and Paul White), Marquette (Sandy Cohen, Malek Harris), Providence (Jalen Lindsey, Paschal Chukwu) and Villanova (Phil Booth, Mikal Bridges) have also enjoyed a productive offseason on the recruiting trail.

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