With football’s national signing day quickly approaching, it can be easy to overlook the basketball recruits. Coach McKay and staff received NLIs from 3 student-athletes during the early signing period in November. The Flames also have one additional verbal commitment as part of this year’s basketball recruiting class.
6’5″ wing Keegan McDowell, who chose Liberty over offers from Appalachian State and St. Francis (PA), is having a standout season for Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. McDowell is the leading scorer on one of the top teams in the country. He’s currently averaging 13.5 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 43% from 3. Moeller has raced out to a perfect 15-0 mark, and they are ranked as the #1 team in the state of Ohio. This week, Moeller also reached #23 in the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings.
Cuffee, photo courtesy putnamreview.com
Elijah Cuffee transferred to LCA from Poca High School in Poca, West Virginia for his senior season. He has quickly become LCA’s top player, and had a jaw-dropping performance with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists to help LCA knock off Heritage High School Monday night. Jack Herron of Vantage Hoops, who was in attendance for the game Monday night, described Cuffee as a 6’4″ guard who can “handle, shoot, pass, rebound & defend. Straight steal for Liberty!” Cuffee is currently averaging 18.8 points, 8.0 reboynds, 4.5 assists, and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.1% from 3.
Another early signee is Jay Barber. Barber is a 6’4″ guard and son of former Liberty Athletic Director Jeff Barber. Jay loves to shoot from downtown as he’s been described as one of the top shooters in the region. He had 17 points in LCA’s win over Heritage on Monday night. Barber is currently averaging 10.5 points while shooting 30.9% from 3.
Verbal commit Brendan Newton is rounding out a stellar career for Faith Christian School in Roanoke, Virginia. The 7’2″ Newton, who has been rated as a 3 star prospect by both 247Sports and Rivals, is averaging 18.1 points, 14.2 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. He was recently named a McDonald’s All-American Nominee. He has hauled in over 1,000 career rebounds, and had a stellar performance in the Washington Tournament of Champions in Chicago, Illinois earlier this season. At the tournament, he averaged 15.7 points and 17.3 rebounds per game while being named to the All-Tournament Team. His 17.3 rebounds per game set a TOC record. This is a tournament which has seen some 5 star athletes previously such as Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins, and DeAndre Jordan. He is still a solid Liberty commit, where he is likely to come in as a preferred walk-on and is expected to redshirt his freshman season at Liberty.
The most recent Big Shots Virginia 2017 Player Rankings ranks Cuffee as the #8 player in the state of Virginia and Brendan Newton #25.
