And In The Main Event ... Jaden Springer 
Jerry Meyer of 24/7 sports joined yesterday on your Tony Basilio Show and here's a portion of our conversation.
Basilio: "Walker and Keon Johnson were 1000 % recruiting him at the expense of their own experience during the Georgia weekend. There has been speculation about his announcing this week. Do you think his announcement is imminent? "
Jerry Meyer: 'My speculation is that he knows where he wants to go and he's figuring out when he wants to announce it. Where he wants to go I think he knows where he wants to go. They're ordering the catering and figuring out where they want to have the announcement so to speak. I think where he's going is a done deal. Now it's about the logistics of the announcement.
Basilio: "Handicap this one for me if you could."
Jerry Meyer: 'I think he's going to Tennessee so there's no handicapping this one. I'm going to be really, really wrong if he doesn't go to Tennessee (laughing) I'm going to be right with everyone else if he does. I don't know of anyone that doesn't believe he's going to Tennessee except for maybe a delusional Michigan or Memphis fan or something like that. I would be beyond shocked if he doesn't go to Tennessee.'
Jerry Meyer Continues: 'Those guys are smart because with Springer that's a really good class that could win a lot of ball games. If Corey revs up that motor that gets in shape and gets his effort level right he'll be a real contributor. Or he won't make it there. I'm not trying to be too hard on him because you could say that about most guys. These guys play so many games so I could've seen him on a bad day. What I'm saying is that I was very unimpressed when I watched him play this time last year. He had already committed to Tennessee. It was at a show case. Maybe they begged him to come or whatever but he acted like he didn't want to be there.'
Basilio: Back to Springer. "It's crazy how accomplished he is and how young he is."
Jerry Meyer: ''He comes from athletes. His brother and father are big people. He's very good. Can he get a whole lot better. And he already is a whole lot better than most.'
Basilio: "Compare and contrast Dylan Cardwell and PJ Hall. Tennessee is involved with both of them."
Jerry Meyer 'Cardwell is bigger and longer. Cardwell is a traditional big man size wise. PJ Hall is a Luke May type. Not overwhelming size but very skilled.'
Basilio: "Which guy more fits what Tennessee needs?"
Jerry Meyer 'I don't know if they even play the same position but they're big guys and there's not a big difference. I don't even know how to answer that. PJ is considered to be a higher rated prospect.'
Basilio: "6-9 235 pound Paolo Banchero from Seattle is expected to be in Knoxville for the South Carolina football weekend. Tell me bout him. Is Tennessee legit with him?"
Jerry Meyer: 'I think it's an accomplishment to get him on campus. You do need some of this. It's kind of a flex, power play to get him to come and get him on Tennessee's campus. It's a building block. Obviously you'd like to get him to commit but just getting him there increases a program's allure. During Avery Johnson's time at Bama, he got a commitment from Terrance Ferguson even though Ferguson never played there nor was he ever going to play there but they visited a bunch of top flight guys. It's going with Michigan and Isaiah Todd. Michigan looks like they're going to get him but it's still an almost certainty that he ends up out of the college game and overseas somewhere.'
Basilio: "Keon Johnson was apparently unbelievable at the USA Basketball camp this past weekend. NBA scouts and draft analysts are frothing at the athleticism. We were kind of in on the ground floor with him and I know you're right there in the mid-state and have seen him through former Vol Mark Griffin. Did you see this top of meteoric rise from him coming?"
Jerry Meyer: 'He's gotten better and better and not surprisingly so. He had the size, athleticism and heart. He had a great baseline of those attributes to begin with. His scoring is better. He was more of a reluctant shooter before and his overall confidence level is higher. He's had these opportunities to play higher level competition and he decided to swim. Some kids when you throw them in the deep end can sink and they don't rise to the challenge Keon is just the opposite.'
Basilio: "They're saying Keon is a potential Lottery Pick after a year in college. Do you believe that?"
Jerry Meyer: 'There's probably 50 or more players that could be top 15. It wouldn't surprise me if he ended up as a lottery pick. I'll say this emphatically he has an NBA body and a great work ethic. If he stays healthy, he's going to be an NBA basketball player.
Basilio: "Right now Keon is the 3rd highest player in the modern era of college basketball recruiting (past 20 or so years) to commit to Tennessee. With his recent play, I wonder if you this his ranking could still rise?"
Jerry Meyer: 'Yeah. There will be another set of rankings in the spring. Do I think it will go up? Sounds like it could. His name is really out there now and his name seems to be improved.'
