Melvin Swift - PF

[dto]

Melvin Swift - PF - Yates - Houston, TX

6'7", 195 lbs.

Four-star 2014 forward Melvin Swift shocked the recruiting world today when the 6-foot-7 jack-rabbit leaper committed to the Xavier Musketeers, seemingly out of nowhere. Shortly after the school day Swift walked into the basketball office at his Houston (Tex.) Yates HS and informed the coaches that he was ready to make a public decision.

"He came in the office and told our staff that he wants to do it and his heart was set on making the decision now," Yates assistant coach Juwan McClellan said. "Our staff was surprised. I'm thinking from talking to him that he just fell in love with the university and what they have to offer."

Swift, who played on the AAU circuit with Houston Hoops, was looking for a school that offered playing time for him, but also an intimate campus with a family like atmosphere. He found that, more so then at any other place, at Xavier. "The academic situation really appealed to Melvin," McClellan said. "The small learning environment fits him; he fell in love with Coach Mack and the rest of the staff."

Currently ranked at no. 58 in the 2014 Rivals150, the four-star junior is one of the most intriguing forwards in the class because of his versatility to play inside or outside, and of course his leaping ability.

"Everybody thinks of athleticism when they think of Melvin Swift. His leaping ability is way above what most human beings do," said McClellan. "Now that he's playing on the wing at 6'7 he has a really bright future when the rest of his fundamentals continue to come together."

Rivals.com's Eric Bossi echoed a similar statement when describing Swift's game. "Swift is a thin and extremely athletic forward," Bossi said via text message. "He's a little raw on the offensive end but can really run the floor and is quite active as a rebounder and shotblocker."

While he won't join the Musketeers until the season after next, '14-'15, Swift should already be penciled in as someone who could make a quick and strong impact. The Houston native chose Xavier over several offers, most notably Texas, Arizona, Memphis, and Oklahoma State.

[XUFan09]

Here's my free promotion of Scout over Rivals (if you were planning to join a paysite). It's a good article, but Swift's commitment wasn't "seemingly out of nowhere" for any Scout subscribers. Exciting? Yes. A complete surprise? No. Not saying I was expecting him to commit then or commit to Xavier at all (by no means!), but via Rick Broering I knew Xavier was big on Swift's radar. Corey Albertson doesn't provide that level of info (though maybe he does for the UK site he also runs).

[UCGRAD4X]

I like how the three recruits (two in 13-14) are from Connecticut, California and Texas.


Xavier really seems to be the nation's team.

[GoMuskies]

Swift with the nasty jam. Short interview from after the game as well.

http://ballislife.com/67-melvin-swift-absolutely-destroys-the-defender-ballislife-south-dunk-of-the-year-nominee/

[BlueGuy]

Swift with the nasty jam. Short interview from after the game as well.

http://ballislife.com/67-melvin-swift-absolutely-destroys-the-defender-ballislife-south-dunk-of-the-year-nominee/

Friggin posterized that dude. Did he get a tech for the chest pounding and yelling after the dunk?

[SixFig]

Swift with the nasty jam. Short interview from after the game as well.

http://ballislife.com/67-melvin-swift-absolutely-destroys-the-defender-ballislife-south-dunk-of-the-year-nominee/

That posteree either couldn't jump high or thought better of it at the last second and gave a little bunny hop.

But what really made me laugh was the little white guy running down the court following the pass. He looks like Peter Dinklage in that oversized uniform

[kyxu]

Here's my free promotion of Scout over Rivals (if you were planning to join a paysite). It's a good article, but Swift's commitment wasn't "seemingly out of nowhere" for any Scout subscribers. Exciting? Yes. A complete surprise? No. Not saying I was expecting him to commit then or commit to Xavier at all (by no means!), but via Rick Broering I knew Xavier was big on Swift's radar. Corey Albertson doesn't provide that level of info (though maybe he does for the UK site he also runs).

Hope this kid sticks around. Our track record hasn't been great recently with actually landing these early commitments.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Hope this kid sticks around. Our track record hasn't been great recently with actually landing these early commitments.

Take solace in his HS coaches quote when he said Swift liked the "academic climate" XU has. That is normally a good sign.

[kyxu]

Take solace in his HS coaches quote when he said Swift liked the "academic climate" XU has. That is normally a good sign.

I will gladly take your word for it, but liking the "academic climate" or the "academic reputation" or how a school "focuses on academics" is the euphemistically-generic verbiage a lot of recruits use to counter-balance comments of going to a basketball-loving school where they can potentially play right away.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

I will gladly take your word for it, but liking the "academic climate" or the "academic reputation" or how a school "focuses on academics" is the euphemistically-generic verbiage a lot of recruits use to counter-balance comments of going to a basketball-loving school where they can potentially play right away.

I was thinking more like his parents/family really like Xavier and what it offers.

[PMI]

I was thinking more like his parents/family really like Xavier and what it offers.

Chris Thomas' family/grandmother really liked Xavier and what it offers too. Bottom line is there are a lot of things that can happen between now and when Swift is officially committed. I'm not predicting he will de-commit, I just agree with KY that it's hard to put too much stock into that verbiage.

[XUmeat]

Based on a number of tweets today, sounds like his girlfriend is pregnant.... in Texas. Best of luck to them. Be interested to see if this has an affect on his verbal

[Masterofreality]

Based on a number of tweets today, sounds like his girlfriend is pregnant.... in Texas. Best of luck to them. Be interested to see if this has an affect on his verbal

It won't.

[Jweinka]

https://twitter.com/ThatBoySwift/status/305565414732230656

Melvin Swift
‏@ThatBoySwift
Whoever on his page need to chill out , he don't have a baby on the way .. @imaaboss_ here

I saw this today regarding the pregnancy thing...I know that is his girl tagged in the tweet...not sure if anything has changed since that tweet though.

[GoMuskies]

I'm a little creeped out reading this about a HS kid. Twitter is disturbing sometimes.

[SixFig]

Well if he did do it...at least we know he has good aim on his shot...

[Xman95]

Well if he did do it...at least we know he has good aim on his shot...

Zing-pow!

I wonder if Xavier has already put a board together that can expel him before he's even a student.

[paulxu]

Wonder if they could make it a condition of a scholarship to have your tweets run through a staff person.
Probably violates somebody's rights.
With our luck they'd give the job to CJ.

[waggy]

I wonder if Xavier has already put a board together that can expel him before he's even a student.

Talk about a zing-pow. Well played.

[MarvAlbert]

It's almost the 4th quarter, but you can stream Melvin and his Jack Yates team in their championship game here- http://www.foxsportssouthwest.com/pages/streaming_3

He's #12 in the red jersey fyi

[X-Fan]

Wonder if they could make it a condition of a scholarship to have your tweets run through a staff person.
Probably violates somebody's rights.
With our luck they'd give the job to CJ.
Did you hear about U of M "Catfishing" their athletes? They had a staffer making advances to a number of players. Almost all of them took the bait. Then they had a big meeting on Social Media for all Athletes and had the girl there. Brandon, the AD, said the guys involved just sunk down in their seats; lol! Very smart of Mich to be proactive on stuff like this and give their athletes a "wake-up" call.

Also, in regard to Social Media, Mich has a group of staffers (team members) solely dedicated to Monitoring it...from updating/maintaining/enriching their own Social Media accounts , to monitoring their Athletes, to monitoring anything said about them in Social Media. Crazy that this kind of effort/approach will likely become normal for all Athletic Departments.

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUEa6CQWhVU

[GoMuskies]

I can't wait to see this kid in a Xavier uniform.

[ammtd34]

This is the start of a really nice class.

[Masterofreality]

@ThatBoySwift: I want to thank my family, coaches and everybody involved with me making a decision to what school I'm going to.... Xavier it is!

This was today....certifying his status after Howard's departure.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Nice to hear that Swift is still with us. I was a bit worried.

[mistabeecee41]

Melvin is headed to the NBAPA Top 100 Camp. Pretty elite company.

http://www.allmetrohoops.com/index.php/component/k2/item/129-nbapa-top-100-camp

[ammtd34]

Melvin is headed to the NBAPA Top 100 Camp. Pretty elite company.

http://www.allmetrohoops.com/index.php/component/k2/item/129-nbapa-top-100-camp

Sweet!

Who the hell is Satchel Pierce?

[GoMuskies]

Until we have Melvin's signed LOI, I will be nervous every time this topic re-surfaces.

[ammtd34]

Until we have Melvin's signed LOI, I will be nervous every time this topic re-surfaces.

Yep.

[xufan02]

Edmond Sumner is going to the Deron Williams/Kyrie Irving point guard camp too. Invite only, top 20 point guards in the country. Don't worry both will play well and sign with Xavier.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Edmond Sumner is going to the Deron Williams/Kyrie Irving point guard camp too. Invite only, top 20 point guards in the country. Don't worry both will play well and sign with Xavier.

Swift out of ESPN's top 100....I didn't hear much of him so far from the AAU circuit. I wonder if it's just inactivity which normally causes rankings drops.

[xufan02]

Swift out of ESPN's top 100....I didn't hear much of him so far from the AAU circuit. I wonder if it's just inactivity which normally causes rankings drops.

I think it is a few things. One, other players are starting to really explode. Two, Melvin's game has not advanced much. He still is a dunker/athlete.

[ammtd34]

He's certainly not far out of their top 100 since his "Grade" is 80. #s 89-100 on their list have a grade of 81.

Sumner is now #88 on ESPN.

[Charlesbt4]

Regardless of what ESPN says, I'll be damned if there are 100+ players that are better than him in his class.

[blueblob06]

Melvin Swift earlier today...

@ThatBoySwift
Officially Committed to play ball at Xavier University! Extremely blessed, can't wait! Cincinnati,Ohio Here I Come

[GoMuskies]

Does that mean he was still at least somewhat undecided until today? Glad this didn't go the other way!

[mistabeecee41]

Does that mean he was still at least somewhat undecided until today? Glad this didn't go the other way!

Could have something to do with his baby on the way? 17 year olds with children relocating themselves from Texas to Ohio could cause a lot of complications. As always, until the LOI is signed, anything can happen.

[blueblob06]

He couldn't have signed his LOI two years ahead of time. Unless the rules have changed...

[GoMuskies]

So does this mean he actually signed his LOI today? I thought the signing period was later.

[More Cowbell]

He will be able to officially sign in November, not til then.

[GoMuskies]

He will be able to officially sign in November, not til then.

That's what i thought (well, I thought it was sometime in the fall but certainly not August). So I'm just wondering what is official today that wasn't official yesterday. Certainly good news, but it makes me wonder about what may have almost happened.

[casualfan]

This is the third or fourth time he has tweeted something similar.

Once when he originally committed, once shortly after Ashley Howard left, and then once today (there may be a fourth, but I can't remember the specific time it happened).

[ArizonaXUGrad]

This is the third or fourth time he has tweeted something similar.

Once when he originally committed, once shortly after Ashley Howard left, and then once today (there may be a fourth, but I can't remember the specific time it happened).

Not really worth reading into, could be another assistant left, could be a coach recruiting him that isn't Mack, could be a handler telling him to play elsewhere, or it could be absolutely nothing other than him tweeting about Xavier.

[casualfan]

Not really worth reading into, could be another assistant left, could be a coach recruiting him that isn't Mack, could be a handler telling him to play elsewhere, or it could be absolutely nothing other than him tweeting about Xavier.


That was my point. He's probably just looking for some attention more than anything.

I do think it's interesting that he seems to have dropped a bit in all the major services' rankings. Anyone have any thoughts on what might be causing that?

[ammtd34]

That was my point. He's probably just looking for some attention more than anything.

I do think it's interesting that he seems to have dropped a bit in all the major services' rankings. Anyone have any thoughts on what might be causing that?

I don't think he played very much this Spring/Summer. The good news to me is that he is a freak athlete Forward. I'm not as concerned as I would be if we had a committed PG whose stock sank over the summer due to being exposed. We knew from the beginning he was a raw athlete and would need a little bit of work once he got on campus.

[casualfan]

I don't think he played very much this Spring/Summer. The good news to me is that he is a freak athlete Forward. I'm not as concerned as I would be if we had a committed PG whose stock sank over the summer due to being exposed. We knew from the beginning he was a raw athlete and would need a little bit of work once he got on campus.


Yeah, hopefully he grows a bit too. 6-7 190 or 195 is not all that big for a PF. He does look like he has the frame to add some weight though.

[blueblob06]

Quite a day for Xavier. Dez Wells suing X and I'm reading all over Twitter that Melvin Swift will not be coming to X. It sounds like more of Xavier's decision than his.

Anyone have insight on this?

[PMI]

Quite a day for Xavier. Dez Wells suing X and I'm reading all over Twitter that Melvin Swift will not be coming to X. It sounds like more of Xavier's decision than his.

Anyone have insight on this?

Check out the thread on the Men's Basketball Board. The decision definitely came from Xavier's end, but that does not mean that everything happened the way Swift thinks it did.

[blueblob06]

Thanks PMI. Sorry, Dez thread distracted me and I didn't even see that Swift thread.