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Tracking the College Hoops Stars of the Future
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Basketball Recruiting Report
Sunday, February 17, 2002
By Thad Mumau
Special Correspondent |
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C-USA Schools
Mine Talent from Juco Ranks
©2002 Bonesville.net
On first
glance, Conference USA has not fared all that well when it comes to
recruiting basketball players this school year. Upon further investigation,
however, the collective future of the league actually looks pretty good.
The reason
for the rosy outlook is a rich haul of junior college players, with four of
the top 10 juco sophomores in the nation choosing schools from Conference
USA. Therefore, despite the fact that the league signed just nine of the top
100 high school seniors, there will be a healthy influx of talent next
season.
Not a
single prep prospect from Prepstars.com's Top 25 signed with a Conference
USA team during November’s early signing week, and only two from the top 50
will be joining the league.
In
comparison, the Atlantic Coast Conference landed 20 top-100 performers in
the fall and signed nine from the top 25. Still, C-USA enjoyed more
recruiting success than most of the Division I leagues. The ACC has the best
2002 class in the country, followed by the Southeastern, Big Ten and Big
East, with Conference USA’s newcomers ranked No. 5.
The highest
ranked Conference USA signee is Jeremy Hunt (No. 44), a 6-4 wing guard from
Memphis (TN) Craigmont, who not surprisingly chose Memphis. The other top-50
addition to the league is point guard Chadd Moore (No. 50) of Mouth of
Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy. He is headed for Cincinnati.
Others from
the top 100 to sign letters of intent with C-USA schools include 6-3 wing
guard Taquan Dean (No. 57) of Neptune (NJ) High School, with Louisville; 6-7
small forward Francisco Garcia (No. 59) of Winchendon (MA) School, with
Louisville; 6-9 power forward Steve Novak (No. 61) of Brown Deer (WI) High,
with Marquette; 6-8 power forward Yusef Baker (No. 69) of Orlando (FL)
Evans, with South Florida; 6-7 power forward Curtis Withers (No. 75) of
Charlotte (NC) West, with Charlotte; 6-5 combination guard Vincent Grier
(No. 96) of Raleigh (NC) Bonner Academy, with Charlotte; and 6-5 small
forward/power forward Eric Hicks (No. 98) of Greensboro (NC) Dudley, with
Cincinnati.
The top two
classes in the league belong to former NBA coaches Rick Pitino of Louisville
and John Calipari of Memphis.
Led by 6-9
juco star Kendall Dartez, Dean and Garcia, Louisville put together the best
recruiting class in the conference. Pitino is also bringing in 6-10 transfer
Marvin Stone. Making his addition even sweeter for the Cardinals is the fact
that he left the Kentucky Wildcats.
Not far
behind is Memphis, which also landed a big junior college name in 6-8 combo
forward Qyntel Woods. Cincinnati’s haul includes Tony Bobbitt, still another
juco prize, who signed with Florida State out of high school but did not
qualify academically. Bobbitt, who did not sign in November, committed to
the Bearcats and plans to sign in April.
Charlotte
and DePaul round out the top five classes in the league, with South Florida
and Marquette not far behind.
Woods, from
Moberly Area (MO) Junior College, is the No. 3 juco sophomore in the
country, according to Prepstars.com. Dartez, from Vincennes (IN) JC, is No.
5; Bobbitt, who is at College of Southern Idaho, is No. 9; and Delonte
Holland, a 6-5 swing player from Vincennes JC, is No. 10. Holland is headed
to DePaul.
East
Carolina’s lone addition so far is Corey Rouse. He is a 6-7 small forward
from Kinston (NC) High School. Rouse is not ranked among the top 200 seniors
in the nation.
Pirates
coach Bill Herrion has four scholarships available for the spring signing
period.
Texas
Christian was the only school in the conference that did not sign anyone
during the fall signing period.
Following
is a team-by-team list of the 32 basketball prospects landed by Conference
USA:
|
Team |
No. of Recruits |
Name |
Height |
Position |
Hometown/
Former School |
|
ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM |
1 |
Derrick Broom |
6-4 |
WG/SF |
Cartersville (GA) Woodland |
|
CHARLOTTE |
2 |
Curtis Withers |
6-7 |
PF |
Charlotte (NC) West |
|
Vincent Grier |
6-5 |
WG/PG |
Raleigh (NC) Bonner Academy |
|
CINCINNATI |
4 |
Chadd Moore |
6-2 |
PG |
Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy |
|
Eric Hicks |
6-5 |
SF/PF |
Greensboro (NC) Dudley |
|
Armein Kirkland |
6-8 |
SF |
Tyler (TX) Lee |
|
Tony Bobbitt |
6-4 |
WG |
College of Southern Idaho JC |
|
DePAUL |
3 |
Marcus White |
6-8 |
PF |
Chicago (IL) Young |
|
Delonte Holland |
6-5 |
WG/SF |
Vincennes (IN) JC |
|
William Watson |
6-0 |
PG |
Tyler (TX) JC |
|
EAST CAROLINA |
1 |
Corey Rouse |
6-7 |
SF |
Kinston (NC) High |
|
HOUSTON |
3 |
Cedrick Hensley |
6-4 |
WG/SF |
Houston (TX) Heritage Christian |
|
Dwight Jones |
6-1 |
PG |
Houston (TX) Klein |
|
Anwar Ferguson |
7-0 |
C |
Lee (TX) JC |
|
LOUISVILLE |
4 |
Taquan Dean |
6-3 |
WG |
Neptune (NJ) High |
|
Francisco Garcia |
6-7 |
SF |
Winchendon (MA) School |
|
Kendall Dartez |
6-9 |
PF |
Vincennes (IN) JC |
|
Marvin Stone |
6-10 |
PF/C |
transfer from Kentucky |
|
MARQUETTE |
3 |
Steve Novak |
6-9 |
PF |
Brown Deer (WI) High |
|
Chris Grimm |
6-9 |
C |
Brighton (MI) High |
|
Joe Chapman |
6-2 |
WG |
Chicago Heights (IL) Bloom |
|
MEMPHIS |
4 |
Jeremy Hunt |
6-4 |
WG |
Memphis (TN) Craigmont |
|
Almany Thiero |
6-7 |
PF/SF |
Durham (NC) Mount Zion Christian Academy |
|
Qyntel Woods |
6-8 |
PF/SF |
Moberly Area (MO) JC |
|
Billy Richmond |
6-5 |
WG/SF |
transfer from Vanderbilt |
|
SOUTH FLORIDA |
3 |
Yusef Baker |
6-8 |
PF |
Orlando (FL) Evans |
|
Sam Barber |
6-5
|
WG/SF |
Lake Worth (FL) High |
|
Dan Oglesby |
6-1 |
PG |
Hamden (CT) High |
|
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI |
1 |
Geoffrey Brown |
6-10 |
C |
Sheridan (WY) JC |
|
ST. LOUIS |
2 |
Nicholas Kern |
6-8 |
PF |
St. Louis (MO) Vashon |
|
Ryan Hollins |
6-11 |
C |
Pasadena (CA) Muir |
|
TEXAS CHRISTIAN |
0 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|
TULANE |
1 |
Derek Burditt |
6-7 |
SF/PF |
Marrero (LA) Ehret |
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02/23/2007 02:39:36 PM
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