Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future=====

ECU & C-USA Hoops Recruiting Report Saturday, May 3, 2003 By Thad Mumau Special Correspondent

Herrion push for perimeter offense producing results

©2003 Bonesville.net

At a time when Bill Herrion is achieving results from his intensive quest to secure immediate outside scoring punch, Rick Pitino and John Calipari are already dabbling with their recruiting classes of 2004.

East Carolina has signed Franklin Robinson, a rangy wing player who demonstrated 40% accuracy from beyond the arc and 80% reliability from the foul line last season for Maine Central Institute.

"He was our most consistent player," MCI coach Ed Jones told Bonesville.net last month. "Franklin is very athletic and is a highlight film in the making. He plays around the rim and gets there with aggressive drives to the basket. And he finishes real strong. He made a lot of nice drives down the baseline for two-handed dunks."

Jones, a former University of Maine player who gained respect for Herrion during his on-court encounters with Herrion's Drexel teams in 1992-94, notes that Robinson is also a genuine threat from the perimeter.

"He has plenty of range and is a legitimate three-point shooter. He takes what people give him and feels comfortable shooting jumpers or driving.

"He knows how to play if people crowd him or if they play off him. If defenses back off and give him the three, he will hit it. If they play up on him, he will go hard to the basket."

The 6-4 Robinson is Herrion's second New England prep school recruit of the spring signing period. Mike Cook, a 6-4 shooting guard out of New Hampton (NH) Prep, inked with the Pirates on April 15.

Meanwhile, Rick Pitino has the luxury of working on longer-term recruiting. After directing Louisville to an outstanding season and putting together a fine fall recruiting class, he is on the verge of getting off to a fast start on next year’s class.

Big-time prospect J.R. Smith could commit to the Cardinals any day after telling the world just six weeks ago that he was ready to be a North Carolina Tar Heel.

His change of heart — and mind — apparently came before the change of coaching staffs in Chapel Hill and was sparked by Smith's realization that North Carolina was pretty much filled up at the wing positions and was mostly looking at big men.

Smith is a 6-6 wing guard/small forward at Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s, where he is coached by Danny Hurley, brother of Bobby, the former standout Duke point guard. Smith is the No. 7 junior in the country, according to Prepstars.com.

Smith plans to visit Louisville sometime this month and said he will commit during that visit unless he decides to go ahead and get it done before then. Pitino and Cards assistant Kevin Willard paid Smith a visit April 30 at St. Benedict’s.

Josh Wright, a 6-1 point guard from Utica (NY) Proctor High School, lists Louisville as one of his five finalists. The others are Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Seton Hall. All five have offered scholarships.

Wright averaged 25 points, eight assists and four steals per game as a junior.

In addition, the Cardinals are hoping to catch a top-100 class of 2003 prospect on the rebound. That would be Mohamed Abukar, the 6-9 power forward from San Diego (CA) Rancho Bernardo.

Abukar is shopping for a school after getting a release from the letter of intent he signed with Georgia in November. He made an unofficial visit to Louisville recently and has taken an official trip to Kentucky. He will also visit Florida and is considering possibly one more trip. It would be to Georgia Tech, UConn, Missouri or Oregon.

Memphis has landed the No. 2 junior in the nation. To the surprise of no one, Darius Washington committed to John Calipari's Tigers after receiving numerous offers. They came from Georgia, Florida, Auburn, N.C. State, Florida State, Connecticut, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Miami, Ohio State and Arizona, among others.

Washington, a 6-footer, averaged 30 points per game this season on the way to being selected to the Parade All-America team and named Florida’s 6-A player of the year.

The No. 1 junior, by the way, is 6-9 center Al Jefferson of Prentiss (MS) High.

Memphis and Alabama-Birmingham are paying a lot of attention to 6-6 junior small forward Marcus Monk of Lapento (AR) East Poinsette County. Both have sent coaches to his high school.

UAB has offered a scholarship to Monk. So have Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Boston College, Arkansas and Stanford.

A couple of players reportedly being recruited by East Carolina have signed with other schools.
Antwi Atuahene, the prolific scoring guard from Canada, put his name on Rutgers’ dotted line. Darris Nichols, a 6-1 point guard from Radford (VA) High, chose West Virginia, saying he had also received offers from ECU, Clemson, Richmond and Virginia Tech.

Another prospect being mentioned in the same breath with the Pirates is Dion Dacons. The 6-6 combination forward from Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy is visiting Temple.

Dacons has also taken a trip to Boston College, and Rice is interested. There has been no talk of ECU lately.

A prominent junior is listing East Carolina as one of the schools in which he has the most interest.

Troy Mathis, a 6-1 point guard from Laurinburg (NC) Charter High School, exploded for 80 points in a game this past season. He is originally from Raleigh.

Mathis said the Pirates, Missouri, Oklahoma, Florida State, Clemson, Seton Hall and Xavier are programs he is considering.

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02/23/2007 02:40:32 PM
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