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Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future
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ECU &
C-USA Hoops
Recruiting Report
Thursday, April 22, 2004
By Thad Mumau
Special Correspondent |
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Late-calling suitors
Hart-broken
©2004 Bonesville.net
Jonathan Hart
is not a household name when it comes to big-time college hoops recruiting,
and his name is not found among anybody’s top 100 prospects. It isn’t even
found in Prepstar.com’s list of the top 400 high school seniors.
But the 6-7
swingman is considered one of the 15 best players in New Jersey, which is
saying something because high school basketball in that state is very good.
For whatever reason, though, this high-wire artist has not been overlooked
just by recruiting publications; college coaches have also paid him little
attention.
East Carolina,
however, went after Hart hard, and assistant Greg Herenda did what it took
to make him the Pirates’ first addition of the spring signing period.
"Jonathan
thought he would fit in well at East Carolina," said Stan Kokie, Hart’s
coach at Roselle (NJ) Abraham Clark High School. "Southern Cal and Penn
State were very interested, and both were waiting to see if they wanted to
offer him a scholarship.
"After our
spring break, Penn State and Southern Cal coaches called and tried to get a
visit. But it was too late."
Hart has
signed, becoming the third member of the Pirates’ 2004 class. Charles
Bronson, a 6-10 center from Philadelphia (PA) Lutheran Christian Academy,
and 6-8 Mike Castro, a power forward from Cumberland (MD) Allegany Community
College, signed with ECU in November.
Hart averaged
25.2 points, 14 rebounds, an eye-popping 6.5 assists and 3.1 blocked shots
per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the floor. He hit an
outstanding 45 percent of his three-point attempts and 87 percent of his
free throws. He was selected first-team all-state, group II.
His best game
came against North Plainfield when he threw in a season-high 39 points,
grabbed 18 rebounds and handed out 11 assists. He nailed five three-pointers
in that game.
Abraham Clark
went 13-11 this past season after losing nine seniors from a 25-4 team that
won a state championship. The 2002 team also won the state title, going
26-4. A three-year starter, Hart scored 15.4 points a contest as a junior
and just over 11 his sophomore season.
"Jonathan is a
great, great athlete," Kokie said, "and is one of the 15 best players in New
Jersey. He is a phenomenal leaper, is extremely quick and is a very good
outside shooter.
"That makes
for a match-up nightmare for opponents. Big defenders can’t stay with him;
he goes over smaller, quicker guys. If you play off him, he buries the
three. If you come up on him, he blows past you. He has a great first step.
"He penetrates
and gets to the lane where he’ll stop and hit soft jumpers, and he uses the
glass very well. If he can go all the way to the basket, he can really
finish. He has made some spectacular dunks. He dunks it with two hands, one
hand ... any way you want it. His vertical is unbelievable.
"Jonathan
handles the ball well and passes it very well," Kokie said. "We played him
mainly at the two spot, but he played some point guard for us, too.
"We try to
play kids where they will likely play in college. So he has mostly played on
the perimeter for us on offense. He has been inside a lot on defense. I see
him as a two guard and small forward in college."
Hart is one of
only seven players in Abraham Clark’s 66-year history to score at least
1,000 career points. He ended with 1,138.
"He is a fine
young man," Kokie said. "Jonathan is very coachable and is a 3.0 student. He
has qualified (for freshman eligibility). He played football and ran track
as a freshman.
"He likes the
coaching staff at East Carolina. Coach Herenda did a great job of recruiting
him. He is very personable, and he was real honest with Jonathan."
In another
note, Cedric Jackson signed with St. John’s. The high-scoring 6-2 1/2 guard
from North Burlington High in New Jersey nearly signed with East Carolina in
the fall.
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02/23/2007 02:41:46 PM |
