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| Wednesday, February 7 |
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| JUCO star won't honor Tulsa commitment By Mark Mayemura and David Benezra Special to ESPN.com | |||
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One of the tallest spectators at last weekend's Ninth Annual Jerry Mullen's All-Star Review, the nation's top junior college summer showcase at Oral Roberts University, is no stranger to the Tulsa area.
Ermal Kuqo, a 6-11, 270-pound center, was literally a huge recruit for the Tulsa program this spring. Kuqo, a skilled and physical post player, is a talented low post player, a rarity in the junior college ranks. A true freshman, Kuqo, a native of Albania, was a qualifier out of high school and was to have three years of eligibility for Bill Self's Hurricanes.
That is, until Self left Tulsa for the Illinois head coaching position. Kuqo, who figured prominently in new Tulsa Head Coach Buzz Peterson's plans this coming season, had signed a letter of intent. Unfortunately for Tulsa, Kuqo realized that the main reason that he signed with Tulsa was to play for Bill Self. He has recently asked for a release from the commitment, but Tulsa has yet to grant it. And Kuqo doesn't expect Tulsa to release him in the future.
Kuqo, who does not intend to play for Tulsa, has decided that he has two options: turn professional in Europe or play another season of JUCO ball (invalidating the letter of intent) before moving on to the Division I ranks, which has always been his dream.
So the tall spectator at all the Seminole (Okla.) Community College games at the Jerry Mullen All-Star Review wasn't just there to enjoy the action, he wants to be back in the thick of it. Turns out that Kuqo's head coach last season at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College, Chris Beard, has taken the head coaching position at Seminole and, like many of Kuqo's teammates from last season, Kuqo will be joining Beard at Seminole.
It remains to be seen whether or not Self will recruit Kuqo to Illinois next spring, but we wouldn't bet against it. Recent commitments While ballplayers are often out on the road, playing nearly every day during the July open-evaluation period, some recruits are still able to digest all the attention and finalize their recruiting. There have been several major tournaments contested in the past week, with some great team and individual performances. Here are the outcomes of four of the summer's biggest tournaments: A young man that you'll be hearing about in the near future is 6-11, 220-pound sophomore David Padgett (Carson City HS/Carson City, Nev.). If you believe in heredity, Padgett has great bloodlines. The 10th-grade big man is the grandson of Jim Padgett, a former collegiate head coach at California and Nevada-Reno. In fact, David Padgett's father, Pete, who was a 6-9 banger in his own right, was a college All-American playing for Jim Padgett at Nevada-Reno. Pete Padgett currently serves as the head coach at Carson City High School and he's done a splendid job of developing his son into a top young post player. David Padgett has good weight on his developing frame, is extremely coordinated, a good athlete and shoots the ball well. What really sets him apart from other young, developing big men is his aggressiveness -- this kid doesn't back down from anyone! He's got solid post moves, he competes and he still has plenty of upside. Another young man who is making a big name for himself this summer is 6-5 sophomore Lebron James, a talented point guard from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, where he plays for one of the top coaches in the Midwest, Keith Dambrot. James was impressive recently at the Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas with his traveling team, the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. James also had a superb week this past week at the Five-Star Camp in Pittsburgh, picking up several camp awards. He's very athletic, very skilled and competes hard. His most impressive skills are his passing ability and unselfish play and is a player who improves the performances of his teammates on the floor. None other than famed Five-Star impressario Howard Garfinkel has gone out on the ledge and proclaimed James the top sophomore in America. Both David Padgett and Lebron James compete this weekend at the Elite 8 x 2 Tournament at the Berkeley campus of the University of California. This 22-team affair, produced by Oakland Slam-N-Jam and EBO/EA Sports, will feature some of the top travel teams in the country, including the Michigan Mustangs, Los Angeles Rockfish, Inland, Oakland Slam-N-Jam and EBO/EA Sports. This is one of the final tournaments of the NCAA July open-evaluation period, which ends Monday. It will be the last time that college coaches can evaluate talent in-person until the next NCAA open contact period, which begins Sept. 7 and runs through Oct. 6. Another McGrady? If you're impressed with the story of David Padgett, you'll like this one. One of the best regional basketball scouts in the country is Recruiting USA correspondent John "Ponytail" Reineke, who covers Florida like no other. It was Ponytail who first discovered Tracy McGrady as a 10th grader in Auburndale, Florida. And Ponytail has been telling us all spring and summer about his latest find, 6-foot-10, 230-pound Jay Bennett, of Jacksonville, Fla. According to Ponytail, Bennett is the best young big man prospect he's ever seen. Bennett recently reaffirmed Ponytail's praise by making the all-tournament team at a national 15-and-under tournament. Oh, by the way, Bennett is just 12 years old and just completed the sixth grade! He attends Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, where he practices daily with the high school varsity. The varsity team, coached by former collegiate star Rex Morgan (who was a teammate of Artis Gilmore, on the Jacksonville team that lost to UCLA in the NCAA Finals), features a 6-7 senior Berry Jordan and a 6-9, 250-pound senior O.J. Gilmore (the son of Artis), who attended this summer's Nike Camp. According to Reineke, Bennett holds his own against the ACD big men and is rapidly improving. Ponytail says that Bennett is a good athlete with broad shoulders, excellent shot blocking skills and timing, dunks easily and has a wingspan of 9-feet-4-inches. He's solid fundamentally, knocks down 3-pointers and he's not soft. He's an honor student and no, he's not going to declare for the NBA Draft after his junior high school graduation. Mark Mayemura and David Benezra are the editors of the Recruiting USA website (www.recruitingusa.com). | |
ALSO SEE Updated list of top basketball recruits Recruiting: A look into the future Recruiting: Adidas shows its depth Recruiting: Still Dajuan Recruiting: Chandler an early star at Nike | |
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