22 April 2009
What is that glimmer in the distance?
Posted by Ken under: Bulls Basketball; Recruiting .
It might be the light at the end of the tunnel for USF Basketball. Stan pulled off a major coup by getting JUCO Center Jarrid Famous to committ to the Bulls on Sunday. You can see him getting a pre-season workout here. Jarrid averaged 25.2 ppg and 13.2 rpg this year for Westchester Community College, which is good for 3rd and 2nd respectively in the country. He also was considering Arizona, Seton Hall, and Missouri.
Also on the radar is 6′8″ King PF Toarlyn Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick signed with Georgia Southern in the fall, but head coach Jeff Price resigned from his post last month, and Fitzpatrick was granted a release from his LOI. Toarlyn has heard from Miami and Tulane since his release 2 weeks ago, but said he will sign on with the Bulls if a scholarship is offered. From Greg’s Blog:
“I was interested in USF before they approached me,” Fitzpatrick said. “Once I got my release, Coach Heath called me and said he wanted to set up a meeting. I’m going to go talk with him and see what he has to say. They were definitely a situation I wanted to pursue.”
The Suncoast Player of the Year took King to the Final Four this year, averaging 14.0 ppg, 11.4 rpg, and a very nice 4.3 bpg for the Lions.
If we can close the door on Fitzpatrick, which looks like it will be a definite possibility, we might have turned the corner. Here is the roster for next season, with the starters in italics:
PG: Howard Crater Leemow
SG: DoJo Dumars Noriega
SF: Gus Burwell Noriega
PF: Espinosa Fitzpatrick
C: Famous Rivas
We are still a little thin up front, which makes the Sandi Marcius signing very important, but this is a lineup that can make some noise next season.
Can I start to be optimistic here?
