Recruit Update

[Dane Pound]

Story on Mike Yocum's Episcopal team which cruised last night.

Episcopal puts on a how-to clinic in Inter-Ac victory-Philly Daily News

 

The good news is that Brett Gifford accounted for nearly 25% of his teams scoring the other night. The bad news is they only scored 34 points. They still won the game and are ranked #2 in Missouri. Bruins register smashmouth win over Jays, 34-24-Jefferson City News

 

Michael Knight is averging just under 11 points a game for his Juco team. He's shooting 42% from three but only 57% from the free throw line.

 

As far as I could find women's recruit Charity Iromuanya's team is still undefeated and ranked #1 in the state. She's averaging 12 pts a game and shooting 48% from the field, 42% from three and 73% from the line.

[GODANESGO]

Not a 2006 recruit, but for 2007...

 

Word has it that Dominique Price, a 6'4" 1/2/3 guard from Holy Names HS in Worcester, Mass will be at the game tonight scoping out UAlbany. Apparently he's being recruited by the likes of us, UNH, BU, URI, American, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Wilmington, etc. His HS is listed at 12-1 and #1 in W. Mass. I guess he's #24, but haven't been able to find any pics of him online. He's mentioned in a lot in football articles, so it looks like he's an all around good athlete. And I'm not too familiar with the school, but the info I've seen has it with pretty high standards academically. Great chance to pull in an all around student-athlete hopefully.

 

And it was mentioned a bit in the TU article, but I heard that they're giving out the purple and gold "Growl Towels" to fill the student sections. I know I've had a lot of friends say that they would love to have those at games. It's gonna be a crazy atmosphere tonight!

[Dane Pound]

Great info GDG. It didn't make sense to me at the time but I thought I saw a sign at the game last night welcoming Price. I'm not sure if you were involved but I wouldn't be surprised. If he was there last night I couldn't image a better atmosphere for him to get his first taste of UA.

[GODANESGO]

Great info GDG. It didn't make sense to me at the time but I thought I saw a sign at the game last night welcoming Price. I'm not sure if you were involved but I wouldn't be surprised. If he was there last night I couldn't image a better atmosphere for him to get his first taste of UA.

11617[/snapback]

 

Yup, I brought along the sign. Walked over to the section he was in with the sign and a friend of mine, holding it up into the crowd.

 

Pretty cool to have him see two teams going after him play each other (with the right winner of course..lol) in an atmosphere like that.

[reeder]

Six-foot-10 center Brett Gifford added 19 points for Rock Bridge, also registering six rebounds and three blocks.

[alum73]

Kind of interesting Missouri doesn't have a shot clock in H.S. basketball. I guess there are only a few states left where they don't use one.

[Patch]

Yocum's Episcopal clinches league Title

 

From Philly.com..........Episcopal Academy, in surprisingly no-sweat fashion, clinched its second consecutive Inter-Ac League title.

 

The Churchmen (9-0; one to go) jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first 4 minutes and went on to thump visiting Penn Charter (7-2), 70-43.

 

The headliners? The usual guys. Henderson mixed 20 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Ellington, chosen yesterday to play April 22 at Madison Square Garden in a national all-star game, had 21 points and seven boards and helped hold PC's Virginia-bound junior guard, Sammy Zeglinski, to 11 points. Center Mike Yocum, who's headed for D-I Albany, added 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks......

[Patch]

Gifford team is currently ranked #2 in Missouri. They play without a shot clock and play some extremely low scoring games and the team is extremely well balanced.

 

From Mosports.com

 

Super 25 Seniors

 

The Mosports.com staff with the help of top basketball talent evaluators from around the Show Me State have put together a list of the top seniors in Missouri.  This was a difficult process and many top players were omitted, but were left on the bubble. 

 

 

 

16.  Brett Gifford, Rock Bridge (Columbia) High School

Another top prospect from the Show-Me State is Brett Gifford.  Gifford, the 16th ranked prospect in the Super 25 by MOsports.com stands 6-foot-10 inches, weighs 245-pounds. 

 

"The Bear" as he is known to Rock Bridge teammates is just one piece of a talented Bruin club that has earned more than 20 victories in back-to-back seasons and is currently among the favorites to advance to the Class 5 Show-Me Showdown in Columbia. On a very talented Bruin squad the "bear" is averaging 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks per contest. 

Gifford is a hard worker who continues to improve his footwork and post moves as an offensive threat.  While he needs go continue his low post moves, his size gives him a presence inside that is tough to find.  He is an above average post defender and a force on the defensive glass.

 

Gifford received recruiting interest from several schools including SEMO, Boise State, Ball State, Utah State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee before settling on the University of Albany.  Gifford will provide size to the Great Danes who compete in the America East Conference with schools such as Hartford, Maine, and Vermont.

 

Gifford competed last summer with Team Missouri and head coach Jim Donnelly

Photo courtesy of G.J. McCarthy photos

 

[alum73]

Those who get ESPNU, Yocums team is on tonight. I think at 7PM.

[Dane Pound]

A big win for Reid Anderson's St. Edwards team. Story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Eagles stay poised, sweep away Wildcats

Saturday, February 11, 2006

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

No, it wasn't a victory at the district, regional or state level.

 

But to St. Edward and St. Ignatius fans, it is as big as it gets.

 

So big that Eagles senior guard Jeff Aerni described his post-game feelings as "truly amazing."

 

St. Edward, with Aerni playing a major role down the stretch, held off the Wildcats, 71-64, Friday night in front of a crowd of more than 2,500 at St. Ignatius' Sullivan Gymnasium.

 

With the victory, the Eagles improved to 13-4 and swept the regular-season series from the Wildcats for the first time since 1997-98, when St. Edward brought home the Division I state bas- ketball champion ship. That season, the Eagles defeated St. Ignatius three times as the two longtime West Side rivals matched up in the state championship game.

 

"It doesn't sum up my [school] year, but it feels great," said Aerni, who hit two big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and was one of five Eagles in double figures. "I've been thinking about this game for months."

 

St. Edward, ranked fifth in The Plain Dealer's Top 25 poll, came out with the hot hand and on the strength of four 3-pointers led, 24-16, after the first eight minutes.

 

St. Ignatius (10-6), the area's 12th-ranked team, responded behind the hustle of senior post John Ryan, senior guard Rudy Kirbus and senior guard/forward T.J. DiSanto. A 3-pointer by DiSanto and a free throw by Kirbus put the Wildcats in front, 31-30, with 1:59 remaining in the first half.

 

Keeping their composure, the Eagles answered with senior guard Reid Anderson's third 3-pointer and took a 35-31 lead to the locker room after 6-8 sophomore Delvon Roe canned two free throws.

 

Kirbus dropped in 13 of his game-high 25 points in the first 16 minutes.

 

"I was struggling in the first half, but coach [Eric Flannery] told me to stay confident and keep shooting," said Aerni, who scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including three 3-pointers. "They all felt good, but they weren't dropping. But I knew eventually they would."

 

After St. Ignatius took a 52-51 lead on a three-point play by senior guard Robby Parris, Aerni followed a strong drive by Anderson with two high-arching 3-pointers that extended St. Edward's lead to seven points. Anderson led the Eagles with 17 points.

 

A putback by Roe and two free throws by junior forward Kyle Hubbard enabled St. Edward to maintain a seven-point lead with 2:04 remaining, and the Eagles withstood 3-pointers by Parris and DiSanto.

 

"I think this is one of those character-building games, and it builds so much confidence for us," said Flannery. "Our two seniors stepped up tonight - Reid Anderson going to the basket and Jeff Aerni knocking down those threes. It's nice when your superstar [Roe] doesn't have a great game offensively and you still find a way to win. Especially in a place like this."

[Dane Pound]

Also women on women's recruit Charity Iromyana. From the Fremont Tribune:

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

Northeast extends win streak

 

By Tribune Staff

 

LINCOLN — Lincoln Northeast’s girls extended their winning streak to 43 games on Thursday with a 74-29 victory over Fremont High.

 

The top-ranked Rockets improved to 19-0 on the year while Fremont fell to 3-16.

 

“They’re playing at a very high level right now,” Fremont coach Tony Weinandt said. “Their experience, athleticism and overall size, that’s why they’re where they’re at.”

 

Fremont trailed just 13-8 at the end of the first quarter, but the Tigers were outscored 26-6 in the second period. Northeast then outscored FHS 35-15 in the second half.

 

“I thought we came out and played hard at the start,” Weinandt said. “Then they just brought in wave after wave of people, and it’s tough to keep up with them.”

 

Charity Iromuanya and Dominique Kelley scored 16 points apiece to lead Northeast and Amy Chapman added 10. Kelley also had six steals.

 

 

 

Kelsey Reilly led Fremont with six points and Morgan Fedde had a team-high five rebounds.

 

Fremont hosts Omaha South on Tuesday and closes out its regular season next Thursday at Lincoln North Star.

 

“We’ve shown signs all year of being able to play good basketball at times,” Weinandt said. “It’s just a matter of being able to play a complete game. I think we’re capable of doing that.”

 

Fremont won the junior varsity game 48-41. Madi Sorrick led the Tigers with 15 points and Kaitlyn Moeller scored 10.

 

Fremont 8 6 9 6 — 29

 

Northeast 13 26 13 22— 74

 

FREMONT — Kavan 3, Weinandt 4, Bentley 4, A. Peterson 2, S. Peterson 2, Milks 4, Fedde 4, Reilly 6.

 

NORTHEAST — Lott 2, Iromanya 16, Kelley 16, Mahlman 3, Chapman 10, Bartek 4, Dart 6, Sanchez 3, Essink 2, Quiring 4, Hahn 8.

[Patch]

Mike Yocum from HOOPSCOOP....

 

Episcopal defeated St Patrick's of NJ at the Primetime Shootout in Trenton, NJ

 

Of course Episcopal was led by Ellington and Henderson but they had this to say about Yocum

 

And St Patrick's also didn't seem to have an answer for the solid performance inside by 6'9 Mike Yocum, who finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and seven blocked shots for Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA.

 

From HOOPMASTER....

 

Merion Station, PA Episcopal Academy 60 - Elizabeth, NJ St. Patrick's 55

 

Top Performers: Episcopal Academy: Wayne Ellington 6-4 WG 22 points / 14 rebounds; Gerald Henderson 6-5 WF 19 points; Mike Yocum 6-8 C 11 points. St. Patrick's: Corey Fisher 6-0 (JR) PG 23 points / 5 assists.

Edited February 13, 2006 by Patch

[Dane Pound]

I wasn't aware Mr. Anderson was this big of a scorer:

 

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

 

St. Edward 82, St. Peter Chanel 62

 

Senior Reid Anderson made his final home game a memorable one as he scored 30 points to lead St. Edward (14-4) to an easy win.

[Dane96]

I wasn't aware Mr. Anderson was this big of a scorer:

 

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

 

St. Edward 82, St. Peter Chanel 62

 

Senior Reid Anderson made his final home game a memorable one as he scored 30 points to lead St. Edward (14-4) to an easy win.

11803[/snapback]

 

 

Mark my words down right now; This, is one of the sleepers of the entire conference recruiting class. He can play. At 6'5, he is going to be a tough match up

[Patch]

From what I've heard - Reid is quite similar to Lillis except he is more offensive minded.

 

Gifford's team is ranked #1 in Missouri and the Bear is playing very well on a well balanced team.

 

Yocum has played consistently well against a very strong schedule as the third cog at Episcopal.

 

and Mike Knight has hit 13 of 22 from 3 pt land ovet St Petersburgs last 5 games. St Pete's is tied for first in their conference.

 

4 recruits all who have played in winning programs against solid competition.