2010 Commit!!!

[Dane Pound]

From Rice High School

 

Here's the ESPN Card on him. For some reason the description sounds like Levi Levine to me. Stukes was Class AA second team along with Taran Buie.

[Clickclack]

recruitrecon.com has him as an '09 recruit, looks like he's decided to go to prep school. They have Iona, Siena, Quinn and Robert Morris offering....no idea how accurate any of that is. Rivals also shows him with offers from Siena, Quinn, Robert Morris, Iona but also has Long Island and Southern U.

[Patch]

the description sounds like Levi Levine - DP

 

Good comparison for a start. I saw Stukes at Glens Falls against Lincoln and he was real good.

 

To me a Levi with more offensive versatility and athleticism.

 

He has played top comp all the time and seemingly always gets his game over. This could be a great get for us. He could come in immediately and fill the void created by Will Harris's graduation.

 

Believe he had 24 in the NYC vs Surburbs game prior to the Jordan Classic at the "Garden".

 

3rd Team Daily News All City and 2nd Team AA All State by NYSSWA, that puts him in some fine company.

 

His teammate who avg .3ppg more then him is going to MIAMI.

 

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Just found this article from Hoopmasters....

 

May 1, 2009

Albany adds Big Apple forward for 2010...

By Van Coleman van@hoopmasters.com

 

Will brown and his Albany staff have received a commitment from 6-6 James Stukes..

 

According to a source close to the program, theAlbany great Danes have added their first commitment in the Class of 2010 in 6-6 225-pound James Stukes who will prpe next year at South Kent, CT School.

 

He was the 2nd leading scorer for Rice at 14.4ppg and the leading rebounder at 7.6rpg this season and helped lead them to the New York City Catholic League and the New York State Class AA State Federation Championship.

 

For his efforts James was named 2nd Team All City and 2nd Team Class AA All State. He scored 24 points in the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game at Madison Square Garden. He will do a prep year next year at South Kent Prep, CT.

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

Nice to see the kid pick here despite supposedly having an offer from Siena. He should definitely help to add depth to the front court after the Harris and Gifford graduations this year. Welcome to the program!

[Dane96]

This kid is ready now...and is a great pickup for the staff. I never liked when I had to play against Rice-- they are always tough kids and well coached. This is a very good pickup for the Danes.

[B9j2j6s]

Well sounds like we have not one but two in pipe for 2010.

 

John Puk will be replacing Gifford, and James Stukes is taking the place for Will Harris. Now the coaching staff will focus on getting a PG.

[Patch]

Now the coaching staff will focus on getting a PG. - B9j2j6s

 

I thought Mike Black was going to be our PG?

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

BTW, I love how Bosiydid reported this at 9 AM this morning, and the TU still has nothing on it. You would think our beat writer would be the one to break stories like this...

[Clickclack]

BTW, I love how Bosiydid reported this at 9 AM this morning, and the TU still has nothing on it. You would think our beat writer would be the one to break stories like this...

 

It was DP who reported it!

[B9j2j6s]

Now the coaching staff will focus on getting a PG. - B9j2j6s

 

I thought Mike Black was going to be our PG?

 

Well I figured they will be going after a guard to replace Johnson.

[Clickclack]

Now the coaching staff will focus on getting a PG. - B9j2j6s

 

I thought Mike Black was going to be our PG?

 

Well I figured they will be going after a guard to replace Johnson.

 

I've been told that a PG and post player will be a priority in the '10 class. By my count we have one scholarship to give and it will probably be a PG.

[Dane96]

We have two PG's...Black and Tartt...and Watts as well.

 

I doubt we are going after a PG.

[Dane Pound]

One of the NYC recruiting sites is reporting that Ralph Watts helped Stukes decision to come to UA. Watts hasn't played a game for us yet but already has an assist!

 

The PG situation will be interesting. I would guess the downside of recruting another PG in 2010 is that Black would only be a soph. A 6'6 PG in Watts would be something.

[Clickclack]

We have two PG's...Black and Tartt...and Watts as well.

 

I doubt we are going after a PG.

 

Apparently both Watts and Tartt can play some point...I guess allot will depend on what Black can give us and how he adjusts to the college game and if Tartt can give us some minutes at the point. We do have some options but neither of the two guys (Ralph and Derek) are true/full time PG's.

 

Recruiting another PG who would be only a year behind Black would present and interesting roster balance question.

[Clickclack]

I found this to be a bit interesting...apparently if you go to ESPN's recruitment site and display all of UA's commitments for the '10 class. Under the column "Grade" one of three possible things could be in there.....

 

- The actual grade of the recruit per scouts inc. In this case James is rated an 80

- ESPNU 100 Players indicating a top 100 recruit

- ESPNU 100 Watch List Players indicating that the player is being mentioned as maybe/potentially a top 100 recruit

 

Well James is being listed as a top 100 watch list player....just something interesting to kick around in the dog days of summer. Obviously these sites and rankings are not an exact science, but it sounds like we might have gotten ourselves a baller here.