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| Wednesday, July 16 |
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| Curry, Ely make surprise decisions By Jon Reidel SchoolSports.com | ||||||
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Just when everyone stopped paying attention to center Eddy Curry of Thornwood High (South Holland, Ill.) and forward Shyra Ely of Ben Davis High (Indianapolis, Ind.), the nation's top boys' and girls' basketball players decided to sign college letters-of-intent. With everyone expecting the 6-foot-11 Curry to go straight to the NBA next season, it came as a shock when he signed with DePaul last week. Many coaches felt sure enough that Curry would enter the NBA draft and bypass college that they stopped recruiting him.
DePaul, Cincinnati, Illinois and late entrant Memphis didn't stop, however, and the Blue Demons were rewarded on Wednesday when Curry signed on the last day of the early-signing period. DePaul may be getting a player who averaged 24.6 points and 11 rebounds per game last season and is considered by many to be the top center in a class that is loaded with men in the middle. But it's still not a done deal that Curry will wind up at DePaul next season. Last year, Darius Miles and Deshawn Stevenson signed letters-of-intent with St. John's and Kansas, respectively, but still entered the draft. Curry, who turns 18 on Dec. 5, is expected to be a top 10 selection if he eventually decides to forgo college for the NBA. Ely's decision to attend Tennessee wasn't quite as surprising, although many observers thought she would sign with in-state favorite Purdue. Ben Davis coach Stan Beng said he knew something had happened when his phone didn't ring for the first time in months. The reason for the phone stoppage was that Ely signed with the Vols and her teammate, Ashley Allen, signed with Ohio State. "I knew something was up when I didn't have any messages to return," said Beng. "Overall, the recruiting process was a positive experience, but it's very stressful, especially for a high school kid. They're both going to very good programs." Ely's signing with the Vols, who also pocketed two more top 25 players, went against the growing belief that parity had arrived in women's college basketball. Ely joins Michelle Munoz of Mason High (Mason, Ohio) and Loree Moore of Narbonne High (Harbor City, Calif.) to give Tennessee the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. A number of other top 25 players did sign with non-traditional college powers, but Tennessee proved that the rich are still getting richer. "Tennessee definitely has the number one class," said Brett McCormick of All-Star Girls Report.net. "Rutgers is probably next with North Carolina, LSU and Stanford and Notre Dame and Georgia. Yes, Tennessee had a great class, but there was still a lot of parity this year. Schools like TCU and Auburn, Texas, Michigan State, UC-Santa Barbara and Ohio State also has good classes."
Arizona Rebounds Less than two week ago, Rickert seemed a lock for Arizona, but he started to waiver a few days later. After some serious soul searching, he announced foe the Gophers. A solid home visit and a pair of memorable campus visits to Minnesota may have turned the tables. It also gave the Gophers possibly the top recruiting class in the Big Ten. But don't shed any tears for the Wildcats, as they're getting a top-flight big man in Fox, who can mix it up underneath or step outside for the mid-range jumper. Fox averaged 26 points and 15 rebounds per game on the court and posted a 2.9 GPA and 1070 SAT score off it.
Tidbits Earnest Turner, a 6-foot-2 guard from Sterling High (Somerdale, N.J.) committed to Bill Bayno's UNLV Rebels over Rutgers and Villanova. This gives UNLV a great recruiting class and is somewhat surprising in that most people thought Turner was a lock for Villanova. ... The University of Georgia landed the No. 2 girls' basketball player in the nation in Kara Braxton of Westview High (Beaverton, Ore.), which gives the Lady Bulldogs a top 10 recruiting class.
Material from SchoolSports.com.Visit their web site at www.schoolsports.com | |
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