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News Nuggets, 04.21.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Pirates' frontcourt of the future taking shape

Jonathan Hart has made it official. The New Jersey prep star with the propensity for putting up prolific numbers from the wing followed through on a recent pledge and sealed a scholarship with East Carolina.

ECU head coach Bill Herrion announced Tuesday that Hart, a 6-6 forward, would be joining a 2004-05 recruiting class that already included two other frontcourt standouts � Charles Bronson (6-10, 220, Lutheran High/Philadelphia, Penn.) and Mike Castro (6-8, 235, Allegany College/Allegany, Md).

A product of Abraham Clark High School (Roselle, N.J.), Hart averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game to lead his team to its third consecutive appearance in the state championship game, noted the ECU announcement.

"We are very pleased to have received this commitment from Jonathan," stated Herrion. "He is an extremely athletic wing player with good size, that we think has a chance to be a really good player."

Hart earned conference player of the year accolades this past season and was a three-time all-conference selection. He is one of just seven players to score over 1,000 points in Clark High history.

"I think he is going to be an impact player," said Clark High head coach Stan Kokie. "He is a versatile athlete that can absolutely sky. He has one of the best releases I've ever seen and I believe he will be an outstanding wing-player in Conference USA."

Hart was a part of back-to-back state championship teams during his sophomore and junior seasons, leading his team to a 50-6 record.

UAB wins battle for Tennessee prep star

BIRMINGHAM � Frank Holmes, regarded as one of the top power forwards in the Southeast, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend UAB, Blazers basketball coach Mike Anderson has announced.

Holmes, from Somerville, TN, became the second signee of UAB's recruiting campaign, joining 6-2, 197-pound guard Paul Delaney out of Chamblee, GA.

A 6-9, 210-pound forward, Holmes was a four-year letterwinner at Somerville's Fayette-Ware High School. He averaged approximately 17 points and 12 boards as a senior, while leading his team to the Class AA sectionals in the Tennessee state tournament.

Holmes was named to the Memphis Commercial Appeal's All-Metro Team in 2003 and 2004. In addition, he was selected to the Nike All-America team and attended last summer's Nike Camp.

He is listed as the 35th top forward in the Southeast according to Rivals.com, while the Commercial Appeal ranks him as one of the top four seniors in the state of Tennessee.

Holmes chose UAB over several schools, including Penn State, Ole Miss and Memphis, according to a Memphis athletic department announcement.

Las Vegas Bowl gets jump on Yuletide holiday

LAS VEGAS � Santa Claus and the Las Vegas Bowl will no longer go head-to-head.

The bowl game's executive committee announced Friday that starting this year, the game will be played on Dec. 23.

In recent years the game has been played on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The move comes on the heels of news that an NFL doubleheader on Christmas Day had prompted the Hawaii Bowl to advance its kickoff a day to Christmas Eve.

"After careful consideration, moving the Las Vegas Bowl to Dec. 23 made sense for a number of reasons," said Tina Kunzer-Murphy, executive director of the bowl. "The Committee feels that the date change will not only generate more interest in the game, but will improve our local attendance."

She also said the earlier date will allow players, coaches and fans to spend Christmas with their families."

The New Mexico Lobos have played in the last two Las Vegas Bowl games. They lost to Oregon State last December and lost to UCLA in 2002. Last year's game was played on Christmas Eve and the 2002 game was played on Christmas Day.

The paid attendance for last year's game was 25,437.

The date change was endorsed by the Mountain West Conference, which has a contract with the Las Vegas Bowl.

"The Mountain West Conference is thrilled about the date change, as it keeps the game after our institutions fall exams for the most part, while moving away from a Christmas game," said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Las Vegas Bowl will match the Pac 10s fifth selection against the second selection from the Mountain West Conference.

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News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007