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Tracking the College Basketball Stars of the Future
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Hoops
Recruiting Report
Saturday, October 19, 2002
By Thad Mumau
Special Correspondent |
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Herrion backcourt target slated for Homecoming
visit
Tulane, DePaul and Houston add commitments
©2002 Bonesville.net
We’ve all heard of power forwards, but how about a power
guard? That’s pretty much the description of Mike Cook, who was scheduled to
visit East Carolina Oct. 18-20.
Cook's excursion to Greenville happens to coincide with
major hoopla in Pirate Land. Not only is it East Carolina's Homecoming and
Hall of Fame weekend, Coach Bill Herrion's hoops squad will stage its
open-to-the-public Purple-Gold scrimmage in Williams Arena prior to
Saturday's ECU-South Florida football game.
At 6-3 and over 200 pounds, Cook has the bulk and strength
to post up smaller guards. And he also has the handle to get the ball close
to the basket where he sometimes seems to score at will.
Cook is a fifth-year senior at New Hampton (NH) Prep School.
Last season, he played in the same Wynnewood (PA) Friends Central backcourt
with Shakur Mustaf, the highly ranked point guard who recently committed to
Arizona over N.C. State. Cook averaged 19 points, seven rebounds, five
assists and two steals.
He appeared close to a commitment to Providence in the
spring, with Massachusetts and ECU also recruiting him hard. He has scored
over 820 on the SAT, but reportedly needs to raise his grade-point average
in core courses, despite making a couple of A’s in summer school at Friends
Central.
Cook is a good shooter off the dribble. He takes the ball to
the basket, finishes strong and handles the ball well.
Two question marks concerning Cook are his three-point shot,
which needs to be more consistent, and his weight. Some college coaches who
have seen him feel he needs to shed some pounds in order to match up better
with quick wing guards.
However, his size also produces mismatches in his favor and
helps him score a lot of his points.
East Carolina has offered Cook a scholarship. So have Rhode
Island, Iowa State and George Washington. Marquette, Florida State and
Memphis have also shown interest.
He is scheduled to take an official visit to Rhode Island
Oct. 25-27, and he has mentioned possibly taking a trip to Iowa State in the
spring. He could wait until then to sign rather than doing so during the
November early signing period.
Updating a couple of names mentioned in our last column in
connection with the Pirates:
Dwight Brewington, a 6-5 wing guard from Worcester (MA) Academy, committed
to Providence.
Will Blalock, a point guard from Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame Prep, has
eliminated ECU from his choices. He will visit Iowa State next weekend and
is also considering Pittsburgh, George Washington and Memphis.
Other C-USA news
Tulane landed three players in a one-week span, giving the
Green Wave four commitments so far.
Troy Aaron of Lake Charles (LA) St. Louis, chose Tulane over Houston,
DePaul, Louisiana Tech and McNeese State. The 6-foot point guard averaged 24
points and eight assists as a junior.
Vincent Camper, a 6-3 point guard from Oxford (MS) High
School, picked the Green Wave over Fresno State after also receiving
attention from Connecticut, Mississippi, Southern Methodist and Florida
State. He averaged 17 points, 8.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds last season.
Dan Fitzgerald, a 6-8 small forward/power forward from
Mendota Heights (MN) St. Thomas Academy, chose Tulane over West Virginia and
Stanford. He also considered Bowling Green, Rice, Drake and Boston
University.
DePaul added 6-2 wing guard Tyler Smith, who averaged nearly
25 points per game at Philadelphia (PA) Lutheran last season. He is now at
Colora (MD) West Nottingham Academy as a fifth-year senior.
Houston has four commitments with the addition of 6-7 small
forward Andrew Francis of Houston (TX) Elsik and 6-9 junior college power
forward Darrius Brannon from Baytown (TX) Lee College.
Cincinnati has offered a scholarship to Mike Pilgrim, a 6-7
power forward from Brewster (NH) Academy. Seton Hall, Memphis, Connecticut
and Purdue are also in the picture.
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02/23/2007 02:39:57 PM
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