Looking to bolster its backcourt, East Carolina continues to
recruit a couple of high-scoring guards, one with a lofty reputation, the
other without.
It’s not that Antwi Atuahene doesn’t have the game. He’s
averaging over 30 points and close to 10 assists, but he plays in Canada,
and there isn’t a lot said or written about him in the United States.
The ECU coaching staff is keeping up with him, though; you
can be sure of that. Atuahene plays point guard for Father Henry Carr, but
with his size (6-3 and 185 pounds), strength and scoring ability, he may be
better suited for the two spot in college.
Mike Cook seems to be the Pirates’ preference. Another
strong guard — he’s 6-3 and 200 pounds — Cook is enjoying an outstanding
season at New Hampton (NH) Prep School. His headline effort was against
Coastal Christian at the War on the Shore when he threw in 30 points and
pulled down 14 rebounds.
The shooting guard can score in a number of ways. He hits
some jump shots, although outside shooting is probably his weak point,
drives hard to the basket and goes to the free throw line frequently.
Cook has visited Greenville and Rhode Island. He expects to
get more major attention, and if he does, Cook will likely go elsewhere. If
that doesn’t happen, ECU has a shot.
New Hampton coach Jamie Arsenault said Cook "has heard" from
Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Memphis and Marquette. But offers are
another story. So, we’ll see.
You may recall that Cook committed to Providence last year,
but by the time he qualified academically, the Friars had said no thank you.
A fifth-year senior, he averaged 19 points and seven rebounds per game last
season at Wynnewood (PA) Friends Central.
ECU loses interest
One guard who won’t be coming to East Carolina is Randy
Pulley. The Bucs showed interest during the summer, but haven’t been in
touch in quite a while.
"We haven’t heard from them since late August or early
September," said Ryan Wolf, Pulley’s coach at Barton County Community
College in Great Bend, Kan.
The reason may be that, although he is an effective point
guard, Pulley can’t shoot a lick from the outside. That shortcoming
obviously invites defenses to pack it in, guard the lane and offer wide-open
jump shots.
"He overcomes that by going right by people," Wolf said.
"Randy is so quick. He’s also really strong, and he can get in gaps and make
things happen. He makes plays. He’s a great playmaker, a real good
penetrator who gets in the paint just about all the time."
Pulley is 6-1 and weighs in a 215 pounds. That’s a hefty
point guard. He is averaging 12 points, 6.3 assists, four rebounds and
almost two steals per game, while shooting 53 percent from the floor and 78
percent from the foul line.
Asked about Pulley’s three-point accuracy, Wolf said, "He
doesn’t shoot any. He does not have that shot."
Pulley, who averaged five points and 2.3 assists in nearly
20 minutes a game as a freshman at St. Louis last year, had his biggest
outing against Lee College. He scored 25 points, dished out an incredible 16
assists and grabbed eight rebounds in that one. He was even better in the
assist department, with 18, while scoring 15 against Neosho County.
Originally from Raleigh, he received pretty heavy attention
from N.C. State before the Wolfpack accepted a commitment from Mike
O’Donnell, a point guard from Largo (FL) High School.
"Kentucky and Missouri are very interested," Wolf said, "and
so is Pittsburgh. Coaches from Kentucky and Missouri were at our game the
other night. Both were looking at Randy for the second time."
DePaul gets jump
DePaul is off and running for 2004 with a commitment from
Aking Elting of Southern Idaho Junior College.
The 5-11 point guard from Elizabethtown, N.C., has also
received scholarship offers from Utah and Fresno State.
Elting, a freshman at Southern Idaho, is very quick and
creates lots of opportunities for teammates with his ability to beat
defenders and penetrate.
