busterna signs with USC

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

USC Signs Another SG, Gennaro Busterna,
A JUCO Transfer--(May 5, 2000)

We've been reading about this signing for the past few days, but until late last night when the official press release was issued by the University of Southern California, the signing of Gennaro Busterna (6'-3" So. SG) from McCook College (a JC) in Nebraska, was only a commitment and was unconfirmed. There were a lot of reliable sources (BibbyBaby's USCHoops.com, Pac-WestHoops, and Recruiting USA who all reported it) but we decided to hold off until the official press release was issued.

According to those who have seen him, he's a very effective shooter. In addition to the "usual stuff" contained in the official press releases (see below) BibbyBaby's site has an excellent assessment of him from a viewing which took place earlier last month when Busterna visited the campus. Here's the writeup on Busterna from BibbyBaby:

"Gennaro Busterna, a 6-4 guard out of McCook CC in Nebraska, gave a verbal to USC on his visit last weekend and signed his loi today. I got a first hand look at him Saturday morning as he played with the team. After his first shot from the perimeter you could tell he had a sweet stroke. He is a lefty, who appears to have unlimited range. He hit a couple long 3's to go along with some buckets he got off the dribble. No matter where he was on the floor his shot was always right around the rim, including one shot that he almost banked in from an impossible angle fading behind the basket. He appears to be able to break down defenders to get his shot. He didn't try to get to the basket very often as he would pull up and shoot off the dribble instead. He has a nice feel for the game and see the floor well. On several occasions he made nice passes ahead on the break to lead to easy scores. In these type of games sometimes you can't tell much, but you could tell he can shoot the ball. His numbers last season at McCook back this up. He shot 110 for 227 good for 48% from 3 point range. He also averaged 6.0 rpg to go along with his 21.0 ppg average. He also had one game that he broke out for 42 points. Overall he will be a solid addition to our program for the next 2 years. Very closely resembles a Elias Ayuso type player offensively."

And here's the official press release:

Men's Basketball Signs JC Guard Busterna
Incoming junior was Nebraska JUCO Player of the Year in 2000.

May 4, 2000

Shooting guard Gennaro Busterna from McCook (Neb.) College has signed a letter of intent with USC, men's basketball coach Henry Bibby announced today.

"Gennaro brings another quality shooter to the team and adds a dimension from the outside that we lacked at times last year," Bibby said. "He should be a factor as we look to improve next year."

The 6-foot-3 Busterna will enter USC as a junior. He was the 2000 Nebraska Junior College and Nebraska Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year and earned 2000 All-Region 9 first team honors while leading McCook to a 25-6 record.

Busterna averaged 20.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a senior. He shot .505 from the field (220-436), .491 from three-point range (113-of-230) and .744 from the foul line (64-of-86). He also had 55 assists.

As a freshman in 1999, Busterna averaged 11.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He shot .504 from the field (118-of-234), .414 from three-point range (63-of-152) and .851 on free throws (40-of-47). He added 53 assists as McCook went 24-7 his freshman year.

Busterna prepped at Manual High in Denver, Colo.