dustin villapigue

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Recruiting Update: Dustin Villepigue
Busy With Home Visits--(Sept. 3, 2000)

Dustin Villepigue
(6'-9" Sr. PF)

One of the best local big men in this year's rising senior class is Dustin Villepigue (6'-9" Sr. PF) from Simi Valley. Dustin had a solid summer and some truly excellent performances at this year's ABCD Camp, and then played at the adidas Las Vegas Big Time with the Double Pump All Stars, at the Best of Summer, and then at the Slam N Jam/EBO "Elite 8x2" up in Berkeley to close out the summer period. Villepigue (pronounced "Villa-peg". . . the name is actually French, and thus would be "Villa-peejay" if we were all in Paris. . . but we're not there, so its pronounced "Villa-peg". . .), is a strong 6'-9" power forward who can also step out to the short corner to shoot the jumper, or with a decent enough handle to put the ball on the floor, he can also slash to the hole, or hit the occasional three. But his real strength is inside where he has a deft shooting touch and good footwork and isn't afraid to bang with even the biggest post player (and he faced many this past summer).

Dustin has a very busy recruiting schedule, including several home visits which have been set up for the next few weeks during the NCAA exposure/contact period. Dustin will be playing at the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic next weekend at Lynwood HS, followed by a stint up in Fresno at the EBO Sweet 16, followed by the Double Pump Fall Premier Tournament from the 22-24th of September. In between those games and school (where he maintains a near 4.0 GPA to go along with a 1200+ SAT score), Dustin will be meeting with a variety of schools: On September 8, he'll have an in-home visit with UC Santa Barbara; on the 10th he'll meet with new Kansas State coach Jim Woolridge and his staff; on the 12th, Dustin has a home visit set up with SMU coach Mike Dement's staff; on the 18th, he and his family will meet with the Barry Collier's staff from Nebraska; on the 20th, Gonzaga coaches will be coming into the Villepigue household, and then on the 21st, Dustin will meet with St. Louis coach Lorenzo Romar.

Asked if he has any favorites right now, Dustin gave us the typical diplomatic reply, "They're all favorites right now. Really, I don't have any particular favorite, and each of them are excellent programs. I've got some interesting opportunities to play in college and get a great education." Also still in the mix is Princeton coach Bill Carmody, although no home visit has been set up yet. Tulsa also has been calling and may set up a vist as well. While it's a very ecletic and seemingly disparate group of schools, each one on Dustin's list seems offers something that he's interested in when picking a program:

"UCSB offers a solid UC degree, it's close to home and I know a lot of the guys there already (like former teammate Branduinn Fullove), " Dustin said. "Kansas State is intriguing because it's a program where I would get a lot of playing time and there's a new coaching staff. SMU has been very interested all summer and they are a really highly rated team from an RPI point of view, so I'd like to learn more about them. Nebraska gives me an opportunity to play in a major conference and the school is excellent. Gonzaga has done so well for the last few years I think I'd fit in well with their system. And St. Louis, I've known Coach Romar the longest of any college coach, and I think there's no question that I'd fit there," said Dustin. As for the Ivy League, Dustin said he's still considering applying to one or two schools. "There's a financial commitment, or at least a some major expense so that could be a factor, but academically it would be an excellent opportunity. I took an unofficial visit to Princeton after ABCD camp this summer, and really liked it, and we're still trying to arrange a visit with Coach Carmody to discuss things," Dustin said.

As far as official visits are concerned, he's got two arranged so far, one to Nebraska and another to St. Louis, and he plans on taking all five.

Dustin will be playing with Pump N Run/Double Pump All Stars this coming weekend at the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic at Lynwood HS.