player notes

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Home Visits, UCLA Notes &
Some AWOL Players--(Sept. 11, 2000)

Almost as interesting as the list of players who played at the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic this weekend was the list of players who didn't, and the former list includes players who either weren't there at all or who missed significant games. . .

Cedric Bozeman (6'-6" Sr. G) from Mater Dei didn't play at all. But his father was there on Saturday afternoon catching the action, watching many of Ced's friends from his club teams and from Mater Dei, and chatting it up with friends and coaches.

Cedric had a home visit with Kansas on Saturday, and Roy Williams was in the gym on Saturday morning and early afternoon before heading over to the Bozeman household. UCLA had a visit set up last night. And all this talk about Florida? Well, if we were a Gator fan, we wouldn't be holding our breath waiting for a commitment any time soon. Our best guess, and it's not much of a guess is that Cedric will be a Bruin and will sign an LOI during the early signing period in November. Roy can be persuausive (see, you can call him "Roy" without getting a lecture or getting choked. . .and you can do the same with "Steve" too), but too many factors favor UCLA in the Bozeman derby: Location, family, history, location, and location.

Dijon Thompson didn't make his Saturday evening game or any of the games on Sunday. Still the few games he did play in on Friday and Saturday merited him our selection for "All Tournament." Dijon reportedly had a home visit with UConn on Sunday which prevented him from attending, and on Saturday night. . . well, Saturday night, he either had a visit from Arizona or was at a rap concert depending who you believe. According to several folks we spoke with "in the know" about Dijon, his list includes UConn, UCLA (which was going in for a visit this week), and Arizona. Others are on the list, but it's likely that these three have the best shot right now.

Jamaal Williams didn't play on Friday night, but he played for both Pump N Run and Belmont Shore in this tournament. Thursday night he met with Fran Fraschilla of New Mexico, and they've offered him. Saturday morning Jamaal met with UCSB's Coach Williams. Jamaal has some other visits set up but likely won't wait for UCLA to come back into the picture when/if they don't get Jamal Sampson or Josh Childress.

Jamal Sampson was not there at all either, and the word was that Roy was also going into the Sampson house for a home visit too on this trip out.

The "Most Surprising No-Show" for us was the seemingly forgotten Shaun Michel, who has integrated himself very nicely into the lineup at Mater Dei. Michel had a great summer, played steady and solid, and is certainly better than a lot of the point guards in the senior class who are getting a lot more recruiting attention, at least by participating in the club thing.

The "Least Surprising No-Shows" were Errick and Derrick Craven, who have already committed to USC. So solid is their commitment that they went to the USC football game instead of playing at the Fall Hoops Classic. Their future teammate, Rory O'Neil did play for his Rockfish squad, but his commitment appears just as solid. . . .

Others who might fall onto the "Least Surprising No-Show" list would include several others who have been missing in action from the fall travel circuit (and some from the summer circuit too). . . Scott Borchart of Chaminade wasn't there, and he hasn't played anywhere to our knowledge since the early summer "War on the Floor" tournament, and then only with his high school team. Likewise, the Soderberg brothers didn't play this weekend, but they are are still enrolled at Corona Centennial. Phillip Johnson of Arroyo Grande, didn't play either because Mats didn't bring a team (Phillip played this summer with EBO). Dommanic Ingerson didn't play either because 805 wasn't there (and likewise, neither did his teammates on the 805 squad, including Adam Allegro, Mike Charleston, Johnny Grey, and Trey Putnam). Isaiah Fox also didn't play this weekend because he was on an official visit to Cal. Dustin Villepigue missed his Friday game with Pump N Run meeting with UCSB. He also didn't play Sunday with another home visit with one of the many schools on his rather eclectic list, which includes Nebraska, SMU, Princeton, Gonzaga, and UCSB. And Casey Markovich of Bell-Jeff, a solid shooter and a decent prospect was in attendance in street clothes, but not playing, because his ARC team which performed so well in Vegas wasn't entered.

Oh yeah, and Amaury Fernandez, Jack Martinez, Jon Steffanson, and Franklin Matos weren't there either. . . something about a problem with getting a student-visa. . . .