stiggers

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Nick Stiggers Has Several Pac-10,
SEC Options--(Oct. 22, 2002)

The conventional wisdom this past summer was that Montclair Prep's Nick Stiggers (6'-8" Sr. F) had squandered a golden opportunity, playing so erratically at ABCD Camp and at other venues that he managed to get USC to back away from an earlier scholarship offer, and to top it off, several recruiting services also reported that Nick had "announced" his verbal commitment to the Trojans prior to the summer camp session, only to later report that USC decided to head in a different direction, making it appear that USC had perhaps never even offered. Many observers said that Nick was out of shape, couldn't get it done, or had no desire or heart. But according to his high school coach, Tyrone Fuller, himself a former USC player, the pundits were flat-out wrong, and were missing some key bits of information.

"I wouldn't wish what Nick went through this past summer on anyone. He's been through some of the toughest experiences I've seen a young man go through, ever" Fuller told us the other day. "In the span of about two months, Nick's step-father died, his brother was shot, and he just felt like he didn't want to go on. He was really down, depressed and he just went into his shell. Unfortunately all of this occurred right as the summer period was starting," Fuller said. "Not only that, but he put on a lot of weight, and developed a very bad case of shin splints. He wasn't running hard, and it was a vicious cycle: The more depressed he got, the worse he looked, and so on."

"Not only did Nick feel bad about things and himself, unfortunately, he wasn't able to hide it and he also didn't look very good either," Fuller told us. "But all of that has changed in the past two months. Nick is getting back into solid shape. He's lost 20 pounds, and I've got him getting up every morning at 6:00 a.m. to go running with a workout coach on the track. He's weight-training every day, and best of all, his emotional outlook has brightened up" Fuller said.

And Nick's got good reason to be positive and hopeful. While the Trojans remain a very outside possibility for the powerful forward from Memphis with the deft inside shooting touch, other suitors have been recruiting him hard. "Arizona State, Fresno State, Georgia are all recruiting him very hard right now," Fuller said. "Nick will probably make a decision in the next few weeks, and things are looking very good for him. He's looking forward to the upcoming season and to making a good college decision."