Bulls get new Basketball verbal

[mattegunz]

http://bulls.tbo.com/bulls/MGBAASKZ67E.html

USF Men Get Commitment From New York Guard

By BRETT McMURPHY bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

Published: Apr 6, 2005

TAMPA - David Sills, a 6-foot- 1 guard from Harlem who played in the famed Rucker League, verbally committed to South Florida.

Sills, who attended three junior colleges and five high schools, said he will sign with USF when the late signing period begins April 13. He will have two years of eligibility.

Sills said he picked USF over Houston, where he committed last month, Louisville, Missouri and Southern Miss.

``The most important thing was the coaching staff,'' Sills said. ``Coach [Robert] McCullum, [assistant] Julius Allen, all the guys. Also the opportunity to play in the Big East against some of these guys I grew up playing against.''

Sills, 22, is currently attending Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. The previous two seasons he played at Odessa (Texas) College and College of Southern Idaho. He averaged 15 points at Odessa in 2002-03 and 10.8 points at Southern Idaho in 2003.

He said he was kicked out of Southern Idaho after the first semester, because ``I got into a little bit of trouble,'' Sills said. ``But I'm grateful to get a second chance at South Florida. Coach McCullum understands that and respects that.''

In other USF news, seniors Terrence Leather and Brian Swift were named the John and Cynthia Ruzic co-MVPs at the team banquet Tuesday.

Leather finished among the top three in Conference USA in scoring and rebounding, while Swift led C-USA in assists.

Bradley Mosley received the **** and Rosalyn Wittcoff Endowed Scholarship award and Swift received the Wittcoff Family Endowed Scholarship award.

Other awards presented: Marlyn Bryant (Bull Pride and most improved), Marius Prekevicius (academic), Solomon Jones (defensive player of year) and Melvin Buckley (Bill Jones scholarship).

[mattegunz]

http://www.oaoa.com/columns/sager020503.htm

OC freshman guard Sills finally has his troubled life in order

Odessa College freshman basketball player David Sills has had a tough life up to this point.

The fifth of 12 kids raised by a single mom in the Bronx, Sills never knew his father. And with 11 other brothers and sisters, it was easy to get away with things.

He attended school, but would quickly get bored with it. He stopped going altogether and concentrated on his passion  basketball. His mother would tell him that he needed to go to school and that basketball wasn’t everything, but Sills admitted he never listened. He did his own thing.

At 13 years old, Sills was kicked out of the house. At times, he had nowhere to sleep, so he slept on benches. At one point, his mother called the police on him.

“I was hustling and playing basketball,†he said. “And thanks to God, I didn’t go to jail. But it’s tough for a 13-year-old to do that  be on his own.â€Â

When he got to high school, Sills would skip school and go play ball at the famous Rucker Park in New York. Several NBA players grew up playing there and Sills played against some of them.

“I played against Stephon Marbury and Jamaal Tinsley,†he said.

Marbury currently plays for the Phoenix Suns, while Tinsley is a guard with the Indiana Pacers. And if you play at Rucker on a regular basis, people begin to notice you. And they began to notice Sills and call him by his nickname  The Enigma.

“I guess they called me that because no one knew what to expect from me,†he said. “I could post up, I could shoot and I could dribble. They gave me that name according to how I play.â€Â

Sills could definitely play ball, but without an education he knew his only glory would be at Rucker. Just another streetballer who never made it. That was when he woke up.

“One day, some guys told me that I was wasting my talent,†Sills said. “They said I’d be just like the other guys that didn’t make it â€â€sitting on the corner doing nothing. And I wanted something better.â€Â

So, Sills decided to go back to school. He attended five different high schools in four years, but eventually graduated from Bronx Regional High School last year at the age of 20. Right now, he’s the oldest freshman on the OC basketball team at 21 years old.

“I wanted to go to college,†Sills said. “I wanted to do it for myself, but also for my little brothers and sisters, and also for the other kids in my neighborhood.â€Â

Sills never played high school basketball, but he played on some tournament teams. He went to one tournament in Las Vegas and played against current freshman Anthony Roberson of the No. 1-ranked Florida Gators. Sills scored 15 points against Roberson.

In school, he did just enough to get by. After graduation, he was supposed to attend Northeastern University. However, he didn’t have the grades. That was when OC head coach Orlando Ontiveroz got a call.

“There was a guy in New York that I started talking to because I didn’t have enough credits,†Sills said. “He said he knew a couple of schools he could call and he called Coach O. I talked to Coach and he told me about the school, the basketball team and how I could be a better person. He sounded the youngest out of the ones I talked to and I figured he could relate to me.

“I couldn’t have made a better decision. Most of the time, when you hear of Juco ball, people think it’s a bad thing. But I’m learning so much. I’m learning every day in practice.â€Â

And not only is he learning on the basketball court, he’s also learning in the classroom. Last semester, Sills earned a 3.4 GPA. It’s the best he’s ever done. He went from a C-average to nearly making the dean’s list.

But it wasn’t that easy for him. When he first got to OC, he started getting back to his old ways. He was sleeping in and wasn’t going to class.

“I got back to how I was before,†Sills said. “But Coach O caught it early and told me that if I do the same things that I did before, I’d get the same results. So, I started going to classes. I started liking it and I kept going.â€Â

It paid off too. He’s doing well in school and he’s the Wranglers’ leading scorer. He had a career-high 27 points in OC’s win against New Mexico Junior College on Monday night.

And if Sills continues to do well in both areas he quite possibly can attain his ultimate dream.

“My goal is to make it to the NBA,†he said. “I want to learn as much as I can and then take care of my family. My mother is not working right now. She was laid off after the whole Sept. 11 thing and I want to help her out.â€Â

But of all the lessons Sills has learned in his 21 years  good and bad  there’s one that stands out the most.

“A kid with a father figure at home is better off,†he said.

Sounds like a pretty intelligent man to me.

Dave Sager’s column appears Wednesday. E-mail comments may be sent to oasports@link.freedom.com.

Copyright © 1999-2003 Odessa American. All rights reserved.

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[RJWGoBulls]

March 9, 2005 --  David Sills grew up in Harlem, living with various friends and relatives, bouncing from "house to house to house to house."

After attending four different high schools, he finally graduated from an alternative school, Bronx Regional, three years ago. He has since gone to three junior colleges.

"It's been crazy," said Sills, 23. "But I'm ready to settle down at one place."

So earlier this week, the 6-foot guard, who has impressed people with his basketball skills everywhere from Rucker Park to Odessa Junior College in Kansas, committed to play next season for Tom Penders at Houston.

"I visited there last week and fell in love with it," said Sills, who still needs to earn more credits to get his degree from Bunker Hill College in Boston, where he is now.

"I'm going to cherish this opportunity," said Sills, who also received interest from Missouri and Louisville.

Recruiting expert Tom Konchalski remembers seeing Sills at AAU tournaments and called him "a scoring dervish."

One of Sills' influences is the Pacers' Jamaal Tinsley, who took a somewhat similar route to Iowa State before getting to the NBA. Sills played against Tinsley at Rucker and said he fared well.

"I think I dropped about 28 on him," Sills said. "But it took me a while before I realized I had to get an education and not just play basketball."

His prowess on the court brought him to outposts like Mt. Zion in North Carolina, Long Island's Our Saviour New American, as well as the College of Southern Idaho, where he got kicked out.

"I did a lot of little things there, like driving without a license," Sills said. "But I know I can play at that level and I can't wait for the chance."

http://www.nypost.com/sports/40870.htm

[mattegunz]

Ny Post showed him verballing to UH last month also.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/40870.htm

SILLS SET TO SETTLE DOWN IN HOUSTON

By DAN MARTIN

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March 9, 2005 -- David Sills grew up in Harlem, living with various friends and relatives, bouncing from "house to house to house to house."

After attending four different high schools, he finally graduated from an alternative school, Bronx Regional, three years ago. He has since gone to three junior colleges.

"It's been crazy," said Sills, 23. "But I'm ready to settle down at one place."

So earlier this week, the 6-foot guard, who has impressed people with his basketball skills everywhere from Rucker Park to Odessa Junior College in Kansas, committed to play next season for Tom Penders at Houston.

"I visited there last week and fell in love with it," said Sills, who still needs to earn more credits to get his degree from Bunker Hill College in Boston, where he is now.

"I'm going to cherish this opportunity," said Sills, who also received interest from Missouri and Louisville.

Recruiting expert Tom Konchalski remembers seeing Sills at AAU tournaments and called him "a scoring dervish."

One of Sills' influences is the Pacers' Jamaal Tinsley, who took a somewhat similar route to Iowa State before getting to the NBA. Sills played against Tinsley at Rucker and said he fared well.

"I think I dropped about 28 on him," Sills said. "But it took me a while before I realized I had to get an education and not just play basketball."

His prowess on the court brought him to outposts like Mt. Zion in North Carolina, Long Island's Our Saviour New American, as well as the College of Southern Idaho, where he got kicked out.

"I did a lot of little things there, like driving without a license," Sills said. "But I know I can play at that level and I can't wait for the chance."

[mattegunz]

RJW we are onto the same search.  Hahahaha   Go bulls

[RJWGoBulls]

RJW we are onto the same search.  Hahahaha   Go bulls

LOL...its all good!

He might be an answer to percieved upcoming scoring problems.

Go Bulls

[mattegunz]

That is exactly what I was thinking.

[Markeymark]

We will need someone to replace Swift at PG, maybe this is the guy who will do it.

[Guest Guest]

your sick

[Guest BasketBull.]

Did you know that Sills played with a former Bull while at Southern Idaho...?

One Yusuf Baker