Bulls recruiting in basketball hotbeds

[TakeItOrLeavitt]

By GREG AUMANN

Published October 13, 2004

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USF won't move to the Big East for another year, but basketball coach Robert McCullum is already making a move to build his team with players from the heart of his new conference's recruiting territory.

McCullum already has a commitment from guard Chris Howard of Fort Washington, Md., who led Friendly High to two state championships. He's also a contender for a bruising post player in Dennard Abraham, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound Baltimore native.

And if Baltimore and Washington, are the gateway to the Big East's home turf, McCullum is working hard to land players from the heart of northeast basketball - New York City.

The Bulls are in the mix for three players from the New York Gauchos, a Bronx club team that has produced NBA stars such as Rod Strickland, Stephon Marbury and Kenny Anderson. USF is recruiting point guard Levance Fields and two-guard Saiquan Stone, both at Xaverian Academy, as well as guard Jessie Sapp, a Gauchos player now at National Christian Academy in Fort Washington.

The man escorting USF into key Big East neighborhoods is first-year assistant Julius Allen, a former Gauchos player who coached the team last year and has worked in the Baltimore area as a coach at Howard and Towson. To be able to recruit successfully in New York, a program must have someone on staff with strong local ties.

"He knows the city, and a lot of people here know who he is," said Dwayne Mitchell, a coach in the Gauchos program. "It's definitely going to help South Florida. They've got a great shot at these kids, because Tampa is a great place and Julius has a good relationship with those kids. If those kids give them a chance, it can definitely happen."

USF isn't forgetting its own backyard in the shift to the Big East. In landing a commitment from Brandon guard Zaronn Cann, the Bulls beat out one former Big East team (Virginia Tech, with former USF coach Seth Greenberg, to boot) and a future conference rival in West Virginia.

Building a sustained presence in the Northeast for recruiting will lead to a competitive showing on the court, another huge step in USF's transition to a major basketball league.

"If they're coming up here to recruit, they're going to have to keeping working hard," said National Christian coach Trevor Brown, noting that Georgetown and St. John's are also chasing Sapp. "What's going to be the biggest factor for them here is just how well they do once they're in the Big East."

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/10/13/Sports/Bulls_recruiting_in_b.shtml

[smazza]

you need the talent

it helps that coach mac doesn't have to give a job to his older brother

talk about fraud

[RHBullsFan]

smazza with the subtle elbow jab while boxing out in the paint.....any bets on how long it takes Sheriff to post a response to that comment?

[Apis Bull]

The over/under is 8 hours.

[yosoybullsfan]

Why so many guards???  Where are the big boys?

[Apis Bull]

Why so many guards???  Where are the big boys?

Yo no sé

[beastiebull]

Why so many guards???  Where are the big boys?

MAC no te gusta los hombres grandes.  El quiere un equipo pequeno.

[bulls96go]

the big boys will come when you have a point (pun intended) to get them the ball

[smazza]

como

[RHBullsFan]

Coach Mac no es un tonto, el quire los jugadores alto, pero no hay mucho disponible ahora. Espere cuando entramos el Esta Grande y lo vienen todos.