Zaronn signs!

[Guest HowieP1]

USF men’s basketball signs forward Zaronn Cann  

TAMPA, Fla. (Wednesday, Nov. 10)  USF’s basketball future began to take shape with the signing of Zaronn Cann, a 6-6, 240-pound forward out of Brandon High School in Brandon, Fla., to a national letter-of-intent today, the first day of the fall signing period.

Cann averaged 19 points and nine rebounds last as a junior. He missed the second half of the season after tearing ligaments in his left knee last January. As a sophomore he averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“Zaronn is a player we are extremely excited to add to our program,†said USF coach Robert McCullum. “Since our arrival at USF the question about the receruitment of local players has been at the forefront of questions we’ve received. We realize the importance of having local players in the program and Zaronn happens to be a local player that is extremely gifted and we’re excited that he chose USF.â€Â

McCullum particularly likes Cann’s versatility to play at either small or power forward.

“Zaronn is a versatile player who can play both forward positions,†said McCullum. “I think to be successful at this level you have to have players that are dfifficult to guard and Zaronn has that quality. He is difficult for small forwards and power forwards to defend. We like the unique features that he brings, his versatility, his ability to go out on the floor and knock down jump shots as well as to take a smaller player inside and post him up. He plays the game with a flair, with passion, with such energy, that makes him exciting to watch. He will quickly become a fan favorite and I think he’ll come in and compete for a starting position as a freshman.â€Â

The fall signing period continues through Nov. 17.

http://gobulls.usf.edu/Sports/News.asp?i=1117&s=Basketball

[Velcro]

Awesome!  Time for a collective sigh of relief!

[79 Bull]

He sure looks athletic.

[Guest HowieP1]

He's come a long way back. Let's hope he stays healthy:

Brandon Standout Eager To Get Back On Basketball Court

By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON arichardson@tampatrib.com

Published: Oct 4, 2004

 

BRANDON - Zaronn Cann never stopped believing. Zenobia Cann, his mother, continued praying. Joe Williams, his uncle, kept encouraging.

Those are just three of the elements responsible for Cann's comeback.

Cann, a Brandon High junior and one of the nation's top basketball players, nearly had his basketball career end on Jan. 16 against Plant. That is when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) while trying to catch an alley-oop pass.

This weekend, Cann was on an official visit to the University of South Florida. The Bulls never took back their scholarship offer. Neither has Virginia Tech nor West Virginia, two other colleges Cann has visited.

Today will be the biggest day of Cann's rebound. It is when he visits David Leffers at the Florida Orthopedic Institute. If the doctor gives approval, Cann can resume playing basketball again.

``I've worn out some knee pads praying for him,'' Cann's mother said. ``I believe that it's Zaronn's destiny and purpose to be influential in the sports environment. As long as he keeps himself in God's hand, he will go further.''

Cann's destiny was questioned by many, including himself, after the injury.

It was questionable if he would ever play basketball again. While undergoing surgery to repair his ACL, the two other tears in Cann's knee were discovered. They were repaired, but his dreams were not that easy to fix.

``I just didn't know if I would come back. I wasn't scared or afraid about what was going to happen, but I was discouraged,'' Cann said. ``When I would work out on my own, I wouldn't see any progress. That was hard to deal with.

``I really couldn't do anything. All I could do was sit in the bed and stretch it out so it couldn't be stiff.''

Cann's knee was not the only thing to tighten after the injury. Recruiters also tensed up.

Listed by rivals.com as a three-star recruit and one of the top five shooting guards in Florida, Cann was getting tickets to Florida's home games and sitting behind the bench. Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, Florida State and Florida were actively recruiting the 6- foot-6, 240-pound player who averaged 18 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Eagles.

After the injury, the phone stopped ringing like it used to.

``At first, I looked at it on the down side, because it bothered me. When I look at it now, I realize those weren't the programs for me,'' Cann said. ``If I would have gotten hurt at the school, maybe their attitude would have been the same as it is now.

``That opened my eyes to different things and gave me something else to look at for a coach and different schools. How dedicated were they going to be to me. It was sad, but it was good.''

Cann understood the colleges' perspective. Having a 3.4 grade point average and being firmly grounded at The Word Of His Grace Christian Fellowship Church in Seffner helped.

A team could take a risk on a player with a bad knee, or sign another player with no problems.

All any school had to do was check with Leffers, who said Cann has remained ahead of schedule throughout his recovery.

``It's not too unusual to receive this type of injury and come back. A lot of it depends on the kid, not the doctor,'' Leffers said. ``You can approach it like it's really important, or feel sorry for yourself. I never got that impression from Zaronn.

``His motion is fine. It takes about a year to get over this. Lots of kids play in six months, but all their strength and confidence isn't back. ... It's very unlikely to hurt the same knee twice. You're more likely to hurt the other knee first.''

Cann was hurt.

He was disappointed with the recruiting process and had to watch his team play without him. The inactivity led Cann to gain 40 pounds and balloon to 280. He currently weighs 255.

It took constant encouragements from Cann's family and friends for him to snap out of his depression and stop feeling sorry for himself.

``From a mother's standpoint, it ripped my heart out. There was nothing I could do. It was very difficult for him to believe he could rise above this, which was the hardest part in the beginning,'' Zenobia Cann said. ``Once he believed he could, that is when things changed.

``The more he internalized everything that was happening, it was a turbo boost for him to believe that he can make it and will make it.''

West Virginia, Virginia Tech and USF believe.

Those coaches have made home visits to sell their programs. Cann already has listed the pros and cons of each school and intends to make a decision within the next two weeks.

There have been a few schools, such as Pittsburgh and Auburn, who want to knock on Cann's door, but he is not ready to listen.

``I hate being somebody's last pick. I want to be somebody's No. 1 selection. That's the feeling I get from the schools that are trying to jump in now,'' Cann said. ``Now they see I've had some progress and might be able to play at 100 percent, they are coming around and that bothers me. I don't want that.''

Cann hopes to be cleared by Leffers today. Once he can begin playing basketball again, he intends to finalize his college decision. Then he will have to get himself back into playing shape.

His first goal on the court this season is to control his emotions. Cann picked up three fouls in less than a minute in a game last season. He would like to finish his tenure with more than 1,500 points (he currently has 1,043) and advance to the state championship game.

``I took all the energy, emotions, anger and sadness and channeled it into getting myself better. Hopefully I will be the same old me. The same old me, but with a little less attitude,'' Cann said. ``From the time I've been out, I've been able to sit back, read the game and learn what I could do to be a better player and not get so fiery on the court. Sitting out and wanting to play, I've learned how to channel all that aggression into a goal.

``I'm not going to channel that aggression anymore in being upset at the refs or trying to get even with another player on the opposite team. I'm going to try to channel that into winning a game.''

http://tampatrib.com/Sports/MGBBHI2XVZD.html

[Guest HowieP1]

Before he was injured here is how he was ranked:

Zaronn Cann: Rated the No. 26 junior in America by BasketballPhenoms.com; Rated the No. 65 junior in America by HoopMasters.com; Rated the No.113 junior in America by Hoop Scoop; Rated the No. 2 junior in Florida by Galaxy-of-Stars.net.

[Markeymark]

Taking bets as to how long before fans break out the "Cann of whoop-ass" signs at the SunDome...  

[Guest HowieP1]

USF HOOPS  

USF Signs Brandon Standout Cann

By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON arichardson@tampatrib.com

Published: Nov 11, 2004

 

BRANDON - Only a week after University of South Florida men's basketball coach Robert McCullum first arrived in Tampa, he saw Brandon's Zaronn Cann play at a tournament in Houston.

A week later, McCullum's assistants came back from another tournament raving about a standout junior from Tampa Bay they wanted to sign. It turned out to be Cann - again.

McCullum made the signing of Cann, a 6-foot-6 and 240- pound forward, his top priority and offered him a scholarship in August 2003. After more than a year of waiting, McCullum finally has the player he wanted.

Cann, a senior, signed a scholarship to play for USF on Wednesday, National Signing Day. He signed those papers during a small ceremony at the school with his parents (Wayne and Zenobia) and uncle (Joe Williams) in attendance.

``It shows he had a lot of faith in us because sometimes when a program has been down, players question if they are willing to invest into the program and if they should invest, but Zaronn has done it,'' McCullum said. ``Anytime you recruit a player it's based upon potential and how far they can take their game. In the case of highly publicized athletes and name recognition, Zaronn may well be the most known recruit we've signed.''

McCullum is also optimistic Cann might be the steal of this recruiting class.

Many recruiters backed off Cann after he tore his ACL, LCL and MCL last year, but after undergoing successful surgery and rehabilitation, colleges began actively pursuing him again.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse began recruiting Cann harder after he verbally committed to USF last month, but he chose to stay loyal.

Cann (6-foot-6 and 240 pounds) is listed by rivals.com as a three-star recruit and one of the top five shooting guards in Florida. He averaged 18 points and 8.4 rebounds last season and has scored 1,043 points in three seasons and McCullum projects Cann to play forward in college.

``We liked his versatility and difficulty to defend. We were satisfied with his chances of a full recovery and we thought if that was the case, there is no need to back off him,'' McCullum said. ``When I make a scholarship offer it's a commitment. The scholarship offer is unconditional and that means a lot to people.''

Now Cann is looking forward to eventually helping a team that finished 7-20 last season and will join the Big East.

``The main thing was staying close to family and friends. Coach McCullum meshed well on and off the court and was a guy I felt like I could honestly trust,'' Cann said. ``It [last year's struggles] was a concern at first, but I know he's a good coach and I know he's going to do what he needs to do to get the program going.''

http://bulls.tbo.com/bulls/MGB0WNKBE1E.html

[bulls96go]

go caoch mac!

go zaronn! do your thing and stay healthy!

[smazza]

wow

[Velcro]

6-foot-6 and 240- pound

big boy... and its all muscle.

Quite a difference in size say compared to 6-8 200 Altron  

Pitt and Cuse went after him after his verbal to us... and we still won out.  I like this kid already!!!  ;D