Juco standout Poland chooses Bulls, after all

[Mama_Bull]

April 25, 2010

Juco standout Poland chooses Bulls, after all

Jawanza Poland, the junior college shooting guard who committed to USF two weeks ago only to re-open his commitment, said Sunday night that he's made up his mind to sign with the Bulls.

"I'm going to go to the University of South Florida. It's a good situation for me to go to. This is a done deal," said Poland, a 6-foot-5 guard who will have three years of eligibility at USF.

Poland, rated as one of the top junior college recruits at his position, said he had lined up a visit to Cincinnati last weekend, but decided not to go, and then got a visit from USF coach Stan Heath on Monday. He said his indecision two weeks ago was about him wanting to reaffirm his choice before making it official with a signing.

"I just wanted to make sure," said Poland, who also considered Oklahoma and Wichita State, which would have been closer to his family's home in Wichita. "My family and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page."

Poland said USF has been recruiting him the longest of his final schools, and he'll have an opportunity to make an immediate impact next year. With guards Mike Mercer and Dominique Jones departing, the Bulls have openings at shooting guard and small forward, and Poland and fellow junior college signee Hugh Robertson will compete with returning sophomores Mike Burwell and Shaun Noriega for playing time, along with incoming combo guard Shedrick Haynes.

Poland will be the fifth member of Heath's incoming recruiting class -- the Bulls are still in contention for Virginia center Davante Garder, a 6-foot-9, 280-pound high school senior who is choosing between USF and Marquette.

Posted by Greg Auman at 08:03:31 PM on April 25, 2010 in Men's basketball | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2010/04/juco-standout-poland-chooses-bulls-after-all.html

[DELdaBull]

Sign the paperwork!

[Velcro]

excellent news.

Hopefully Ox signs too.

Then the question will be... who becomes the floor leader on this team?  it may take some time to develop an identity with so many new faces.

Gilchrist is the only player on the team that has been here for more than a season.  That is scary.

[Mama_Bull]

excellent news.

Hopefully Ox signs too.

Then the question will be... who becomes the floor leader on this team?  it may take some time to develop an identity with so many new faces.

Gilchrist is the only player on the team that has been here for more than a season.  That is scary.

Greg mentioned in his chat that Ox might have some problems with his academics. Also a poster on the MU board says he is waiting for his test score to come back:

LittleMurs

Team Captain

Posts: 425

  Re: Davante Gardner - still waiting

« Reply #43 on: April 23, 2010, 07:54:53 PM » 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote from: 94Warrior on April 21, 2010, 09:11:25 PM

I see four options:

1.  Gardner is waiting on MU (conditional offer),

2.  Gardner is waiting on USF (conditional offer),

3.  Gardner hasn't completely made up his mind,

4.  Gardner is waiting for an unnamed school to offer.

If option #1 is the true reason, I suspect Buzz has told him to hold off until after the Dieng visit.  At this juncture in time, I think Buzz knows he has a 2010 scholarship to offer.

From what I've been hearing, this is the current situation.

1. Gardner has eligibility issues regarding test scores.  He is eagerly awaiting his latest score now.

2. Gardner has been unconditionally offered by USF. 

3. Gardner was ready to just accept the USF offer.

4. Gardner's family or coaches or both are holding him back until his test scores come back, so that he can choose from more options, one of which is very likely to be MU, if his test score qualifies him. 

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=20221.25

Either way, Ox said on his facebook page that he will make a decision "soon."

Davante' Ox Gardner Q: When will you announce your college decision?

A: soon

http://www.formspring.me/Ox54/q/462849680

Fri at 5:43pm via formspring.me · formspring.me

[Mama_Bull]

BTW, USF signee LaVonte Dority has been doing well recently playing against some elite competition:

http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=204934876

[Triple B]

Sign the paperwork!

Exactly .... Not counting anything as a done deal until the dotted line is signed.

[bcgruber]

Great news!!!!  VEGA still questioning Heaths recruiting??

[Vega]

Great news!!!!  VEGA still questioning Heaths recruiting??

Well I did start the thread below back on April 9th

http://thebullspen.com/index.php?topic=71042.0

[tampabull]

usf definitely needed this guy.  hopefully we can get gardner too.

[Vega]

BTW, USF signee LaVonte Dority has been doing well recently playing against some elite competition:

http://www.gousfbulls.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7700&ATCLID=204934876

Go here http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6120185 to watch the entire Jack Jones shootout and everyone can get to see game action with Dority instead of just highlight footage.

Fast forward to about the 3:20 mark or so to watch the game.