Greg reporting Heath looking at possible late addition to 2010 class

[bullgrad10]

June 22, 2010

Bulls making late move for 6-foot-10 center

USF coach Stan Heath is looking at a potential late addition to his 2010 recruiting class, trying to get Jerome Hunter, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center from Buffalo, in for an unofficial visit before Summer B classes start Monday.

Hunter, who played this past season at Queen City Prep in Charlotte, had been committed to attend Robert Morris, but backed out of that commitment after coach Mike Rice left to become coach at Rutgers. He's rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, and ranked as the nation's No. 111 center by ESPN.com.

"USF is one of the schools in the mix," said Don Marsh, his AAU coach in Buffalo. "Robert Morris was the right spot for him, but Coach Rice left. I think he could play at that level. With his length (7-5 wingspan) and his range, he can also defend well and block shots."

Marsh said Hunter was also looking at schools including Marshall, UAB, Florida State and Western Kentucky, with interest from Georgetown and Iowa. Before committing to Robert Morris, Hunter had at one point been committed to another mid-major, St. Joseph's. Marsh said Hunter was hoping to make a decision by the end of the month. USF starts its Summer B session on Monday, and that Hunter has all the necessary test scores and grades to be eligible.

Center would be a major priority in USF's recruiting efforts for 2011, with 2010 signee Waverly Austin not qualifying academically and likely starter Jarrid Famous being a senior this coming season. Hunter would allow the Bulls to address the position a year earlier and add to what is already a talented frontcourt.

June 22, 2010 in Men's basketball, Recruiting | Permalink

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2010/06/bulls-making-late-move-for-6foot10-center.html

[Vega]

Hmmm 6-10/6-11 center that can finish and block shots, Hope we get him

[Paisa el Toro]

Robert Morris? What's the story behind this kid comitting there, and why wouldn't he follow the coach that recruited him to Rutgers? Something isn't sitting right with me on this kid, but he can't be any worse than Waverly Austin.

[NormalBull]

Paisa, sometimes kids come out of the summer evaluation period and they don't have a bunch of offers.  They commit and sign with the best they have at the time, just like Toarlyn did when he signed in November 2008 with Georgia Southern.  Then they have a big senior year and improve greatly, just like Toarlyn did.  Boom, now they have a chance to sign with better programs, just like Toarlyn did.  This guy is no different than Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, who worked out pretty well for us I would venture to say.  Rutgers may not have had a schollie available for the kid.

BTW, Robert Morris was in the big dance this past season....were the Bulls? 

Normal

[Jamie]

BTW, Robert Morris was in the big dance this past season....were the Bulls?   

And they came a hell of a lot closer to beating Villanova than USF did. Although Nova didn't have the alleged "player sleeping with a teammate's girlfriend" problem going on when the Bulls played them.

[Paisa el Toro]

I'm not too jazzed about this kid. My expectations are low. If he does turn into a Toralyn Fitzpatrick, it would be huge.

[Mama_Bull]

Scott Carter reports another name in the mix.

+ With Jones’ early departure to the NBA and Austin’s loss, USF has two scholarships still available. One player to keep an eye on is former Arizona State power forward Victor Rudd, who is at the top of USF’s list of potential targets.

Another post player linked to USF recently, Queen City (N.C.) Prep center Jerome Hunter, is not considered a strong candidate to join the Bulls. Hunter previously committed to Robert Morris prior to backing out, but USF is looking at other options currently.

+ Eniel Polynice, the former Ole Miss guard who is graduating this summer and looking for another school to play at next year in his final season of eligibility, is most likely headed to Xavier according to multiple sources. There was some mutual interest with USF, but Polynice, from Sarasota, appears headed elsewhere unless his current situation changes.

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/comments/gilchrist/

[Rizman]

Go Health, land a big fish.

[Vega]

We talked about Rudd on this board when we were going over possible 2009 class members to the Bulls' team.

The the thing that stands out about Rudd is not his jaw dropping leaping ability, but the fact that he transferred to 5 different High Schools. This makes transfer #6 here.

[Mama_Bull]

Update from Greg:

June 25, 2010

ASU forward Rudd to visit USF on Monday

USF coach Stan Heath could be getting a head start on his recruiting class of 2011, as former Arizona State forward Victor Rudd will visit the Bulls on Monday.

"He's very, very, very interested in attending the University of South Florida, said Rudd's AAU coach and legal guardian, Bill Hankins. "He already has about 20 scholarship offers, but USF is in his top two. This will be his first visit, and if things go well, hopefully we can stop it after that."

Rudd, 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, played sparingly as a freshman at ASU, averaging 2.5 points while playing just 5.2 minutes a game. While Rudd is from the Los Angeles area, he spent most of his senior year at Findlay Prep in Nevada, where he averaged 16.6 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds a game. He was rated a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com -- Rivals ranked him the No. 114 overall recruit in the nation for the Class of 2009.

Rudd, 19, who would have three years of eligibility after sitting out the 2010-11 season, is sometimes listed as a power forward, but Hankins said he's a small forward -- "a tall wing who can rebound and get the ball up the court." Hankins said Rudd's main reason for Arizona State was the Sun Devils' slower, more deliberate Princeton offense -- he'd prefer a more uptempo offense such as USF's.

That, the chance to play in the Big East and his familiarity with Heath and his staff (who recruited him out of high school) are why USF is a top choice for Rudd, who is also considering offers from unnamed Big East and Big 12 programs. Hankins declined to name other possible suitors.

We reported earlier this week that USF was trying to line up a visit with former Robert Morris commitment Jerome Hunter, a 6-foot-10 center from Buffalo, but such a visit couldn't be arranged in time for the Summer B semester, so Hunter won't have a chance to be part of Heath's incoming class.

You can find several clips of Rudd at Youtube.com, many of them dunks, like this one from the free-throw line.

Posted by Greg Auman at 09:28:53 PM on June 25, 2010 in Men's basketball , Recruiting | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2010/06/asu-forward-rudd-to-visit-usf-on-monday.html