Coast 2 Coast Recruiting

UCLA latest to offer the rising junior forward

By Raphielle Johnson

One of the best frontcourt prospects in the Class of 2012 is 6’8” Rosco Allen, who plays during the school year at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas alongside classmate Shabazz Muhammad among other talented players. Already drawing interest (and offers) from a number of schools both on the West Coast and nationally, Allen recently picked up an offer from UCLA. After Pump N Run 2012 took care of Full Package Elite on Saturday morning, Allen was kind enough to spend a couple of minutes with me (tip of the cap to Johnny Hernandez).

Raphielle Johnson: How long had UCLA been on you leading up to the offer?

Roscoe Allen: Since my freshman year and the offer came about a month ago.

RJ: What other schools have offered you to this point?

RA: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Harvard, Northwestern, UC Irvine, UNLV, USC, Utah, Washington State.

RJ: Which of those would you say have recruited you the hardest?

RA: Arizona, Arizona State and UNLV (note: head coaches Sean Miller (Arizona) and Lon Kruger (UNLV) were both in attendance for his game Saturday morning).

RJ: What aspects of your game are you looking to improve upon this summer?

RA: Offensively using my height in order to score and defensively becoming more aware.

RJ: Is there a particular style of play or location that you prefer?

RA: I prefer to run but can do either.

Many thanks to Roscoe and his father for granting the interview.

Photo Courtesy of Pointguardu.com

California forward stands to add more offers

By Raphielle Johnson

2012’s recruiting class looks to be a very good one across the board, especially when it comes to frontcourt prospects. While he may not find himself atop the boards, rising junior Grant Verhoeven of Organized Chaos Elite (HS: Central Valley Christian) is a very good prospect who has drawn considerable attention on the West Coast. Following Organized Chaos’ 77-51 pasting of D-One Sports on Saturday afternoon, Grant was gracious enough to spend a few minutes talking about his recruitment and other issues (tip of the cap to Johnny Hernandez and Coach Chris Stahowski).

Raphielle Johnson: Which schools have already offered you a scholarship?

Grant Verhoeven: USC and Fresno State.

RJ: What other schools are showing interest right now?

GV: Stanford, Washington; pretty much most of the West Coast schools.

RJ: Which schools are on you the strongest?

GV: USC, Fresno State and Stanford.

RJ: What aspect of your game are you focusing on the most this summer?

GV: Definitely my offensive game, developing my back to the basket game more.

RJ: How important is your team’s chemistry to your success?

GV: It’s a good group. We all like each other and are really close-knit.

RJ: Which NBA player do you look to pattern your game after the most?

GV: Probably Dwight Howard. He’s primarily a defensive player who’s still developing his offensive game.

Many thanks to Grant for doing the interview and Coach Chris Stahowski for granting the request.

Forward Ricardo Gathers who’s enrolled at Riverside Academy in Laplace, LA disclosed earlier to me today that he will be visiting Findlay Prep this Monday. Towering at 6’7 Gathers weighs a good 230 pounds which powers his drive of the dribble and makes for any easy pull up to hit a 15 footer that is pure. His stamina is sustained all game, his defense is strong while he goes after every rebound.

Earlier today my boy Johnny Hernandez passed along information stating that 2011 guard Norman Powell (Lincoln HS San Deigo, CA)  has cut his list down to three schools; Arizona, San Diego State, and UCLA, his decision is said to be made sometime next week. From what I’ve heard I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if Norman picked the Bruins over the other two schools.