Some quick hitters as we reach the middle of the first full week of October:
- The schedule for the 2009 National Prep Showcase was released in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. As usual, it will be held the weekend before Thanksgiving – November 20-22 this time around – and this year it moves to Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. The event features 20 games in three days, and the complete schedule can be found at the Web site of the New England Recruiting Report, run by event director Adam Finkelstein.
- Speaking of schedules, gone are the days when I could have my season coverage calendar filled out by mid-September. We are in the first full week of October, and a few schools are still missing a number of game times (due to television coverage being finalized) and a usual culprit – the America East Conference – not having released its schedule yet even without game times. As of Wednesday morning, a majority of conference schools have schedules on their official Web sites listing only a non-conference schedule.
- One school made a good move with its coach recently, as Ed DeChellis got a three-year contract extension at Penn State, which will keep him at his alma mater through the 2013-14 season. DeChellis has a tough job at a school that might epitomize the term “football school”, and rebuilding the program wasn’t going to happen overnight. But they broke through to win the NIT last season, and have the personnel to go further this season and also have a commitment from Taran Buie, Talor Battle’s half-brother, in the class of 2010.
- The news of Emmanuel Negedu’s career being over was a downer. Few players I’ve seen over the years play as hard and intense as the Tennessee sophomore, and he’s overcome a great deal just to be in this position. In evaluating players, we often talk about whether or not a player has a good motor, and Negedu had one of the best.
- Last Thursday, Zach Auguste worked out for a few coaches at the Marlborough (MA) High School gym. Auguste has been on quite a growth spurt and now stands about 6’9″ while still being a baby physically. His offensive skills are still growing, as the range on his shot now extend to the three-point line. There’s still plenty of room for improvement at both ends of the floor, but his physical gifts alone are sure to get him more looks as time goes on.
- St. Mark’s held its second open gym for college coaches on Sunday. The number of coaches present wasn’t as high as the first one, and for a while the team didn’t play as well as they’re capable of, but they were better in the latter part of the workout. All three finalists for Melsahn Basabe (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF) were on hand, and he continued to show that he’s come a long way in two years at the school. Kaleb Tarczewski (6’11” So. C) showed about as good a progression as one can show in about two weeks, looking clearly better than he did at the first workout.
