Some stories about some of the Pitt recruits, and recruiting territory worth passing along.
Free throw shooting is always a source of angst for Pitt fans, despite all the success in this century. Bradley Wanamaker and his high school team have struggled to make their free throws until the coach has decided to place special incentives to make free throws in practice.
But in the past few basketball seasons, Roman Catholic High’s players appeared to think free throws were very expensive and that maybe they’d have to fork over $10, even $20, for every success.
Not only was the Cahillites’ consistent brickin’ from 15 feet a source of constant head-scratching and frustration, it produced ridicule and long-lasting pain.
Who says so? One of the formerly guilty parties. Sometimes even extra-guilty.
“We could have won the championship last year with better foul shooting,” Bradley Wanamaker said. “We could have won a lot more games, overall. You don’t forget that.”
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Foul shooting can be so much fun! And, all other variables being equal, game tasks tend to go better when practice time is invested. Especially pressurized practice.
“We have foul shooting contests now,” said Wanamaker, a 6-4, 200-pound wing guard and Pitt signee. “If your team loses, you have to do sprints back and forth across the court six times, or do a drill with hard dribbling.
“So now that I have to shoot clutch free throws in practice – nobody wants to do that extra stuff – I’m used to this. There wasn’t any pressure at all.”
Wanamaker stepped to the line with 9.8 seconds left for a one-and-one. He had been fouled during what was shaping up as coast-to-coast drive, the aftermath of a rebound that followed a missed 10-foot bank shot by N-G point guard, Antonio “Scoop” Jardine.
Wanamaker made late, clutch free throws that won the game for RCHS against a major rival.
New York City HS hoops — and not so many top recruits — may be a little down this year but New Jersey has a host of top younger players in high school. This story focuses on the change in the way kids committed and verbal.
So legendary St. Anthony head coach Bob Hurley would insist that his players make their college choice official – and then get it out of the way so the regular season could go on as planned without any outside interference.
For many years, the Friars had players who had their college decisions totally out of the way before the first game was played during their senior year. Hurley’s own two sons, Bobby and Danny, had signed on with Duke and Seton Hall respectively before their final season with the Friars tipped off.
Now, the trend is going one step further. Players are making their college decisions known during their junior year. These standout performers are getting scholarship offers before they even think about becoming seniors and now, more and more of these players are giving the verbal commitments during the junior year.
Just recently, two of Hurley’s top juniors, point guard Travon Woodall and forward A.J. Rogers, gave verbal commitments to their respective schools of choice. Woodall, one of the top-rated juniors in the nation, committed to the University of Pittsburgh, while the up-and-coming Rogers gave his word to St. Joseph’s University.
I feel reasonably assured that Woodall won’t be changing his mind — barring some unforeseen change in Pitt’s head coach — given he plays for Hurley.
“I think you have to base it on the maturity level of the kids,” Hurley said. “A.J. will go to St. Joe’s, where we have had good success (Nivins and Dwayne Lee are two former Friars to play for St. Joe’s and coach Phil Martelli). Travon had his share of offers. But these are 16-year-old kids making big decisions.”
Woodall seemed very poised and polished with his decision.
“I’m actually relieved to choose Pitt,” Woodall said. “I’m happy that I got it off my shoulders. I think it’s the best time to make the decision. I felt comfortable with the coaching staff (headed by Jamie Dixon). I think this decision is final, because it’s more than likely that the coaching staff is staying there. Doing this now puts less pressure on me. Coach Hurley thinks it’s a perfect fit. He’s behind me all the way. He would be the first person to tell me if I was making a bad choice.”
Meanwhile, Rutgers and Seton Hall are struggling to change perceptions and convince kids to build something rather than go to a winner. That’s always a tough sell.
So how is it exactly that three of the top prep teams in the nation are in New Jersey, but the state’s top college teams are mediocre or less?
The short answer is that, unlike the Rutgers football team, which has begun to secure its borders by gaining commitments from the state’s top players, the basketball teams at Rutgers and Seton Hall have not yet followed suit.
To be fair, Rutgers coach Fred Hill and Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez are both in their first years at their respective schools, and have had limited time to recruit. After taking over at the end of last season, Gonzalez has brought in the better players so far, including former St. Benedict’s point guard Eugene Harvey.
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Rutgers has been shut out in some cases as well.
Paterson’s Woodall, a junior at St. Anthony, recently chose Pitt over Rutgers. Those close to Woodall said that Pitt had a chance to compete for a national championship, while Rutgers was still trying to establish itself as a Big East power. On top of that, Rutgers has a slew of guards coming in next year.
Mike Rosario, a deadly junior sharpshooter from St. Anthony, recently postponed an announcement about his decision. He is said to be considering Rutgers and St. John’s, among others.
“Kids want to go where they can play, but they also want to go where they can win,” Konchalski said. “Look at Lance Thomas (a forward who played for St. Benedict’s). Certainly he would’ve had more playing time at Rutgers, but Duke is a perennial contender for the national championship.”
Good to know Pitt is mining multiple areas, and is considered now to be a program that is one that will keep winning.
