St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli continued his trend of recruiting talented players in New Jersey when he secured a verbal commitment Monday from Linden senior big man David Bruce.
The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Bruce chose St. Joe’s over Seton Hall, St. John’s, Maryland, La Salle, Houston and other schools. He averaged 15 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks per game as a junior.
“David’s going to verbally commit to St. Joe’s,” Linden coach Phil Colicchio said. “They’ve been there from Day One. They were the first ones to offer. I think he’s going to a school that has one of the top coaches in the country. I think a smaller school, smaller class sizes are good for David. It’s close to home, yet far. I’m really big on kids selecting schools based on who comes after you the hardest and I really believe that they wanted him the most.”
Martelli, who was recently given an extension through 2015-16, has done a great job recruiting New Jersey. The current roster includes senior forward Ahmad Nivins of St. Anthony, sophomore forward Idris Hilliard of the Hun School and freshman forward A.J. Rogers of St. Anthony. Martelli previously landed commitments from 6-8 senior forward Carl Baptiste of North Hunterdon High, and Wayne (NJ) DePaul Catholic senior combo guard Justin Crosgile. St. Joe’s had four scholarships to give for ’09 and Bruce is the fourth commit.
A year ago, Bruce poured in 34 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to earn MVP honors in Linden’s 77-68 overtime victory over St. Raymond’s of the Bronx at the PrimeTime Shootout in Linden.
Bruce will play the power forward spot in college and Colicchio compares him to Nivins, the former St. Anthony standout.
“He’s going to be a four man,” Colicchio said. “I think they’re looking at him a lot like they looked at Ahmad Nivens at that age. If David can mature and develop like Ahmad Nivins did I think they’re going to have a heck of a player.”
(Photo courtesy NJHoops.com)
