Seton Hall signed Aaron Geramipoor, a frontcourt player originally from Manchester, England.
The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Geramipoor was a teammate of Patrik Auda at the Canarias Basketball Academy in the Canary Islands, Spain. Auda signed to play basketball at Seton Hall in May.
“Adding another talent from the Canarias Basketball Academy, one the premier schools in Europe, will bolster our frontcourt lineup for next year and beyond,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. “Aaron is incredibly long and has great tools for a man his size. We look forward to his growth in our system and believe he can be a real asset moving forward.”
A low-post player, Geramipoor is regarded as having good hands and footwork in the paint. Last season, he averaged over 20 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks per game for the Canarias Basketball Academy. Currently, he is a member of England’s under-18 national team and is averaging better than eight points and eight rebounds per game on the national stage. Starting on July 22, Geramipoor will be the starting center as England competes in the European Championship in Tel Aviv, Israel.
“Seton Hall is getting a kid with a tremendous amount of upside,” said Rob Orellana of the CBA. “He has very good instincts, has great hands, soft touch around the basket and has great footwork for a kid so long. Like most European kids, he will have to adjust to the pace of the American game but has the proper mentality to adjust.
“We received many calls from various high-major programs who were interested in him as a 2011 prospect, but Coach Willard and Coach [Steve] Sauers did a great job in recruiting him and convinced him to go to Seton Hall this year. The were relentless in their recruitment of Aaron, and passed on some other kids while waiting for Aaron to receive a qualifying score.”
Geramipoor is the fourth true freshman added to the 2010-11 recruiting class joining, 6-foot-9 forward Patrik Auda, 6-foot-6 swing man Fuquan Edwin and 6-foot-8 forward Anali Okoloji.
GLOVER TO IONA
Former Seton Hall forward Michael Glover committed to Iona, choosing that school over Hofstra.
“Yes, he verbally committed to Iona,” said Bingo Coles, Glover’s mentor. “It is a great situation for him. It’s close to home. I think he’ll do well in that division and actually get it together.”
Glover, a Bronx native, has two years of eligibility remaining.
Xavier and Howard were also involved.
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Glover initially committed to St. Francis (NY) but changed his mind after head coach Brian Nash resigned in April.
Coming out of high school, Glover initally committed to Seton Hall and arrived on campus in the summer of 2007 as then-head coach Bobby Gonzalez’s most prized recruit.
But more than a year later, ensnared in an NCAA investigation into his academic record, Glover still hadn’t played a single game for the Pirates.
Glover ultimately argued in a 2008 lawsuit against the NCAA and the Big East that the NCAA never gave a reason for invalidating his entire senior year transcript from American Christian Academy in Pennsylvania.
The NCAA argued that the Rhode Island federal court system had no jurisdiction over the case, and the Big East argued that it didn’t belong in the lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres dismissed both defendants from the lawsuit after hearing arguments.
Glover finally left Seton Hall in the fall of 2008.
“Bobby had me as his top recruit of 2007. How your top recruit doesn’t get cleared, I don’t think that answer will ever be solved,” Glover said last September.
He added: “It was pretty rough. I’m not going to sit up here and say it wasn’t.”
Glover first landed at ASA College in Brooklyn, but ultimately wound up at Eastern Utah where he played last season.
CARTER GETS BONNIES RELEASE
Elijah Carter, a 6-2 guard from Paterson, N.J., secured his release from St. Bonaventure and will prep next year at Brewster (N.H.) Prep.
“His recruiting is wide open now with no favorites,” said Eric Harrieldst, his AAU coach.
Carter played under legendary coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony.
During the spring, Carter dropped a game-high 42 points in New Jersey’s 124-119 double-OT loss to Connecticut in the JCC Schoolboy Classic.
It was the most points scored in the event since Jeff Ruland dropped 45 in 1977, according to the Stamford Advocate.
He also poured in 55 points in a game at the Donofrio Classic.
“After seeing Eli play in the last two games, I’d have to say he’s taken his game to a whole new level,” St. Anthony assistant Jason Hasson said recently. “Right now he’s practically unstoppable. He’s been in the gym working out every day and it shows. His shooting range has increased to 22 feet and he’s finishing at the rim. I think right now he’s a Big East guard going to play in the Atlantic 10.”
FREE THROWS
Former Seton Hall assistant Scott Adubato joined Barry Rohrssen’s staff at Manhattan…6-10 Nerlens Noel of Boston Area Basketball Club said he’s reclassifying to 2013 from 2012 and has offers from Georgetown, Tennessee, Providence, Miami & UCLA…6-8 St. Anthony junior Kyle Anderson will take an unofficial to DePaul Aug. 4 before adidas nations in Chicago, per Kyle Sr. Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville and Syracuse have reached out to Anderson.
(Photos courtesy CBA and Seton Hall and Hudson County Varsity)
rurahrah / July 14, 2010
Geramipoor will be nice for Hall fans if he’s another Walter Dukes in the making.
/