West Virginia became the second Big East school to offer a scholarship to 6-8 junior Rod Odom of the Middlesex (Ma.) School after a workout at his school Sunday.
“I just got a call from (West Virginia assistant) Billy Hahn offering him a full scholarship,” said Rod Odom Sr. “They were excited about what they saw at the workout. Rod shot the lights out.”
Seton Hall assistant Derm Player was also at the workout, and Rod Sr. said Seton Hall had previously been the first Big East school to offer. Odom also holds offers from Holy Cross, William & Mary, with Columbia, Harvard and Penn also interested.
He projects as a 6-8 shooting guard.
“Most of the schools are considering putting him at the two because of his passing ability and his ability to shoot and his ability to guard that position, too,” Rod Sr. said.
Seton Hall is also involved with 6-9, 245-pound senior Andrew Fitzgerald of Brewster (N.H.) Academy, but Brewster coach Jason Smith said Fitzgerald “will most likely not sign until the spring. At this point, he doesn’t have any visits scheduled.”
“He’s very skilled,” Smith said. “Andrew has outstanding footwork and hands. He can step out and shoot the ball from 18-19 feet and finishes very well around the rim.”
Speaking of Brewster, 6-8 senior forward Thomas Robinson will visit Memphis Oct. 3.
“At this point,” Smith said, “Kansas is his slight leader. He’s looking forward to getting to Memphis to visit, so he will have another school to compare to his Kansas trip. He’s scheduled to visit USC Oct. 14.”
Elsewhere, Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony will have an in-home tonight with Pitt coach Jamie Dixon and another on Tuesday with Memphis head coach John Calipari.
LEGENDS FIELD ANNOUNCED
Defending Big East Champion Pittsburgh, Texas Tech, Mississippi State and Washington State have been announced as the four regional hosts for the 2008 Legends Classic.
The tournament will tip-off with games November 18-22 at the regional sites and will conclude with the championship rounds at the Prudential Center in Newark on Nov. 28 and 29.
The four regional hosts advance to the championship rounds at Prudential Center regardless of the regional results. The other participants will advance to play a round-robin series at Fairleigh Dickinson’s Rothman Center on November 28, 29 & 30.
Championship round tickets to the Legends Classic are officially on sale. Tickets may be purchased through www.ticketmaster.com, at the Prudential Center Box Office or through the WSU athletics ticket office.
TRENT TO PATTERSON
Clarence Trent, a 6-7, 230-pound PF who recently committed to Washington, is transferring to the Patterson (N.C.) School from Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep.
“He is not officially in yet, but it looks like it will happen,” Patterson coach Chris Chaney said.
PhishingPirate / September 28, 2008
Question here as a student and Seton Hall fan i would like for us to finally sign some players or at least one a year ahead of time like i see most of these other schools. Is this a priorty to Coach G. and his staff? or is it just something us fans put too much emphasis on? Also what is your opinion on us signing one of these guys in the pretty near future? I guess my question is does it look like were close enough to be looking out for a commit anytime soon? Thanks Alot. Best PhisingPirate
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Adam Zagoria / September 28, 2008
Pirate,
Odom is a junior so I don’t think he commits this year and even if he does, he’s not at college until 2010.
As for the other guys, Seton Hall is heavily involved with Karron Johnson, Arsalan Kazemi, Jarrid Famous and, to a lesser extent, Andrew Fitzgerald, who won’t decide until the spring. All of them would help Seton Hall, so I think they would all be good gets, although Johnson has some academic issues.
While Rutgers and St. John’s and many other Big East schools have 09 commits already, Seton Hall has none right now. They need to start addressing that with some quality players with some strong academics who can help the program for several years.
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Alessandro / September 28, 2008
A poor to middle class kid, who goes through all the work involved at an academically challeging New England boarding school like Middlesex, doesn’t normally wind up at a West Virginia.
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s.martinup / September 29, 2008
Allessandro your stament is ludicrous. What do know about Odom class whether he is poor or middle class? I happen to know that a few of Odoms realtives have attened WVU .I hear he like the coaches. Recuting is about relationships,not social class.
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Alessandro / September 29, 2008
s.martinup,
Whether you like it or not, one’s socioeconomic status is of relevance at a boarding school. If you want to believe the Odoms are paying 39k (instead of being a Prep for Prep kid) to send him to Middlesex, feel free.
The school may not be Exeter, Groton, Choate, Andover, or Hotchkiss, but it is certainly light years ahead of the average basketball “prep school” frequently written about in college basketball articles. It’s a light academic night when the kids have to do three hours of homework..
This is their five year matriculation list. To put it in context, over the past five years, not one student wound up at West Virginia, but four have matriculated to Wesleyan, the immortal Adam Zagoria’s alma mater.
http://www.mxschool.edu/academics/counseling/matriculation5year.asp
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s.martinup / September 29, 2008
Nothing you said above has anything to with basketball recruiting. Odom has a choice to go to almost any school he wants from Harvard to Memphis I’m sure his decision will be based on relationships…not the fact he goes to MDX. or how much his parents pay for him to be there.
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