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PF Othello Hunter (Maccabi Tel Aviv BC)

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11/8/05


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It looked like panic might set in at Ohio State and chaos would take over the recruiting world on the first day of the early signing period which begins Wednesday. There were reports that the nation's consensus No. 1 prospect Greg Oden and the Buckeyes' four other verbal commitments from the 2006 class – which has been called one of the greatest recruiting classes ever – were considering not signing until the NCAA released its final results of an ongoing investigation into the Big Ten program in December.

But, Oden's high school coach Jack Keefer at Lawrence North in Indianapolis said the 7-foot, 240-pound center will be signing his letter-of-intent Wednesday along with teammate Mike Conley, Rivals.com's No. 3-ranked point guard in the class.

Mike Conley Sr., who has coached the duo at the AAU level, recently reaffirmed that news.

"They are going to sign," the elder Conley told the Indianapolis Star Friday. "We feel that the 2007 postseason won't be an issue, looking at previous (NCAA penalty) decisions," he added.

Ohio State imposed a one-year ban on postseason play in December last season, saying that former coach Jim O'Brien paid a recruit $6,000.

The Buckeyes three other commits, five-star wings Dequan Cook and David Lighty and junior college power forward Othello Hunter, are all expected to sign Wednesday too.

"Ohio State had to be on pins and needles concerning Oden and company signing before an NCAA verdict," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer said. "You can't blame [these guys] for holding out. Now Ohio State has to rerecruit [them] even harder."

What would have happened if Oden and company had let the signing period pass? Programs from all over the country would be making a mad rush to contact the prospect who has been called the best big man in more than a decade.

"I would be surprised if every school with a scholarship or potential scholarship did not come after Oden," Meyer said. "Just the attention that an up and coming program would get for being in the mix with him would be worth the recruiting effort. And if a contender landed him, national championship prospects greatly increase."

Chances are that Ohio State still would have landed the recruits in the late signing period beginning April 12. The Buckeys aren't expected to receive any more major penalties, and Oden didn't consider many schools during the recruiting process.

"I don't think it would have changed a lot," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Tim Watts said if Oden had chosen not to sign this week. "If (Oden) had decided to wait then I still believe he still would have went to Ohio State barring a major catastrophe handed down by the NCAA. It certainly would have perked some people up and sent them after him again but his recruitment had been very low key considering his status."
 
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11/11/05

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'Unprecedented' agreement

Ohio State's offer of a potential release to recruits surprises some officials, worries others

The college basketball world was buzzing Thursday about the agreement Ohio State has with its new recruits.

Buckeyes coach Thad Matta sent a letter to the recruits, including Lawrence North seniors Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr., stating the Buckeyes would release each player from his letter of intent in the unlikely event upcoming sanctions keep the school out of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

The sanctions would stem from recruiting violations that occurred before Matta got to the school, and for which Ohio State already served a self-imposed ban for the 2005 NCAA Tournament. An NCAA infractions committee will meet Dec. 9-10 to determine if there should be more penalties.

"In the 30-odd years I've been doing this, that is totally unprecedented," Bob Gibbons, one of the nation's most respected recruiting analysts, said of the agreement. "It's certainly a move of integrity on (Ohio State's) part and should be reassuring to Mike Conley and Greg Oden and the other kids. But I've never heard of it."

Said Dave Telep of national scouting service scout.com: "That's not standard policy, but in a case like this, it's a heck of a thing for (Matta) to do. That tells you what a stand-up guy he is."

The normal routine before signing day is for colleges to send a blank letter of intent form to recruits. Along with that, Matta sent the letter offering the possible release, Ohio State spokesman Dan Wallenberg said.

Wallenberg said the letter was signed by Matta, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and school president Karen Holbrook.

"We made a letter and sent it to all four guys," Wallenberg said. "It said if there is any postseason ban for '06-07, we would let them out of their commitment."

Oden, Conley, Daequan Cook of Dayton (Ohio) Dunbar and David Lighty of Cleveland were the four high school players who signed with Ohio State on Wednesday, giving the Buckeyes one of the highest-profile recruiting classes in the nation.

The national letter of intent (NLI) program is run by the Collegiate Commissioners Association, separate from the NCAA.

For a player to be released from a letter of intent, a standard release form must be signed by the recruit and the school. That policy began in October 2004. Before that, a player had to appeal directly to the NLI program for a release.

With a release, a player can sign with another school and wouldn't have to sit out a year and lose a year of eligibility.

However, one of the stipulations in the letter of intent, provision 18, says, "My signature on this NLI nullifies any agreements, oral or otherwise, which would release me from the conditions stated within this NLI."

So, according to the NLI program, Ohio State could back out of its side agreement with the recruits on the basis of provision 18. But given that the agreement was signed by the coach, athletic director and school president, that could lead to a legal battle, and certainly would be a public relations nightmare and have catastrophic consequences on Matta's future recruiting.

Torie Johnson, director of the national letter of intent program, said the agreement is not against NLI rules. But in general she was wary of coaches using such tactics.

"Is the program OK with this? I would say probably not," Johnson said. "We understand and think it's necessary that schools need to be straightforward with prospects if there is a question of potential NCAA probation. . . . By putting something in writing, the institution could be obliging the families of those students, but at the same time, prospects need to be wary of provision 18."

The NCAA is not involved in letter-of-intent issues prior to a player enrolling in college. Bob Williams, NCAA managing director of public and media affairs, said Ohio State broke no NCAA rules "as far as I can tell."

"If a school is in a position in which it is awaiting word on any potential sanctions, that's a unique situation," Williams said. "We would handle that on a case-by-case basis."

Mike Conley Sr., who has coached his son and Oden in summer basketball since the two were in junior high, said Matta sent the letter without prompting.

"It's not about the letter," Conley Sr. said. "The letter is fine because it gives you a sense of comfort, but the reason the boys are going there is because of Matta and the administration that's there now. If I need a letter to assure me a person is going to keep their word, the boys wouldn't be going to school there.

"In the end, it's about Matta as a person and what he's started there. The boys are not going to Ohio State because they're lifelong Buckeye fans. They're going to Ohio State because they like what he has to offer and they believe and trust in him."


Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.
 
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2/23/06

Polk CC 54,

Hillsborough 53

WINTER HAVEN -- Tony Berry's 3-pointer at the buzzer -three of his eight points -- gave Polk Community College a thrilling 54-53 victory over Hillsborough on Saturday night.

It was an upset for the Vikings (11-17, 3-7 Suncoast Conference) over Hillsborough (24-4, 7-3).

Dan Davis and Chris Rawls led the winners with 14 points each. Othello Hunter had 15 for Hillsborough.

Polk built a 31-22 lead, but Hillsborough fought back and took the lead with 54 seconds to go pn a 3-pointer by Octavius Hawkins.
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2/28/06

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Hillsborough CC ends Lancers' season

STAFF REPORT



TAMPA -- Manatee Community College had its men's basketball season come to an end Monday in an 89-77 loss to Hillsborough Community College in the Suncoast Conference playoffs.

The Hawks (23-5) will host Polk CC tonight at 7 at the Hawk's Nest for a berth in the state playoffs. St. Pete College qualified for the state playoffs as the conference champion.

Fenny Falmagne had 20 points, five assists and three steals for the Lancers (7-20). Andy Peters added 15 points and five steals while Keith Davis, Ronny Randall and Ledonshay Johnson had 10 points apiece.

The Hawks got 25 points from Othello Hunter and 18 from Chad Radosevich. They led 36-25 at halftime and were never headed.Both teams scored more than 50 points in the second half.
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Lancers unable to keep up with Hawks

MCC ends season with loss in playoffs to Hillsborough CC

MIKE HENRY

Herald Staff Writer

TAMPA - From the outset of Monday's Suncoast Conference playoff game, Manatee Community College basketball coach Reggie Bellamy was off the bench barking instructions, working the officials and shouting encouragement.

Bellamy's hands-on approach and his game plan worked for about 13 minutes. But to spring an upset against Hillsborough Community College, a team with three Division I-bound players, MCC needed to play near-perfect for 40 minutes.

Losing the rebounding battle 37-15 and committing 23 turnovers are two indications the Lancers were far from perfect.

"The defensive effort was there initially, but we didn't have the offensive focus we needed," Bellamy said after an 89-77 loss brought his first season at MCC to a close with a 7-20 record. "In the second half, our spacing was off, and our timing wasn't there.

"Unfortunately, we didn't box out, and having our 6-foot-1 and 6-2 guys going against their 6-9 and 6-10 guys was like the difference between trees and a weed. What I take from this is understanding pressure is the way to survive in this (conference). We have to go out and find pressure players."

HCC (23-5) hosts Polk CC at 7 p.m. today for the conference tournament title and a berth in the Florida Community College Activities Association state tournament. Polk defeated Pasco-Hernando CC 61-53 on Monday.

St. Petersburg College has qualified for the state tournament by virtue of winning the regular-season Suncoast crown.

The Lancers' pressure troubled the Hawks at times, forcing them into 28 turnovers. Despite the best efforts of 6-6 Ronnie Randall, however, 6-8 HCC sophomore Othello Hunter - the Suncoast Player of the Year who is bound for Ohio State - scored 25 points and hauled in nine rebounds.

Tavaris Watts and Jeremy Sampson, both 6-9 and both headed to Texas-El Paso, combined for 20 points while sharp-shooting guard Chad Radosevich scored 18, all in the second half.

Sophomore guard Fenny Falmagne led the Lancers with 20 points. Andrew Pieters scored 15 for MCC but was unable to get a shot off in the first half.

Randall, Ledonshay Johnson and Keith Davis added 10 apiece.

"It was not necessarily what they were doing as much as what we were not doing," Bellamy said of the first half, in which HCC extended its lead from 21-18 to 36-25 at intermission. "Randall made a difference in some spots, but we wanted him to attack from beginning to end."

HCC built a seemingly insurmountable 75-52 lead with less than 6 minutes remaining, but MCC stayed intense, narrowing the lead to 83-74 with less than a minute to play.

"I knew coach Bellamy would have those guys ready to play," said Hawks coach Derrick Worrels. "His enthusiasm boils over to the team, and that's what worried me more than anything."

MANATEE CC (77) - Trevor Edwards 2-2 0-0 4, Fenny Falmagne 5-11 9-13 20, Ronnie Randall 4-7 2-3 10, Andrew Pieters 5-8 3-5 15, Ledonshay Johnson 4-10 2-4 10, Aaron Owens 3-8 0-0 8, Keith Davis 4-10 0-0 10, Buford Foote 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-56 16-25 77.
HILLSBOROUGH CC (89) - Bruce Zamuel 6-9 0-0 13, Rashaun Davis 0-2 3-4 3, Chad Radosevich 4-9 6-6 18, Othello Hunter 12-18 1-1 25, Jeremy Sampson 4-6 2-5 10, Randall Terry 3-5 0-0 6, Troy Pierson 0-1 1-2 1, Rodney Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Tavaris Watts 2-4 6-7 10, Octavious Hawkins 0-3 3-4 3. Totals 31-57 22-29 89.
Halftime score: Hillsborough CC 36, Manatee CC 25. Three-point goals: Manatee CC 7 (Pieters 2, Owens 2, Davis 2, Falmagne), Hillsborough CC 5 (Radosevich 4, Zamuel). Team fouls: Manatee CC 20, Hillsborough CC 17. Rebounds: Manatee CC 15 (Pieters 6, Johnson 6), Hillsborough CC 37 (Hunter 9). Records: Manatee CC 7-20, Hillsborough CC 23-5.
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