Daily Archives: Sept. 5, 2007

Just spoke with Wes Witherspoon…

Sept. 5, 20075:47 p.m.

The 6-foot-7 swingman from Lilburn (Ga.) Berkmar who happens to be Kansas State’s No. 1  priority for ‘08 has added a school to his list — which is now at 11 — but also subtracted one.

Yep, Kansas is now after Witherspoon.

“They want me to come in and play, that’s what they told me,” Witherspoon said. “They’re pretty much the same as everyone else.”

Don’t despair, though, K-State fans. Frank Martin and Dalonte Hill are on the case. According to Witherspoon, Martin and Hill will be conducting an in-home visit with Witherspoon either Monday — the first day of the open period — or Thursday.

“They asked me if they could be the first ones to come visit me,” said Witherspoon, who said a trip to Manhattan will definitely be one of his official visits.

A school that won’t be visiting Witherspoon any longer is North Carolina. The Tar Heels have pulled out of the running.

“They called me and said they didn’t think I was the right guy for their program,” Witherspoon said.

But what if UNC changes its mind during the late period, which is when he plans to sign?

“I’m past that stage,” Witherspoon said. “It wouldn’t matter.”

By J-Mart | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Stutz, Little and Keller - not a law firm

Sept. 5, 20074:45 p.m.

We’re focusing on three ‘08 targets: Lee College forward Dominique Keller, North Kansas City High center Garrett Stutz and Chipola (Fla.) College forward Mario Little.

But let’s start with Stutz (pronounced STUTTS), who has an unbelievable story — some of which you might have read here.

A year ago, he was a 6-foot-8, 190-pound small forward from tiny Plaza Heights Christian Academy (enrollment: 37), wondering if any NAIA schools might be interested in him. If not, Stutz reasoned, he’d follow the lead of his older brother Logan, who plays for Butler County.

Now, he’s a 7-foot-plus center, about 220 pounds, with 8-10 Division I scholarship offers — including K-State. Kentucky and Kansas are interested, as is Marquette, but those three universities are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Basically, they want to see if he dominates at North Kansas City, and then they’ll probably offer Stutz late, which is convenient because he doesn’t plan on signing during the early period.

For now, though, it’s Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri State, Wichita State, St. Louis, SMU, Northwestern and the Wildcats.

“Any offer would have been good,” said Bill Stutz, Garrett’s father.

That was before his son blew up on the AAU circuit. Participating in the Kingwood Classic in Houston in April, Scott Wedman, Garrett’s AAU coach, contacted Bill Stutz after the first day.

Wedman had already received six phone calls from interested coaches.

“Every coach always says (Garrett) is so skilled,” Bill said.

Now, Dad is biased. He admits as much. But he’s also a coach, having coached Garrett for two seasons at Plaza Heights, and it’s clear the son has gleaned some of his feel, his touch from being around the game.

Because he wasn’t always a classic big game, there isn’t much he can’t do.

He can shoot it from 21, 22 feet. He has great shooting form — his father says Garrett shoots 80 percent from the free-throw line. He can grab a defensive rebound, take three dribbles and not trip over his feet.

Plus, he’s 7-foot and growing, with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a reach of 9-foot-2.

He was at Missouri State last week and at Wichita State over the weekend. Here’s his schedule for the coming weeks: nothing this weekend, at Nebraska Sept. 15 for the USC football game, at Northwestern Sept. 29 for the Michigan football game, at K-State Oct. 6 for KU-K-State, at Kentucky Oct. 13 for Midnight Madness, and at Iowa State Oct. 20 for the Oklahoma football game.

AND then there’s Little, a 6-foot-5, 210-pounder whom Chipola coach Greg Heiar likens to “a young Ron Artest, the Artest back at St. John’s.”

In other words, he’s not crazy.

Despite averaging only 10 points and six rebounds as a freshman last season, Little is in demand.

“He can really, really score the ball,” Heiar said Friday.

He’s a Chicago native, so it makes sense Illinois is one of his three finalists. Actually, that might be misleading. According to Heiar, Little is planning only three early visits — to Illinois, KU and K-State.

The Jayhawks are in the mix because of all of the players from the Windy City already on the roster. As for the Wildcats, Heiar said the fact that K-State is “up and coming” certainly helps. As does the fact that the staff — all together now — is recruiting Little harder than anyone else.

“He’s going to visit those schools, come back, talk with me about it and unless something drastic happens, he’s going to make his commitment and sign with one of those schools,” Heiar said.

It’s Lawrence this weekend (a football game against Southeastern Louisiana), followed by Manhattan next weekend (a football game against Missouri State). He’ll go to Champaign the last weekend of the month, when the Illini meet Penn State in football.

FINALLY, here’s a little on Keller from his coach, Roy Champagne:

“He’s a long 6-foot-7, 220-pounder with versatility. He can play the ‘3’ but also with his back to the basket. He was the fourth-leading scorer in the conference at 18.1 points. He also averaged six rebounds. As a freshman, that’s tough to do in our league.

“He’s more than just an athlete. … His abilities can take him very far. It’s a matter of maturing within the game. If he grasps that. … He has a beautiful body, but he can do more. I mean, we’d all like to look like LeBron James. … He could become a 240-pound lean, mean, fighting machine.

“The sky is the limit as long as he matures his basketball IQ.”

As for K-State, which Champagne said is the front-runner for Keller’s services, the forward plans to be in Manhattan for the Oct. 5 football game against KU. He, too, plans to decide during the early signing period, choosing between the Wildcats, UNLV, West Virginia, Charlotte, Texas A&M, and, of course, KU.

By J-Mart | Filed under Basketball | Comments (1)

And we’re back

Sept. 5, 200712:38 p.m.

First, my initial Auburn observations, although I still haven’t watched the entire game:

1. True to his word, Ron Prince has assembled a “tough, callused defense.” But the defense’s depth is going to be a concern, especially as the season wears on and if the Wildcats can’t muster any legitimate offense.
2. The jury is still out on Josh Freeman. And the offensive line, although it’s not nearly as bad as originally feared.
3. Twenty-seven yards on the ground? Throwing 57 times — on the road? That can’t continue.
4. There is enough talent on the roster — mostly on defense — to contend for the Big 12 title. But execution will be the issue.

- Frank Martin isn’t going to allow the members of his touted freshmen class — and the guess here is the junior college transfers, too — to speak to the media, at least for the preseason. Men’s basketball sports information director Tom Gilbert termed it the “Dean Smith Rule,” referring to the former UNC legend’s method of  wanting his newcomers to, you know, actually do something before they talked to reporters and such.

In general, this practice makes a lot of sense. It allows a freshman to acclimate himself to his surroundings and teammates without being dogged by inane questions and incessant media attention. But an exception might have to be made with Michael Beasley — and make no mistake, he’s the reason such a policy is in place. He’s the story, and the story must be told. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds.

- Also, a correction from an earlier post. I must have forgotten Tennessee is in the SEC. Neyland Stadium is the largest in the conference, holding 102,000-plus. My bad.

That’s it for now. I’ll have more this afternoon, mostly recruiting-based. Still chasing a few things. For those who were wondering, my toast as best man was well-received. I received a couple of phone calls from readers wondering where I was, which was simultaneously bizarre and touching. But it’s good to be back.

By J-Mart | Filed under Basketball, Football | Comments (3)