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Date Posted: 15:12:12 04/04/03 Fri
Author: AU Josh H
Subject: AU Men's BB Recruits
Just finding some articles on the Class of 2007.
Brayden Billbe, 6-9/210 from Mercer Island, WA (Verbal).
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/134666231_prepnotes01.html
Sekou Lewis, 6-5/185 from Bradenton, FL (Signed).
Asrangue Souleymane, 6-9/200 from Laurinberg, NC (Signed?).
Linas Lekavicius, 6-0/185 from Charlottesville, VA (Signed).
http://www.ihigh.com/0,1773,2_1_0_56490,00.html
Looks like a good bunch. Anyone got any more info on them?
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Re: AU Men's BB Recruits -- Bison Rule, 17:42:09 04/06/03 Sun
Bucknell and Lehigh were both interested in Billbe as were several Ivy's. His stock rose during the season and others such as Portland and Eastern Washington got more interested. He had a very limited role until this year, but seems to have blossomed as a scorer this season.
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Re: AU Men's BB Recruits -- matt b, 13:43:53 04/17/03 Thu
I don't know anything about Billbe. Here's what I do know:
Lewis went to HS at Saint Vincent Saint Mary's (i.e. he played with LeBron), and graduated last year. He spent a year at the IMG Academy, which caters to yougn athletes of all different sports (most notably tennis). Coach Jones seems to like fifth year players, as Jaamal Caterina took an extra year to work on his game as well (at Brewster Academy if I remember right).
Lekavicius and Souleymane went the same route, attending prep school this year. Here's an article on him, apparently he was recruited by ACC schools?:
http://www.millerschool.org/LinasArticle2.html
I am now imagining a team on the AU floor in a couple of years that starts 3 eastern europeans- Lekavicius, Cresnik, and Petrauskas. It could happen. Hell, maybe Ryan Graham could start and American University would only have one American citizen on the court. ;) The Post did an excellent story on our international recruiting last month: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A53730-2003Mar6¬Found=true
Souleymane is from the Central African Republic originally. From prepstars: Laurinburg Prep (N.C.) 6-9, 200-pound senior Asrangue Souleymane likes George Washington, Seton Hall, South Alabama, South Carolina, VCU and LSU. He and Lewis are on the hoop scoop top 100 5th year players list, whatever that might mean: http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/Class2003-5thyearplayerrankings.html
...and there we go. Should be fun to watch these guys.
matt b
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Re: AU Men's BB Recruits -- AU rocks, 10:10:11 04/21/03 Mon
This guy Lekavicius looks like the second coming of Nate Smith.
Also, I saw Jarrod Kohl at many of AU's games this year. As a freshman, I recognize he wasn't expected to get a good deal of playing time but he looked MUCH closer to 6'7'' than 6'10''. Not a bad thing, but it would be awesome to have some guys who could look eye to eye with Holy Cross' guys. (No offense to Jernavis, Raimondas, and Matej....great season for these guys).
Anyone know what the story is on this guy Souleymane? I heard he verbally committed and now he is backing out.
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Re: AU Men's BB Recruits -- AUScott22, 14:03:33 05/13/03 Tue
AU's recruiting class shapes up this way:
Lekavicius should come in and contribute immediately. Expect him to share time at the point with Rodriguez. Sounds like a real gritty player who was highly regarded in this area. I wonder if Jones stashed him in Charlottesville or if that was just coincedence.
Our latest recruit is the Virginia Division AAA State Player of the Year from Richmond. 6-2 SG Andre Ingram from Highland Springs. He seems like the most highly rated recruit coming in. We stole him from William & Mary when their coach quit at the last minute. He could start or at worst split time with Thomas. Supposedly is dead eye from the outside.
Lewis is a fifth year prep who should be in the rotation next year. He may get a lot of minutes if he can stroke the jumper. He should vie with Jernavis for time at the three. Caterina really needs to pick up his game this summer to vie for time here so that Jernavis can play down low again like last year.
Billbe seems like a tall project which isn't great since Kohl and Caterina seem to be also.
Souleymane is the X-factor. He seems like a viable big man who can come in and provide a shot blocking presence in the paint. Did he sign? ESPN.com says he did. That is the only place I've seen it mentioned. I can't really even find him associated with Laurinburg Prep after the start of new year. Not sure if he headed back to Africa or what. We'll have to wait and see.
In the past few years, Jones has had some late changes to his recruiting classes so anything is possible. I'm a little surprised to see Jones go young here since he really needs to find some instant impact from this class after losing Miles, Stokes, and Patiejunas. I was expecting at least one JUCO to be quite honest. Hopefully it will work out and the talent these freshman seem to possess will show up next season. If not...
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Re: AU Men's BB Recruits -- AUScott22, 19:19:23 05/14/03 Wed
Quick Update:
Souleymane signed with Bob Huggins and Cincinnati today. It hurts to lose a good post prospect but it is equally exciting to see Jeff Jones involved with players who are ending up in Conference USA. Very promising.
One scholarship left. Look for Jones to search for another big unless he is ovrwhelmed with a good wing prospect. Possibly another Lithuanian big man or maybe a JUCO big body. We'll see.
Also, I found a more descriptive article on Brayden Billbe. He seems like a late bloomer with a good outside shot. Maybe he'll develop into something.
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Re: AU Men's BB Recruits -- HC1843, 14:27:40 05/16/03 Fri
Are you guys allowed to recruit JUCOs anymore? Let me qualify this by saying that HC brought one in this year and he left for financial reasons - was a walk-on that had to pay full costs. However, I thought American was told to stop with relying on JUCOs, and it seems as if they have. Why would you want one? Even though ours was reportedly a strong student, I didn't like the thought of it.
Thoughts...
Cheers.
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Re: BB Recruits-Qualifiers?? -- Big Eagle, 20:17:16 05/16/03 Fri
How many of our recruits are academically qualified to play as freshmen?
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Re: BB Recruits-Qualifiers?? -- AUScott22, 19:30:14 05/17/03 Sat
I can't really speak to the Patriot League's official stance on JUCO's but it wouldn't surprise me if they frowned upon it. But I don't see that stopping Jones from bringing in an immediate impact JUCO like he did with Buscaglia, Stokes, Boyd, and Draughn. Even the international big men Cresnik and Petrauskas came in as sophomores.
While Jones does not need to rely on JUCO's any longer as his recruiting contacts have been built back up, one here or there definitely helps to balance out the squad and/or fill an immediate need a freshman can't always provide. If Jones brings in a JUCO with the last ship it is because he needs an immediate impact player for the rotation next season.
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The official release -- matt b, 05:49:09 05/19/03 Mon
From AUEAGLES.COM, for those of you who missed it
American Completes Outstanding Recruiting Class
Linas Lekavicius Co-State Player of Year heads list
May 15, 2003
Jeff Jones has signed another outstanding recruiting class.
WASHINGTON - The American University men’s basketball team officially announced its recruiting class for the 2003-04 season. The four student-athletes who have signed National Letters of Intent with the Eagles are Brayden Billbe (Mercer Island, Wa./Mercer Island), Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./ Highland Springs), Sekou Lewis (Cleveland, Ohio/Pendleton School) and Linas Lekavicius (Charlottesville, Va./The Miller School).
“We are extremely excited about this group of young men,” said American University head coach Jeff Jones. “They fill some immediate needs and provide a very strong foundation for our future.”
Lekavicius, who was born and raised in Silale, Lithuania, had a stellar three-year career at The Miller School, and capped it off by being named Co-State Player of the Year. Other awards Lekavicius garnered as a senior include first team All-State, Conference Player of the Year and Central Virginia Player of the Year. He led The Miller School to back-to-back conference championships and scored over 1,500 points in his career. As a senior he averaged 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game. He shot 43 percent from beyond three-point land and 62 percent from the field.
“Linas is the best player in Virginia,” said The Miller School head coach Fred Wawmer. “He does whatever his team needs him to do and he will do great things in the future.”
Billbe comes to American from Mercer Island, Wash., after having an outstanding senior season under long-time Mercer Island head coach Ed Pepple. This past year he led Mercer to a 22-6 record and the state semi-finals. The 6-foot-10-inch center set the school record for blocks (90) in a season and averaged 12.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Billbe also dished out 48 assists and hit 71 percent of his free throws (67-94) and nearly 50 percent from the field (143-287). He was selected second team All Conference.
Billbe had received a lot of interest from West Coast schools, but a high school government trip to Washington, D.C. during his sophomore year made him think of D.C. as a possible destination for college.
One person who thought American was a great choice for Billbe was Mercer Island head coach Ed Pepple. Pepple, who has sent numerous players to Division I schools in his 45 years on the sidelines, felt the balance between academics and
athletics at AU was perfect for Billbe.
“Brayden made the most improvement in his game between his junior year and senior year of any player I have ever coached, just a quantum leap,” said Pepple. “He is a great fit for American University and I think he will continue to work to get better.”
Coming to American from Highland Springs High School in Richmond, Va., is Andre Ingram, who was selected as the Associated Press Group AAA Player of the Year. Ingram led Highland Springs to the Virginia League High School Group AAA championship this past season, the first title in school history. For the year he averaged 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds and was outstanding from three-point land, where he shot 49 percent. For the second year in a row, Ingram was named the Capital District Player of the Year, first team all-Central Region and All-Metro. As a junior, Ingram averaged 27.2 points per game.
“Andre is a complete person as well as player,” said Highland Springs head coach George Lancaster. “I think he will make an impact on American University’s basketball program sooner than many people think.”
The final member of the class is Sekou Lewis, a standout wing player who improved his game by prepping for a year at The Pendleton School in Florida. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Lewis played his high school basketball at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s with LeBron James.
Aside from his high school experience, Lewis also played for the Cleveland Basketball Club, which is coached by Mike Duncan. Lewis is a very good athlete who will compete for time at the small forward position as a freshman.
The 2002-03 season culminated one of the best two-year periods in the history of American University basketball. They won the Patriot League regular season title last year, and finished second this season, making it to the championship game both years. AU has won 34 games over the last two years, the best two-year period in Eagle basketball in nearly 15 years. Senior Steve Miles was named to the 2002-03 Patriot League Men’s Basketball First-Team, while Glenn Stokes was second-team and Raimondas Petrauskas made the All-Rookie squad.
American University, which fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men, is in its second year of membership in the Patriot League. Since joining the Patriot League, the University has captured league championships in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball, and a regular-season title in men’s basketball.
American became a full member of the Patriot League on July 1, 2001. Chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893, the University features students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 160 nations worldwide.
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Thoughts -- matt b, 05:59:41 05/19/03 Mon
The first thing that strikes me is that Linas (don't ask me how to spell his last name) is being sold as "the best player in Virginia" by his coach. I'm sure he's got a biased perspective on things, but any coach worth his salt doesn't just throw terms like "best" out there.
Also, kudos to the SID for not just throwing in random made up Jeff Jones quotes for the release and actually getting on the horn to talk to these guys' high school coaches.
Scott, your analysis is great-- do you think you could post that article about Billbe? The only insight on him that I can offer is that I've been up by Mercer Island and it didn't exactly strike me as basketball territory.
About JUCOs: I've had this argument with the HC people before. They aren't interested in the idea that some people can't afford a 4 year school right out of HS, especially if they're not recruited out of HS-- in their world, everyone can afford college, and if they don't go right to a 4 year, they're clearly just dumb and unfit for higher education. It gets rehashed every so often, but not as often as their delusions about moving to the Big East, A-10, or any other higher conference.
Last thing, educate me: who's Nate Smith? I assume an old AU player.
matt b
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Re: The official release...MATTB -- HC1843, 19:48:25 05/19/03 Mon
mattb,
If you read my post you would see that their was no animus in it and I actually said, "Hey look over here, HC actually had a JUCO walk on this year"...before he had to leave for monetary reasons. My question was more about how are you guys doing on this front and quite honestly, it is the PL and HC that look down on JUCO's. Some JUCOs go that route for the right reasons, but all in all they are ill prepared for the rigor of PL academics. American has accepted this and is moving on and up the food chain. I say good for them.
Cheers.
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Article on Ingram -- matt b, 17:17:02 05/29/03 Thu
Kid looks like a hell of a shot-- Do we even have an engineering program?
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
April 30, 2003 Wednesday City Edition
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. F-7
LENGTH: 260 words
HEADLINE: INGRAM SELECTS AU;
SPRINGERS' STAR PASSED ON W&M
BYLINE: Arthur Utley,
BODY:
Highland Springs guard Andre Ingram has made his decision.
The taller half of the Springers' high-scoring backcourt duo will continue his basketball career on the collegiate level next year at American University.
Ingram, 6-3, chose American University, a member of the Patriot League and coached by Jeff Jones, over William and Mary.
"At William and Mary, there was too much uncertainty because of the coaching situation," Ingram said. "When I weighed the pros and cons for both schools, American was a better fit."
A four-year member of the Springers' varsity, Ingram capped his high school years with a Virginia High School League state Group AAA championship in March.
Ingram averaged 27.2 points as junior and was named the Capital District player of the year and was first-team all-Central Region and All-Metro and second-team all-state.
This season, he averaged 22.8 points and 9.5 rebounds and shot 49 percent from 3-point range. He repeated as district player of the year and as a member of the all-region and All-Metro first teams. He was selected first-team all-state and player of the year by the Virginia High School Basketball Coaches Association.
American was 16-14 this past season and finished runner-up to Holy Cross in the regular season and the conference tournament final.
Ingram joins another high-scoring guard, Linas Lekavicius of Blue Ridge, in the Eagles' recruiting class. The two were teammates in the Commonwealth Classic all-star game.
An excellent student, Ingram plans to pursue an engineering curriculum.
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Re: Article on Ingram -- HC1843, 20:32:05 05/29/03 Thu
The kid sounds great. Congratulations on landing him!
Cheers.
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Re: Engineering Program -- Old Grad, 07:47:35 06/01/03 Sun
Let's get this kid playing basketball. As far as engineering programs go, we can buy him a couple of sets of Lego blocks and he can play with them. he'll get his engineering degree all right!
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Another on Ingram -- matt b, 17:44:15 05/29/03 Thu
Richmond Times Dispatch (Virginia)
April 23, 2003 Wednesday City Edition
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. F-6
LENGTH: 188 words
HEADLINE: ANDRE INGRAM ;
HIGHLAND SPRINGS
BYLINE: Stephen M. Lewis,
BODY:
* Class: Senior
* Age: 17
* GPA: 4.0
* March achievements: Selected as Group AAA state player of the year and captain of state championship basketball team. Chosen first-team all-region, first-team All-Metro and Capital District player of the year for second consecutive year. Played in Commonwealth vs. Dominion all-star game.
* Other athletic accomplishments: First team all-Capital District in volleyball.
* Quotable: "I think that if he were an automobile he'd be a combination of a Hummer, a Mercedes Benz and a Jeep Cherokee because he's so well-rounded." - George Lancaster, Highland Springs coach.
* Academic achievements: National Honor Society, Beta Club.
* Extracurricular activities: Referee of Medford League basketball games.
* College plans: To play basketball at a Division I school.
* Favorite subject: Math.
* Key to sports success: "Determination. The passion for the game and the will to succeed."
* Key to academic success: "Staying focused. Always remembering that academics come first."
* Goal in life: "To be successful in whatever I end up doing
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