USF Basketball Recruiting - Early Look

Coach Heath is limited this year in recruiting.

The 2011 men's basketball season has been a painful one, but there is always hope for the next season. The Bulls and Coach Heath have already been recruiting and have their two commitments already. The Bulls are limited on the number of scholarships available due to few players graduating so this way to early look ahead will be quick and easy.

Coach Heath understands in the Big East you need big, inside post players to dominate the boards and fight for points. Despite the point guard troubles this season, Heath believes he has the pieces there and has focused on recruiting centers this time. Here is the early look ahead to the two big men that will be coming to USF next season.[keep reading]

Andre Jackson - Center - 6'10" 285-pounds

Bayton Texas - Lee Community College

Jackson is rated as a 3-star recruit (Rivals.com). He is a big body presence inside the paint where he can dominate on both ends of the court. He uses his body well to hold up against opponents and has enough in his big legs to get up and block and alter shots. He is very aggressive on defensive (from watching limited tape on him). On offense he lives in the paint and is able to back down a defender with his huge size. He has an enormous frame and at 285-pounds, there are few players that can matchup with him and hope to stop him. He is not the quickest up the court and playing in the Big East with guard oriented teams like Villanova and Marquette, this is a bit of concern.

Jackson will make an instant impact and should get big time minutes once he gets to USF. With Famous graduating and Gilchrist possibly leaving, he will get on the floor and play big time minutes early and often in 2012.

Jordan Omogbehin - Center - 7'2" 285-pounds

Chesapeake, Virginia

Omogbehin (JO for short, just for this blog at least) is a huge player that will be an instant impact maker for the Bulls. JO is devastating on defense. He has a huge wing span and good footwork, allowing him to get multiple blocks and easy rebounds. His offensive skills are still being developed and he has average hands, making it a bit hard for him to dribble down a defender in the paint. He is also a big slow moving up and down the court like Jackson, but will get use to the speed of conference play. He needs work on offense, but having a player over 7 feet tall gives the Bulls a deadly weapon on both ends of the court. He should progress into one of the best rebounders in the conference.

He is rated 2-stars by ESPN, no stars by Rivals (fans give him 4-stars). He is a raw talent that if coaches right will develop into a solid post player that should be able to dominate inside for the Bulls.

Heath is all recruiting Sam Grooms, a point guard out of Chipola College (from Greg Auman). Heath believes that at least one player will be leaving (Gilchrist maybe) after this season which would free up a scholarship. Grooms seems to have the Bulls on his favorite list and the desperate need for a guard makes this a very interesting situation to watch. If a player does leave, I expect Heath to make a quick offer (Grooms also has North Carolina high on his list).

So these are the only two recruits coming in for the USF 2011-2012 class. Now players could leave, transfer, etc. and other scholarships could open, but at the moment these are the only two players that Coach Heath is bringing in. Both are impressive big men, but the lack of a point guard hurts a bit. Hopefully something opens up to allow Heath to bring in another player.