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Raising Buffaloes Colorado's Patton sneaks up on recruiting trail
By Albert Lin, CNNSI.com Don't look now, but nestled in the Rocky Mountains is a program that might be on the verge of becoming a consistent Top 25 threat. Colorado basketball possesses little or no history. The team has made one NCAA tournament appearance since 1969, a second-round showing in '97 spearheaded by the best player Boulder has ever seen, Chauncey Billups. Since that school-record 22-win season, coach Ricardo Patton 's first, the team has won 13, 18, 18 and 15 games. So why the reason for optimism? Despite mediocre results on the court, Patton has made inroads on the recruiting trail, attracting nationally regarded high schoolers Jamahl Mosley, Jose Winston and Stephane Pelle to CU. He's also had success dipping into the junior-college ranks for the likes of Jaquay Walls and D.J. Harrison, the team's leading scorers, respectively, the past two seasons. But the future of Colorado basketball arrived just last week, when McDonald's All-American center David Harrison from Nashville (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy set foot on campus for summer classes. The 7-foot, 240-pounder disappointed North Carolina and hometown Vanderbilt, where his dad, Dennis, is an assistant football coach, when he announced April 12 he would join his brother in Boulder. "Playing with D.J. for a year was the overriding factor," David said.
Suddenly, an air of excitement surrounds the Buffaloes. The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla wrote that Harrison "could become the most important player in the history of CU hoops, before ever scoring a single point for the Buffaloes." The program gained "an identity," says Patton, during Billups' two season; now its profile has been raised another notch, and if Colorado has any success this fall Boulder will become a hot destination for recruits. "Anytime you're able to recruit at a high level against some of the best competition in the country, I think it speaks volumes for your program," says Patton, who as an assistant lured Billups to Colorado and Carlos Rogers to Tennessee State. "What it says to a lot of kids across the country is, 'Hey, if a kid as highly regarded as David Harrison can go to the University of Colorado, boy, maybe I ought to take a look.' I think that's the effect it will have." That doesn't mean, though, that Patton will stop recruiting junior-college players, often seen as a stopgap or a quick fix (see: Texas Tech) for major- conference schools. "I think we'll continue to do so," says Patton, who was a juco player himself. "Adding one or two a year is not unhealthy, particularly when you're trying to build a program." Despite the graduation of Mosley and the transfers of starting point guard Winston and part-time starting center Richard Fox, Colorado will have a chance to sneak into the top half of the Big 12. Four of the team's top five scorers return, including D.J. Harrison and the ever-improving Pelle. David Harrison and fellow rookie Jason Carter, a 6-9, 255-pound bruiser, complete a formidable frontline. "[David Harrison] will give us a really big defensive presence in the middle that we haven't had," Patton says. "Also, what he does offensively is he makes other guys around him better. I think the guy who will reap the benefits of having a guy David's size beside him is Stephane Pelle." In the backcourt, senior shooter Nick Mohr returns, and another of Patton's juco finds, point guard James Wright, steps right in for Winston. Justin Harbert and swingmen Michel Morandais and Blair Wilson all averaged double-digit minutes a year ago and provide experienced depth. "Anytime you build anything from the ground up, I think you have some peaks and some valleys. And that's what we've had," Patton says. "Now I think we're starting to attract better and better players, and hopefully we can get this thing on a level ground, where we can have some sustained success. I think we're moving in that direction." In order to elevate Colorado to the class of Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas -- the six clubs that wage an annual battle for the Big 12's NCAA tournament berths -- Patton says he and his staff will have to recruit players who understand the importance of working hard during the offseason and then get them to stay and mature in the program. With six of his classmates already headed for the NBA and his brother's eligibility running out after next season, David Harrison would appear to be a prime candidate to spend no more than two years in Boulder. Patton, however, thinks -- and hopes -- that he will surprise everyone. "He comes from a family of academia; his mom graduated No. 4 in her class at Vanderbilt. So education is important to them and the family," Patton says, adding with a laugh: "He's compared himself to Tim Duncan, so we'll certainly remind him that Tim stayed four years." Colorado fans hope the David Harrison Era is a long and prosperous one. Lost and foundWhen South Carolina sophomore Chuck Eidson tore the ACL in his right knee in January, he practically dropped off the face of the earth. Rather than rehab his injury on campus, Eidson took more drastic measures by leaving school and heading home to Summerville, S.C. Now mentally recharged and closer to full strength physically, the 6-7, 205- pound swingman is eager to get back on the court. An All-SEC freshman selection two seasons ago, Eidson will play a key role in coach Dave Odom's first season. "You see him physically, you look at him as he walks in the door or he picks up a basketball, you have an image of what he might be like," Odom told The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C. "Then you look at the stat sheet and that image is enhanced. What was it, [a school-record] 93 steals as a freshman? I mean, that blows you away. Seniors who are candidates for defensive player of the year in the country don't make those kind of stats. That tells you he has great court awareness, a great feel for what not only is happening but what's about to happen. Then he has an awareness to affect it. Just looking at that tells you something. "And you'll have a hard time finding five other guys in this country who can play 1, 2 or 3 at this level effectively. You won't find a handful of them in the country who can do that. It's pretty strong." Eidson averaged 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists as a freshman but struggled last season (9.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.0 apg) before his injury. His 3-point shooting and versatility were sorely missed as the Gamecocks went 15-15 and former coach Eddie Fogler jumped ship. "It was tough being away from it," he said. "It was really tough. I wanted a chance to turn things around and I wasn't allowed that. I think it has made me really hungry for this next season because I've never been more than a week or two without basketball. It has been one of the worst things ever." Top 25 talkSurprisingly, most of the mail we received about our previous Top 25 concerned three schools: Indiana, Texas Tech and Michigan State. Herewith, some explanations. First, all you IU fans who defended Bob Knight upon his firing suddenly complained when we put his Red Raiders at No. 24. Can't have it both ways, folks. Either he's a good coach or he's not; he can't only be a good coach in Bloomington. Fact is, the General's juco recruits ( Ermal Kuqo, Pawal Storozynski, Will Chavis and Kasib Powell ) were highly sought-after, and, need we remind you, the guy on the sideline has a pretty good track record. That said, the Hoosiers did just miss our previous rankings (face it, Kirk Haston is a major loss). But, as you can see, we're indulging you this time around. No promises for next month. As for Michigan State, we're reserving judgment. Yes, we're aware that Adam Ballinger could very well blossom into another A.J. Granger, but right now the post players don't scare anyone. On the perimeter, Marcus Taylor has to prove he can score, and Kelvin Torbert and Alan Anderson are just freshmen. Check back in January. Worth notingCongrats to Temple's John Chaney and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski for being elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with, ironically enough, Moses Malone, who never played college ball. ... In case you missed it, Illinois coach Bill Self made an astute move back in April by hiring Wayne McClain, father of Sergio and former mentor at Peoria (Ill.) Manual, as an assistant. To say he will help with recruiting the state is an understatement. ... Word out of Colorado Springs is that UConn sophomore Caron Butler and Duke sophomore Chris Duhon were the stars of recent tryouts for the Team USA representative to the World Championship for Young Men. ... Spotted in the June 3 New York Times: a photo of rapper Ludacris sporting a Georgia State No. 24 jersey. Way to go, Lefty Driesell. You know your program officially has arrived when hip-hop nation embraces it. ... The end of the line finally came June 1 for Missouri recruit Robert Whaley, who officially was released from his letter-of-intent after a judge declared a mistrial in his trial for allegedly raping a 13-year-old last Thanksgiving. ... Any day now, Duke is expected to get a commitment -- its fourth for the 2002-2003 season -- from Chicago Julian PG Sean Dockery, one of the featured players in Fox Sports Net's Hoop Dreams-like, daily documentary Preps. While not quite equal to 1997's class of William Avery, Shane Battier, Elton Brand and Chris Burgess, the 2002 group -- which includes WG J.J. Redick, SF Lee Melchionni and C Michael Thompson -- should ensure that the Blue Devils keep rolling when Jason Williams moves on. And that's not even counting Oklahoma PF Shelden Williams, who has Duke on his short list. ... Jim Boeheim also deserves credit for Syracuse's early success on the recruiting trail, landing PG Gerry McNamara from Scranton (Pa.) Bishop Hannan and SF Carmelo Anthony, a Maryland scoring machine expected to attend Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy this fall. Both rank in CNNSI.com recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger's top 50. ... Speaking of Knight, his club could face fellow fired former Big Ten coach Steve Fisher's San Diego State team in Texas Tech's season-opening tournament. If both win their first games, it will be déjà vu all over again in the Nov. 17 final. ... One question for former Penn State starter Jon Crispin, who decided to leave Happy Valley and ended up following the trail Ryan Bailey blazed from State College to Westwood. Why UCLA? Do you really think you'll get any worthwhile playing time? (OK, that was two.) Crispin will sit out and pay his way the upcoming year and then be on scholarship his last two seasons. Maybe this quote explains he chose the Bruins over Georgia: "The best thing about my visit was the tour of the campus," Crispin told The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa. "I was hosted by the most beautiful girl I've seen in a long time, Stacy."
CNNSI.com's Albert Lin will offer his latest Offseason Beat notes regularly
from now through Midnight Madness. If you have questions, comments, ideas or
scoops for the Beat, click here.
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