SoCalHoops Recruiting News

USC Recruiting Update: In-Home
& Official Visits--(Aug. 12, 1999)

Coach Bibby and his assistants, Silvey Dominguez and Dave Miller, have been pretty busy lately going after some pretty good prospects, and they've also set up some in home visits and some official visits to USC during the extended evaluation period, which takes place from September 9-26.  This is the period when coaches can take home visits, schedule official visits, and in general get another look at some of the players they are interested in recruiting.  Of course, since it's also an open-evaluation period, there will be a number of events (e.g., tournaments and the like, such as the Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic, the Pump Fall Premier Tourney, and several others).  But mostly for the coaches, it's a time to set up home visits.  So what is USC up to?  Here's what we know:

Desmond Farmer (6'-4" Sr. SG) Flint, Michigan:   The Michigan Mustang who missed a lot of the summer with a knee injury will be visited by the USC coaches on or about September 10, and then he'll come to the campus. Farmer has been a top priority for the Trojans for most of the summer, and it looks like they're making some progress with him, because he's also scheduled an official visit to the campus for mid-September, we hear during the weekend of September 17th through 19th (Saturday, the 18th is the Trojan home opener against San Diego State, a game which will be broadcast on ABC starting at 12:30 p.m., just in case anyone really cares about football--we don't but some of you might).   Farmer is also being recruited by New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Marquette, Tulane and Purdue among others.  According to our sources, Farmer's visit to USC will be his first official visit, although there are rumors that Marquette will get one too.  None of the others have yet scheduled him either for home visits or on campus.   Those who saw Farmer at the Pump Spring Tourney, which was won by the Mustangs, will remember just how good a shooter Farmer is. Very quick, excellent handle, and great stroke. Just a solid player who can contribute immediately.

Darius Rice (6'-9" Sr. PF) from Lanier HS in Jackson, Mississippi,  will also get an in-home visit from USC the day after the coaches visit Farmer at his home in Michigan. Rice suffered a sprained wrist (or so we heard) in Orlando at the Nike Tournament there after the Peach Jam, and we hear that Rice did very well, impressing a lot of people at the Nike All-American Camp.  We weren't there, and haven't seen him, but we've heard good things, and obviously he's impressed a lot of coaches and schools because he's taking a number of in-home visits soon, including from Florida State, Kentucky, Notre Dame Mississippi State, and others. SC is looking to get involved with him, but there are a lot of other schools ahead of the Trojans right now from what we hear. 

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