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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Rafael Berumen Recruited By UCSB?
Maybe. . . Just Maybe. . .--(Aug. 26, 1998)

Several sources have told us that Rafael Berumen (6'-9" Sr. PF/C) from Simi Valley still remains a hopeful target of UCSB. We believe this would be a huge recruiting coup for the Gauchos, and frankly we don't see them as the front-runners just yet, as Rafael reportedly still has a number of high D-1 schools on his list, including USC, Florida, and possibly even Cal (although the Bears don't seem probable now that Nick Vander Laan has verballed and because Braun would really like to get either Gooden or Justin Davis). And even though Rafael's "stock" (whatever that means) was said to have "dropped" this summer, principally because he played at ABCD Camp with an injured achilles, he's still a formidable player who can pound inside, post up, or step out and hit the three, and with his agility, size and good health, he could wind up at most any Pac-10 school and be an immediate impact player.

As for Rafael and USC though, we're not certain that the Trojans will really stay in the hunt, particularly now that the Trojans have lost one of their two remaining scholarships for the 1999-2000 school year. The loss of the scholarship occured because last season the university's director of compliance supposedly misinterpreted NCAA rules and awarded one scholarship above the limit to walk-on guard Claude Green who only played a single minute. With the loss of the scholarship, and with the verbal from Nate Hair (6'-5" Sr. SG) earlier this summer, USC has only one scholarship left for the year unless some of the current members of the team are politely asked not to return. So it would seem that if USC is serious about Jason Kapono or Andrew Gooden, they probably won't go for Rafael. And while there are rumors floating around that USC will take a home visit with Carlos Boozer (along with the rest of PAC 10, the entire Big East, SEC and some Big 10 schools!), we have to believe that Kapono is the real object of affection for USC at this point, and they'll be battling it out with Stanford and Utah for the Lakewood Artesian.

As for Rafael we can see him becoming a Trojan if Kapono opts for Stanford or Utah instead of Troy, or if Gooden opts for Cal, Kansas or even Stanford as most observers believe he will. But Rafael could just as easily become a Gaucho, particularly if SC and Florida drop out of the race. As for USCB, they are also looking at some other "big man" targets, such as Richard Fox (6'-10" Sr. C) from Denver (who we've never seen play), John Hoffert (6'-10" Sr. C) from Davis High Sacramento, or possibly even Joe Kirchofer (6'-9" Sr. C) from Laguna Creek High (but we don't view him as likely for the Gauchos--possibly Princeton, Boston College, or one of the other Ivys, given his 1500 SAT). If none of these guys sign with UCSB, then it's just as likely that Rafael might stay at home up the coast and hang out on the beach when he's not pounding the boards. Who knows, he could do a lot worse, and he'd be hard-pressed to find better coaching.

Ole'.