rafael

SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Rafael Berumen Commits
To New Mexico--(Sept. 28, 1998)

It's now "official" or at least as "official" as these non-binding verbal committments get at this time of year: Rafael Berumen officially verballed to New Mexico this weekend during the middle of his official visit to the campus.

We confirmed that Rafael committed and spoke with Mrs. Berumen (Rafael was busy doing his homework), and she informed us that, yes indeed, Rafael had committed during the middle of the visit. "We were very surprised, although it was a pleasant surprise," she said.

"We were very happy with the academics at New Mexico, and we saw everything that we needed to see in order to make the decision that New Mexico was the right place for Rafael, and he was very impressed and happy with the opportunity that New Mexico has presented," said Mrs. Berumen. "We were also a bit surprised that Rafael actually committed when he did, because we had anticipated that we would just take the visit, come home, and take the remaining four visits (to Oregon, Duquesne, Washington, and Florida State or Cal), but when Rafael came out of the room after meeting with the coaching staff and announced he had committed right then and there, well, it just seemed like the right decision. We were as surprised as anyone that he had made the committment, but we were very happy for him and it just felt right."

Mrs. Berumen said that for Rafael, New Mexico was, at least as far as she was concerned, the best of all possible worlds, with the chance for immediate playing time, in a new environment and unique surroundings. She told us that in the past few weeks, Cal, Florida State, Duquesne, Oregon and Washington had been recruiting Rafael hard, but added, "These were all top-flight schools and we had some really hard phone calls to make when we got home. Hopefully most of the coaches understood and we of course thanked them for their interest."

Mrs. Berumen also added that she felt New Mexico was the right spot for her son, because he could step into a position where he was "wanted and needed right away."

"Now the pressure is off, the phone calls will stop and and Rafael can concentrate on his schoolwork and just having a great season."