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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

USC Update: Williams Commits to Houston,
Not Troy; Soyoye Visits, Boozer Up Next--(Sept. 23, 1998)

USC's recruiting picture is looking a bit crowded and is pretty fuzzy at the moment. Remember that USC, because of NCAA scholarship violations committed unknowningly (or at least unintentionally) last season, the Trojans are limited to just one more signee because they've already accepted a verbal committement from Nate Hair (6'-4" Sr. SG) from Capistrano Valley. And while Nate is good, really good, it's our humble feeling that Bibby probably wouldn't have offered Nate so soon if he'd known he had only one more ride to spare. Keep in mind that this is nothing that's been said or hinted at by the USC coaches, and they continue to tell us that they just love Nate Hair. But we think, in their heart of hearts, they might have waited a bit until the "big man" picture was settled, before taking another shooting guard.

And on that subject, Bill Hodge of FansOnly reported yesterday that George Williams (6' 8" Sr. SF) from Sugar Land (TX) Elkins HS, has now foresaken the Trojans and verballed instead to Clyde Drexler and the University of Houston, which is not surprising considering the homecourt advantage enjoyed by the Glide. Some consider that Bibby got involved a bit too late. Maybe, maybe not. Williams would have provided an instant presence at the forward spot, but we have to ask, just how many 6'-8 guys can you use? What Bibby really needs is a big 6'-10"+ bruiser in the paint, not another strong power forward; they've already got Bluthenthal, Sam Clancy, Shannon Swillis, and Greg Lakey, Brian Scalabrine and Jarvis Turner. Nope, at least it's our opinion that what the Trojans really should be looking for is another dominant center if they really want to be able to challenge the Stanfords, Bruins and Cals of this world.

But things were not all quiet this past weekend on the campus: On Friday and Saturday, Tajudeen Soyoye (6'- 9" So. C) from Meridian, Mississippi JC showed up for his official visit, and the word is that he was really impressed and if offered he just might take the spot. But Bibby and Silvy also have a home visit arranged with, of all people (surprise, surprise, surprise) Carlos Boozer (6'-8" Sr. SF) from Juneau Douglas HS in Alaska, and hopefully his dad won't try to make them sit still while he videotapes the visit (reportedly, John Thompson said "no way" to any taping, and we're willing to bet Lavin said the same thing last week). Likewise, last Wednesday, Bibby had an in-home visit with Jason Kapono (6'-8" Sr. SG/PF) of Artesia High, and it's a sure bet that if it comes down to Boozer or Kapono that Bibby will take the first one to say "yes." In our humble opinion though, we don't think it likely that Boozer will go the Troy route; it's far more likely that it will come down to Kapono or Soyoye. As we've mentioned before, Jason has a really long list, but his prime factors are (a) he wants to play immediately, not later; (b) he'd like to be close to the folks, so they can watch him play; and (c) he'd like to go with a winning program. So far, UCLA has two out of three (b and c) while SC has two out of three also (a and b). So we say "Pick 'em". And as far as Boozer is concerned, we'd have to still consider UCLA the front-runner, notwithstanding the quote that Frank Burlison has from Carlos: He supposedly "told reporters at the Midnight Madness Tournament in New Jersey on Saturday night that he expects to sign in the spring." This is nothing new, and it looks like with the committments of Justin Davis to Cal and Andrew Gooden to Kansas, that UCLA might be prepared to sit out the battle and wait patiently until the spring.

But apparently USC has a little something up their sleeves, and it's not just another 6'-8" or 6'-9" guy, and last week they had an in-home visit with Luke Minor (7'-3" Sr. C) from Richmond, Virginia. As far as size goes, all we can say is "now you're talkin' Henry." But really, we know next to nothing about this guy, except that he shares the same last name as another Trojan who had a pretty good high school career only to disappear as a pro.