Devron Bostick

I ended up being unable to attend yesterday's game and was also unable to watch it. I do have it on Tivo, but I'm pretty sure I don't need that aggravation and will just delete it. Instead, let's talk about something more interesting.

Gopher signee Devron Bostick is ranked #4 on rivals list for Junior College players for 2008. If you're like me, you figure that all sounds good, but what does it really mean? Rivals has bank rankings for 2007 and 2006, so let's look at some similarly ranked JuCo players from those years to get an idea of what we can expect from Mr. Bostick.

First, we'll look at the 2007 list. These are players in their first year of D-I ball, which is what Bostick will be next season. The top 6 look like this:

1. Dustin Scott - College of Charleston
2. Nemanja Calasan - Purdue
3. JaMarcus Ellis - Indiana
4. Charlie Coley - Charlotte
5. Steve Harley - Nebraska
6. DeAndre Thomas - Indiana

Looking at the three big ten guys, Ellis is having the greatest impact, playing 31 minutes per game and averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds. The other two are filling roles for their team, Thomas averaging 11 minutes and 4 points and Calasan 18 minutes and 7 points. Indiana and Purdue are top teams, and with more talent it may be more difficult for a JuCo to make a true impact. Let's look at the other three guys in the top 6.

Dustin Scott is interesting, as he was recruited by Florida, Louisville, and Tennessee (among others) coming out of Juco and chose to go to C of C. He has made a big impact for the Cougars, averaging 10 points and 7 rebounds per game, and leading the team in both steals and blocked shots. He has a good chance to help lead Charleston into the tournament - but probably not until next season as they are very young.

Charlie Coley is helping Charlotte out, averaging 8.5 points and leading the 49ers with 6.2 rebounds per game. And Steve Harley is vital to Nebraska, third on the team in scoring with 8.4 points and contributing a handful of rebounds, assists, and steals as well.

Going back to 2006, the top 7 look like this:

1. Sonny Weems - Arkansas
2. Jerome Habel - San Diego St
3. Hernol Hall - Cincinnati
4. Takais Brown - Georgia
5. James Davis - Lamar
6. Carlos Williams - Charlotte
7. Blake Young - Kansas State

I've actually written about Davis before, and yes, he is the former Gopher recruit. After averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds per game two years ago, he's no longer on Lamar. I don't know if he only had the one year of eligibility left due to bouncing around schools so much, or if he got kicked off again, but I'd certainly take those stats from Bostick.

I don't know what happened to Hernol Hall, as he never played a game for Cincy, and the guy ranked 3rd at the time, Albert Weber, never signed with anyone but the rest of the guys seem to have had at least one good year. Sonny Weems is leading the Razorbacks in scoring with 15.3 ppg and chipping in 4.6 rebounds. Takais Brown is no longer with Georgia, but, similarly to Davis, he led the Bulldogs with 14.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds. Jerome Habel of SDSU is in the same boat, where he isn't on the Aztecs this year but had a good year season, averaging 11 points and leading the team in rebounding with 6.2 rebounds per game. Carlos Williams was a role player on Charlotte last year, and, you guessed it, isn't on the team this year. Finally, Blake Young is a major contributor to a very good K State team this year, having started every game, after being a role player last season.

Looking down the 2006 list, there are plenty of other solid guys on there, such as Mike White (#9), Othello Hunter (#13), Cyrus Tate (#15), Abdullai Kuso (#20), Stefhon Hannah (#25), and Mike Taylor (#55). Of course, the list also includes Limar Wilson at #23, Miles Webb at #87 and Engen Nurumbi at #100. So...yeah.

So what does that mean? Well, as long as Bostick gets here, and I haven't heard anything to lead me to believe he won't, he should be anywhere from a rotation double-digit minutes type guy to a leading scorer type. Hopefully, leading scorer type.


Marquette -2 @ Villanova
Texas/Kansas State OVER 148.5
San Diego +11.5 @ St. Mary's
Portland +17 vs. Gonzaga
Texas +3 @ Kansas State

Yesterday: 8-2
Season: 356-329