From LATimes.com:
New USC basketball Coach Kevin O'Neill deserves to get a high-five from his assistants because Corona Centennial junior point guard Gelaun Wheelwright announced Wednesday he has committed to the Trojans.
Wheelwright is the first new recruit since O'Neill was hired to replaced Tim Floyd.
Gelaun is considered one of the top guards in Southern California for the class of 2011. Here's a breakdown of his game from ESPN.com:
Wheelwright has the talent to be an elite level player, but his effort fluctuates between games. He's an undersized 2-guard at this stage, but due to his high level passing ability the point guard position should be his ticket at the next level. He's at his best in transition where he can nail the pull-up jump shot or deliver a nifty assist. His ball handling (sloppy at times) and decision-making (can be turnover prone) need to get better, but he still has two more years of high school basketball. His jump shot is impeccable, especially in a catch and shoot situation as he nailed a number of 3's at this event (J Serra Classic). If Wheelwright can learn to manage a game from the point guard position, particularly in the half court set, his stock will continue to rise.
The basketball team also got another commitment from a lesser known big-man out of Kentucky in Curtis Washington:
“Nobody knew who Curtis was until he went to the East-West Roundball Classic (in April),” his father said. “He went there, did well and people started wondering who he was. Rick Bolus saw him, liked him and invited him to his Big Man Camp this past June.”
According to his father, Washington did well at Bolus’ camp, earning the Best Big Man Award at the Post Camp. He then stayed on for the regular camp and did well again, earning Camp MVP. Washington then dropped 24 points in the Top-30 All-Star game at the end of that camp and the buzz continued to pick up.
“We were waiting for the July portion because we knew that the coaches could be there,” Jim said. “It was at the It Takes 5 Camp where the USC coach (O’Neill) saw him. He watched him play all three games. They didn’t play well at all, but he was really hustling up and down the court. His defense was good, he was blocking shots and grabbing rebounds.”
Washington said that it wasn’t long after they got home that his son’s high school coach got them in touch with O’Neill. After speaking with Curtis that night, the Washingtons spoke with O’Neill the next day and a Trojan scholarship was offered.
Although I'm not a fan Coach O'Neill, he's off to a good start.
