Newcomers<o
></o>
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Bama has welcomed the most highly regarded recruiting class we have had in many years. Not since Wimp Sanderson inked Bobby Lee Hurt and Enis Whatley in the same class have we had two Parade All Americans in one class, but now we have Trevor Lacey and Rodney Cooper, and they may not be the best players in the group. We needed shooters and we have added them. We needed some big guys, and we have added them as well, though the biggest big guy is doing his rehab after summer ACL surgery. We even added a point guard no one knows much about.
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In alphabetical order we have:
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Rodney Cooper did not excite many of us when he was an early commit in the spring of 2010. Sure he had a nice stroke, but at 6’7” and 190 he was string bean thin, and he had flown under the radar of the recruiting services, being sort of an after thought as a three star on both Rivals and Scout. A great work ethic and some strenuous S & C work had him up to 210 by the time his senior year rolled around. He showed himself to be a good defender, athletic enough to take the ball to the hoop, and yet he had a silky jump shot that connected on 40% of his three point attempts, a rate slightly higher than the more heralded Trevor Lacey. By the end of his senior season he had earned to four stars, and was to the prestigious Parade All American team. If early reports are true, Rodney will see the court early and often.
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<v:shape id=_x0000_i1030 style="WIDTH: 225pt; HEIGHT: 337.5pt" alt="" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg" o:href="http://www.lakeland.cc.il.us/alumni/newsletter_09/fullsize/Moussa%20Gueye.JPG"></v:imagedata></v:shape>.
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Moussa Gueye, a massive 7’0” 280-pound center, comes to Alabama from Senegal by way of Lakeland Junior College. Gueye is further along basketball wise than Carl Engstrom, has a definite low post offense. He sat out his second year of junior college play because of a stress fracture, so he comes to the Tide with three years of eligibility to complete in three academic years. He was likely to have moved into the slot vacated by Chris Hines, but a late summer ACL injury and the subsequent surgery sidelined him indefinitely. I have heard that his rehab is progressing well and that he may be ready to play in February, but that will have to be a wait and see situation. <o></o>
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Nick Jacobs is a 6’8” 250 center-forward type from Atlanta who was highly recruited, a 4 star prospect in the major scouting service rankings. Physically he resemble former Tide star Richard Hendrix with his wide body and low post presence. With Hines gone and Gueye injured, Jacobs will have to play big minutes early in his career. Jacobs has some nice moves around the basket and soft hands. Offensively he will need to develop some face up offense to go along with his post moves. Defensively he will have to learn to play without fouling, which is a problem for many young post players. His success will mean that we will be able to play with a small line up when we want to, rather than when fatigue or foul trouble forces us to.
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Trevor Lacey was regarded by many as the crown jewel of Alabama’s recruiting class. A five star recruit, two-time Alabama’s Mr. Basketball, a Parade All American, you name the honor, he earned it. Trevor is known for his deadly outside shooting, but he also brings a very high basketball IQ with him. He sees the floor well, and is an accomplished passer as well as a ball handler. He is another who will be playing early and playing a lot. The only questions about his game are his defense, and relate to how well he will handle quicker players. Trevor is a student of the game and Grant is a master teacher on the defensive end, so I expect Trevor to adapt well to the college game.
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<v:shape id=_x0000_i1028 style="WIDTH: 75pt; HEIGHT: 90pt" alt="" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.jpg" o:href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/885/1096819.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape>
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Retin Ojomoh, a surprise late addition to our recruiting class, is a 6’1” 195-pound point guard from Belgium. He looks like a defensive back, and indeed he does have that kind of speed and strength. It has been difficult to get information on him, but indications are that his strengths are defense and ball handling, and that offensively he is a penetrate and dish type of player. He will battle returnee Ben Eblen for minutes as backup to Trevor Releford.
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<v:shape id=_x0000_i1029 title='"open the full-size image in a new window"' style="WIDTH: 289.5pt; HEIGHT: 6in" href="http://www.voice-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/042211_DerbyClassic_JZ_037.jpg" o:button="t" alt="Alabama signee Levi Randolph won the dunk contest." type="#_x0000_t75" target="popupWindow"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.jpg" o:href="http://www.voice-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/042211_DerbyClassic_JZ_037.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape>
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Well, if there is someone in our class who is better than Rodney Cooper and Trevor Lacey, you want to know who that player is. Levi Randolph is a 6’5” 195-pound wing player who was regarded as a five star player by Rivals, four start by Scout. He was the Alabama 6A Player of the Year, and the Gatorade Player of the year. Levi is an extraordinary athlete who has great hops, long arms and a good handle. This spring he won the slam-dunk competition at the prestigious Derby Classic (picture above), an invitational event for elite high school hoopsters. While he is not as deadly from the outside as Lacey or Cooper, he is good enough from there that he has to be defended. Levi does need to add a little muscle and upper body strength to cope with the rigors of high-level college play. Again, expect him to see the court early and to play serious minutes.
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></o><o
></o>Bama has welcomed the most highly regarded recruiting class we have had in many years. Not since Wimp Sanderson inked Bobby Lee Hurt and Enis Whatley in the same class have we had two Parade All Americans in one class, but now we have Trevor Lacey and Rodney Cooper, and they may not be the best players in the group. We needed shooters and we have added them. We needed some big guys, and we have added them as well, though the biggest big guy is doing his rehab after summer ACL surgery. We even added a point guard no one knows much about.
<o
></o>In alphabetical order we have:
<v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o
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></o><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o
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></o>Rodney Cooper did not excite many of us when he was an early commit in the spring of 2010. Sure he had a nice stroke, but at 6’7” and 190 he was string bean thin, and he had flown under the radar of the recruiting services, being sort of an after thought as a three star on both Rivals and Scout. A great work ethic and some strenuous S & C work had him up to 210 by the time his senior year rolled around. He showed himself to be a good defender, athletic enough to take the ball to the hoop, and yet he had a silky jump shot that connected on 40% of his three point attempts, a rate slightly higher than the more heralded Trevor Lacey. By the end of his senior season he had earned to four stars, and was to the prestigious Parade All American team. If early reports are true, Rodney will see the court early and often.
<o
></o><v:shape id=_x0000_i1030 style="WIDTH: 225pt; HEIGHT: 337.5pt" alt="" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg" o:href="http://www.lakeland.cc.il.us/alumni/newsletter_09/fullsize/Moussa%20Gueye.JPG"></v:imagedata></v:shape>.
<o
></o><o
></o>Moussa Gueye, a massive 7’0” 280-pound center, comes to Alabama from Senegal by way of Lakeland Junior College. Gueye is further along basketball wise than Carl Engstrom, has a definite low post offense. He sat out his second year of junior college play because of a stress fracture, so he comes to the Tide with three years of eligibility to complete in three academic years. He was likely to have moved into the slot vacated by Chris Hines, but a late summer ACL injury and the subsequent surgery sidelined him indefinitely. I have heard that his rehab is progressing well and that he may be ready to play in February, but that will have to be a wait and see situation. <o
></o><o
></o><v:shape id=_x0000_i1026 style="WIDTH: 116.25pt; HEIGHT: 154.5pt" alt="Nick_Jacobs_Rivals.JPG" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg" o:href="http://media.al.com/sports_impact/photo/8995238-small.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape><o
></o>
<o
></o>Nick Jacobs is a 6’8” 250 center-forward type from Atlanta who was highly recruited, a 4 star prospect in the major scouting service rankings. Physically he resemble former Tide star Richard Hendrix with his wide body and low post presence. With Hines gone and Gueye injured, Jacobs will have to play big minutes early in his career. Jacobs has some nice moves around the basket and soft hands. Offensively he will need to develop some face up offense to go along with his post moves. Defensively he will have to learn to play without fouling, which is a problem for many young post players. His success will mean that we will be able to play with a small line up when we want to, rather than when fatigue or foul trouble forces us to.
<o
></o><v:shape id=_x0000_i1027 style="WIDTH: 218.25pt; HEIGHT: 300pt" alt="" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.jpg" o:href="http://www.nationofblue.com/content/attachments/4328d1291263204-trevor_lacey.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape>
<o
></o>Trevor Lacey was regarded by many as the crown jewel of Alabama’s recruiting class. A five star recruit, two-time Alabama’s Mr. Basketball, a Parade All American, you name the honor, he earned it. Trevor is known for his deadly outside shooting, but he also brings a very high basketball IQ with him. He sees the floor well, and is an accomplished passer as well as a ball handler. He is another who will be playing early and playing a lot. The only questions about his game are his defense, and relate to how well he will handle quicker players. Trevor is a student of the game and Grant is a master teacher on the defensive end, so I expect Trevor to adapt well to the college game.
<o
></o><v:shape id=_x0000_i1028 style="WIDTH: 75pt; HEIGHT: 90pt" alt="" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.jpg" o:href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/885/1096819.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape>
<o
></o>Retin Ojomoh, a surprise late addition to our recruiting class, is a 6’1” 195-pound point guard from Belgium. He looks like a defensive back, and indeed he does have that kind of speed and strength. It has been difficult to get information on him, but indications are that his strengths are defense and ball handling, and that offensively he is a penetrate and dish type of player. He will battle returnee Ben Eblen for minutes as backup to Trevor Releford.
<o
></o><v:shape id=_x0000_i1029 title='"open the full-size image in a new window"' style="WIDTH: 289.5pt; HEIGHT: 6in" href="http://www.voice-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/042211_DerbyClassic_JZ_037.jpg" o:button="t" alt="Alabama signee Levi Randolph won the dunk contest." type="#_x0000_t75" target="popupWindow"><v:imagedata src="file:///d:\users\270425\TEMP\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.jpg" o:href="http://www.voice-tribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/042211_DerbyClassic_JZ_037.jpg"></v:imagedata></v:shape>
<o
></o>Well, if there is someone in our class who is better than Rodney Cooper and Trevor Lacey, you want to know who that player is. Levi Randolph is a 6’5” 195-pound wing player who was regarded as a five star player by Rivals, four start by Scout. He was the Alabama 6A Player of the Year, and the Gatorade Player of the year. Levi is an extraordinary athlete who has great hops, long arms and a good handle. This spring he won the slam-dunk competition at the prestigious Derby Classic (picture above), an invitational event for elite high school hoopsters. While he is not as deadly from the outside as Lacey or Cooper, he is good enough from there that he has to be defended. Levi does need to add a little muscle and upper body strength to cope with the rigors of high-level college play. Again, expect him to see the court early and to play serious minutes.
<o
></o><o
></o>
