BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: DEPAUL

July 23, 2007


COMMITMENT ALERT: Kene Obi, 7'2 (C) from South Kent Prep School (CT).

Jerry Wainwright has been busy leading the USA U-19 squad to a silver medal this summer, but that has not stopped the DePaul head coach from filling the last available scholarship for the 2007-2008 season as DePaul Finds a 7'2 Center (Daily Herald) in Kene Obi who play at South Kent last season.


Projected 2007-2008 Roster:

Seniors: Draelon Burns (SG), Cliff Clinkscales (PG), Karron Clarke (WF), Wes Green (C)
Juniors: Jabarie Currie (SG), Matija Poscic (F)
Sophomores: Will Walker (PG), Thijin Moses (F)
Freshmen: Darquavis Tucker (SG), Mac Koshwal (PF), Mike Bizoukas (PG), Mario Stula (G/F), Kene Obi (C)
2008 Commitment: Jeremiah Kelly (PG)


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Kene Obi becomes the 6th commitment for the class of 2007 as the 7'2 center joins Mario Stula, Nyal “Mac” Koshwal, Dar Tucker, Mike Bizoukas and Matija Poscic in the class recently. Obi continues a trend of international players coming to the United States and DePaul has been one of the leaders in this movement. Stula and Poscic are natives of Croatia and Koshwal and sophomore Thijin Moses are Sudanese-born players. Obi is another African-born player as he hails from Nigeria.

Obi just began playing basketball at the age of 15. He played sparingly at South Kent last year as he was part of a loaded frontcourt with Ayodele Coker, Mathew Bryan-Amaning and Christian Morris ahead of him. However, facing those guys in practice every day helped the development of Obi and schools like USC and Wake Forest were interested in his progress, as well as Lamar and Binghampton. Like many big men, the best basketball for Obi is still ahead of him. While he might not make an immediate impact this season, he definitely adds depth to an area DePaul desperately needs it.


As for 2008, keep in mind Teeng Akol, 6'10 from OSNA (reclassified from 2007), another native of Sudan that DePaul has been pursuing quite heavily. Akol's 2008 teammate, John Riek, who might be in the class of 2008 also has been on the DePaul radar since he landed in the USA. The Blue Demons currently have three scholarships to give for 2008 and Akol has been a main target for months. DePaul got a commitment from PG Jeremiah Kelly, who like Mak Koshwal and Thijin Moses played at Chicago's Boys to Men Prep School. They need to replace Cliff Clinkscales, Draelon Burns, Wes Green and Karron Clarke who will be seniors in 2007-2008 and kelly was an excellent start. Other names that have been mentioned with DePaul as the summer moves along have been 6'3 G Tyshawn Taylor of St. Anthony's (NJ), who has opened many eyes this summer. Drazen Zlovaric, a 6'8 versatile wing, has also gotten attention of several schools, including DePaul. Jerry Wainwright certainly had some extra time to see Zlovaric play as he was part of Serbia's U-19 national team that went up against the Wainwright-coached USA U-19 squad in international competition. DePaul's search for a wing also has them very much involved in the growing race for Mookie Jones of Peekskill HS (NY) and Lance Goulbourne of the Hun School (NJ). Each prospect has been coveted by several Big East schools and their excellent play this summer has expanded their recruitment to some of the biggest names nationally.

With a tremendous amount of local talent in the immediate area and the high profile environment of the Big East to offer recruits, it should be an exciting time to follow DePaul recruiting. A great resource to also check out on Chicago and the rest of the state of Illinois high school basketball and recruiting is Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye. They do an excellent job, for free, on keeping their readers up to date on players from Illinois and the surrounding area and their recrutiting situations. We check them out often to get the scoop on who DePaul, Marquette and Notre Dame, for the most part, are checking out from the area.

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