McCain's visit to Miami Valley
The Ohio Players
Local Olympian brings home silver
Recruiting analyst likes UD-bound Staten
High-scoring Thurgood Marshall point guard gives Flyers a verbal commitment as sophomore season ends.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
DAYTON — The University of Dayton landed one of Ohio's top sophomores Wednesday, Feb. 27, when Juwan Staten gave a verbal commitment to continue his basketball career with the Flyers.
Staten, a point guard at Thurgood Marshall High School in Dayton, will make a formal announcement at a news conference in the school library today at 12:30 p.m.
Extras
The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder averaged 23.8 points and 8.8 assists a game this season for the 14-8 Cougars, who are coached by his father, Billy Staten.
"I really like him both as a player and as a person," said Brian Snow of Rivals.com. "He's real quick, with an explosive first step. He can blow by his defender. He also has a good feel for the game. He knows how to play the point guard position, but at the same time is capable of scoring.
"The best part of his game is that first-step explosion to get by somebody, and then once he's into the lane, he knows what to do."
Staten got strong interest from Cincinnati, Dayton, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue and Xavier, with UD and XU coming through with early scholarship offers. He decided to put a stop to the recruiting barrage and play his college ball at home. He'll be a Flyer freshman in the 2010-11 season.
Snow said Staten and Cleveland Benedictine shooting guard Cameron Wright "are generally considered the third- and fourth-best players in the state. You could argue the order."
Nos. 1-2 are power forwards Jared Sullinger of Columbus Northland and Adreian Payne of Jefferson.
Sullinger and Wright have committed to Ohio State. Payne has not committed, although he's received offers from UC, UD and Xavier, and is being heavily recruited by Indiana, Ohio State and West Virginia.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.
| Young guns | ||||
| Ohio's top sophomore boys basketball players, according to rivals.com: | ||||
| Name | Ht./Wt. | Pos. | High school | College |
| 1. Jared Sullinger | 6-6, 225 | PF | Col. Northland | Ohio State |
| 2. Adreian Payne | 6-8, 210 | PF | Jefferson | Not committed |
| 3. Juwan Staten | 5-10, 160 | PG | Thurgood Marshall | Dayton |
| 4. Cameron Wright | 6-4, 180 | SG | Cle. Benedictine | Ohio State |
