Josh Davis, senior, Athens Drive basketball
When I last spoke to Athens Drive boys' basketball coach Robert Clemons about a month back, he told me his star forward Josh Davis had picked up a few offers for next year.
Davis, who averaged 25.1 points and 10+ rebounds per game this year, now has scholarship offers from Gardner-Webb, High Point and Charleston Southern.
Davis told me after the Tri-Eight conference tournament opener — a 77-71 win over Cary in which he posted 34 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists and five steals — that he was interested in spending a year at prep school after he committed to a college.
I had also heard rumors N.C. State was interested in Davis for a walk-on spot. Davis told me that State's coaches had indeed talked to him about either walking-on or going to prep school. Davis said he wanted to commit to State and then prep (or reclassify), not the other way around.
Clemons also said that State had not talked to Davis a second time, so don't expect Davis to play for the red and white — unless it's the red and white of Gardner-Webb.
It'll be interesting to see how Charleston Southern plays a factor in Davis' recruitment. The Bucs already have a signee from the area in Middle Creek's Tom Tankelewicz.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the Charleston Southern coaching staff went to a Middle Creek-Athens Drive game at some point and came away going "We need to talk to that Davis kid."
Eloheim Palma, senior, Cary wrestling
For the nation's No. 1-ranked heavyweight, the recruiting interest hasn't really "picked up" per se because it's always been intense.
In an e-mail from Cary wrestling coach Jerry Winterton, he confirmed that Appalachian State, Wisconsin, N.C. State, Iowa, Pittsburgh and Illinois are all after Palma's services next year.
Winterton also said Palma will visit Wisconsin and Iowa in the coming weeks.
For those of you unfamiliar with wrestling recruiting (and who isn't) keep in mind that as a part of the Title IX ruling, wrestling hands out partial scholarships.
That could explain why Appalachian State is still involved even while Big Ten powerhouses Iowa (currently undefeated and No. 1 in the nation), Illinois (currently No. 8) and Wisconsin (currently No. 17) are all in pursuit.
Appalachian may be able to put together a full scholarship while more prestigious schools can only offer half-scholarships.
Eloheim's brother Jainor (also a heavyweight) was an ACC champion his senior year at N.C. State under current coach Carter Jordan.
Should Eloheim stay that close to home, it would give the NCSU wrestling program a much-needed shot in the arm after completing arguably the worst season in school history this past year.
Comments
Commits to State
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 15:49 — nastydawg81FYI
thanks so much
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 17:49 — jmikeblake (author)We just posted a little something on it. We'll have much more on it tomorrow. Guess I should've seen it coming thanks to my "don't look for him to be wearing red and white next year" comment.
add UNC
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 11:23 — jmikeblake (author)to the list of teams after Palma