Recruiting: FRONTCOURT

Sporting News, The, July 19, 1999 by Stephen Wacaser

RELATED ARTICLE: recruiting dish

CAMPUS RUMBLINGS AND LOCKER ROOM WHISPERS

Wing Desmon Farmer of Flint, Mich., missed a chance to convince Big Ten schools he was a worthy prospect when he tore a knee ligament as the July evaluation period began. He is expected to be ready for his senior year at Northwestern High.... Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy picked up a quick, rugged shooter when 6-1 Jake Sullivan of Oakdale, Minn., committed.... Michigan will get a commitment soon from 5-8 point guard Avery Queen of Maine Central Institute. Former MCI coach Max Good, now an assistant at UNLV, raves about Queen's ability to run a team.... DeeAundre Hulett a 6-7 forward from College of the Sequoias in California, may not be out of the picture for teams wishing to recruit him. Hulett filed for the NBA draft but pulled out following the predraft camp. NCAA rules allow players to do this and retain eligibility, but not high school or junior college prospects. Hulett's advisers hope to secure a waiver of that rule. An undersized power forward, Hulett will need a great Division I career to catch the attention of NBA teams.... Guard Scooter Sherrill of Salisbury, N.C., says he'll wait to see if he's offered a scholarship by North Carolina before seriously considering another school. Sherrill lists Kentucky and NC State as alternate choices.... Small forward Jared Jeffries of Bloomington, Ind., one of the nation's top 15 prospects, says recent transfers by Indiana players won't affect his decision whether to become a Hoosier. He is concerned about pressure from hometown residents.... Marcus Toney-El, a 6-5 wing from East Orange, N.J., has committed to Seton Hall.... New Iowa coach Steve Alford is trying to take advantage of ties to his home state by pushing to get involved with Jeffries and 6-9 Zach Randolph of Marion.... Guard Omar Cook of New York says he got calls from only seven schools the first two weeks colleges could contact seniors-to-be. Most feel he'll go to North Carolina or Kentucky.

RELATED ARTICLE: SEE A different GAME

If you hope to watch New York City point guard Omar Cook this summer, don't bother looking in, say, New York City. Cook, who attends Christ the King High in Middlevillage, N.Y., is one of many top prospects who will fill their summers playing basketball and staying in hotels. The NCAA's summer evaluation period runs from July 8-31, and Cook will be fully evaluated when it's over.

Cook is spending nearly every minute of July on the road. He will then spend part of August as a counselor at Michael Jordan's camp in Santa Barbara, Calif., and then will attend the Five-Star Camp in Honesdale, Pa.

RELATED ARTICLE: Check out TSN online and get the scoop on college hoops

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Go to sportingnews.com/cbasketball/recruit/ for Mike DeCourcy's biweekly columns, Stephen Wacaser's complete list of the top senior frontcourt prospects (No. 1 through No. 50) and Brick Oettinger's weekly recruiting news and notes column.3