Devron Bostick wins an award, Kris Faber makes his decision and Verdell Jones has not

Incoming Gopher recruit, Devron Bostick was recently named the JUCO Div 1 Player of the Year! Bostick led his team to a 28-5 record while averaging 18.2 ppg, 4.9 reb/gm and 3.2 ast/game.

I applaud coach Smith and his staff for identifying Bostick early and getting his commitment. In the excitement and anticipation for freshmen Ralph Sampson, Devoe Joseph and Colten Iverson; I feel as though Bostick is being overlooked. He will bring a new level of athleticism at the off guard spot and he should easily replace the scoring lost by McKenzie. Joseph could be something special in the Gopher backcourt but Bostick will be coming in as a more mature player and will be more likely to contribute immediately.

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On the big man recruiting front, unfortunately the raw big man who was second in the nation in rebounding has chosen DePaul for his collegiate career. In my opinion Faber would have been a welcome addition to provide more depth in the post and would have been a quality change of pace guy with Sampson. But the enticement of living in Chicago and probably the lack of two other incoming big men (Sampson / Iverson) was enough to choose DePaul over Minnesota.

I would have loved to see Faber in the Barn next year but it isn't like we had all of our eggs in that basket. We have Sampson and Iverson both at 6'10" or greater. If we can bring in another quality big man next year (or the next), then this loss isn't all that great of a loss.

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Verdell Jones is still out there, yet to make a decision. The PG is one of the best remaining PGs out there and is considering a number of options, but I've been on record and continue to feel that we'd be better off without him. Maybe I'm greedy but if we are his back up school, then will he really be happy here? If he feels like he is attending a lower tier program will he expect to be the man here? Nothing about his recruiting sits well with me and I fear he'll be more trouble than he's worth. I am a fan of Nolen at PG, I think Joseph will get plenty of minutes a the 1 and I believe we'll bring in a top notch PG in the next recruiting class. All of that points to me that we don't need Jones.

The Hoosier Scoop talked with Jone's father.

Indiana, Kentucky and Minnesota appear to be his leaders with visits planned for Arizona and Virginia. My hope is that he goes to Kentucky.