Connecticut Recruiting, DePaul Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting, Zach Smart

RECRUITING UPDATE: JARRID FAMOUS

Westchester CC big man has plenty of Big East schools in chase

by Zach Smart

If you ask Dave Vandiver, the assistant coach at Westchester Community College (Valhalla, N.Y.), Jarrid Famous is in pretty good spirits these days. He’s handled the pressure and answered to the lofty expectations that both head coach, Winston Nicholas, and Vandiver have placed on their standout 6-foot-11 center. Famous, a product of New Rochelle’s Blessed Sacrament, once the laughing-stock of Westchester County basketball (a few years prior to Famous’ arrival) is averaging 24 points and 9.6 boards as the alpha dog of the Westcos offense.

During a recent 79-75 win over Moberly Area Community College, the Bronx native scored 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. He was 11-for-20 from the field and connected on 7-of-9 free throws, helping the 3-2 Westcos gut out a pivotal victory.

“So far he’s been able to rise to the occasion,” said Vandiver, the former Woodlands High (Greenburgh, N.Y.) coach who mentored Famous during an ultra-productive summer.

“After seeing how much his stock has risen and how much Division-I interest he’s received, he’s still focused on having a great season. He’s not getting caught up in the recruiting process.”

Bobby Gonzalez, one of the top recruiters on the eastern seaboard who gets New York area players to sign with him like Jessica Alba gets dudes to stare at her, appears to be the front-runner.

“They are going really hard,” said Vandiver of Seton Hall.

Famous has visited the school and witnessed the Hall’s 71-50 clubbing of Columbia back on Nov.16. The Hall also made a good recruiting pitch to the behemoth center by topping then no.20 USC in a 63-61 upset.

“He liked what he saw (when he was up there) but he said he was going to wait until April to make a decision,” said Vandiver.

You can’t blame him. While the Hall may be a top choice and a good fit for Famous, Louisville, West Virginia, DePaul, Connecticut, Missouri, and Xavier are still actively pursuing one of the top JUCO players in America. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and St. John’s were also after Famous but they seem to be an afterthought at this point.

Seton Hall is clearly making the biggest push for Famous, but Vandiver says he is going to weigh all of his possible options. So, other visits to major Division-I schools are on the horizon. Famous will give it a long, hard look and eventually choose the best situation available to him. Right now, it’s all about the business at hand. That’s helping WCC to a banner season and continuing to prosper.

“We expect him to continue to show his athleticism,” Vandiver said. “His physical stuff is coming along, he’s packed on some muscle. The sky is the limit. The way he goes, we will go.”

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