Connecticut Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting, Zach Smart

ALMOST FAMOUS: JARRID FAMOUS UPDATE

Westchester CC soph big man getting lots of Big East attention

By Zach Smart

These are fast and famous times in the history of Westchester Community College basketball.

Situated in the New York City suburb of Valhalla, N.Y., Westchester Community College was never known as a basketball breeding ground.

WCC’s squad hadn’t surfaced as much of a perennial power on the JUCO scene and were never defined by one, dominant 6-foot-11 senior who’s instigated a whirlpool of drool from a plethora of major Division-I coaches.

Enter, Jarrid Famous.

In just two seasons, the rangy kid from the Bronx has watched doubters morph into believers, muted naysayers, detractors, and popped pundits’ lips. He’s emerged into one of the most highly-sought after JUCO players in the nation and the best the area has seen in recent memory.

Oh, and while were on it, Famous has also led the Westcoes to back-to-back Mid-Hudson championships.

WCC pulled off a pulsating 69-68 victory over Sullivan Community Saturday night, on Lateef Willis’ jaw-dropping 3-pointer with 2.1 ticks remaining.

Famous, who has racked up more hardware than Timmy’s Tool Shed during his short stay at Westchester, was named Player of the Year in both the Mid-Hudson conference and Region 15.

Famous is averaging 25 points and 15 boards per game. Famous, who’s game has elevated by leaps and bounds following a summer during which he packed on muscle and smoothed over little holes in his game, is the NJCAA’s leader in rebounds. His points make him the third leading scorer on the JUCO circuit.

“Jarrid is just trying to finish the season strong,” said assistant coach Dave Vandiver, who helped Famous refine aspects of his game over the summer.

“He hasn’t narrowed his list (of potential Division-I suitors) down. He probably won’t make a decision until the spring.”

That list Vandiver refers to is a pretty prestigious one. First-Class schools such as Seton Hall, West Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut, Xavier, and most recently Pittsburgh, the country’s No. 1 ranked team, sent an assistant to watch Famous in action. All are after the services of the walking double-double big man.

Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and St. John’s have also shown interest. Seton Hall, which Famous visited in the fall, has been in active pursuit of the big fella.

After posting POY numbers during the 2007-08 campaign with 20 points, 10 boards, and three blocks per game, Famous emerged into the truth after a wild summer during which he began to bleed basketball.

He worked with Vandiver on everything from footwork to bulldozing his way to the hoop.

The two would meet every Tuesday and Thursday, teacher-student sessions in which Vandiver would point out flaws in Famous’ game Tuesday and challenge him to rectify the problem that Thursday.

“He would come back on Thursday having already shown drastic improvement,” said Vandiver, who put Woodlands HS (Greenburgh, N.Y.) on the map, leading the Falcons to consecutive upsets of top-20 NYS teams en route to a berth in the 2003 “Final Four” at the White Plains County Center.

“This boy’s hungry, he’s aggressive, but he’s humble at the same time. I told him, if you buy into it, everybody’s going be knocking on your door (before the season).”

Oh, how coach’s words have proved prophetic.

BLESSED SACRIFICE:

Famous played at Blessed Sacrament St. Gabriel HS in New Rochelle, N.Y.

He revitalized in ailing program (Blessed Sacrament was the laughing stock of Section 1/New York State back in 2002 & 2003), putting his full offensive arsenal on display while keeping opponents out of the paint.

He was under-recruited his senior year, though America East schools had offered. Famous wouldn’t settle. He sacrificed a year to up his overall stock.

Famous opted to do a post-graduate year at Gulf Shores Academy in Houston (where NBA high-riser Gerald Green attended). With the school’s proximity to his New York home and other issues thrust to the forefront, Famous headed back home and found his niche with the Westcoes.

For Famous, the road to success was about as straight as a trip down Westchester’s 9A in snow-blanketed streets. That same road is leading him to a storied Division-I program.

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