Jeff Borzello, USF Recruiting

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: SOUTH FLORIDA

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by JEFF BORZELLO

Verbal Commitment Alert: Waverly Austin, 6’10 C from Heat Academy in Martinsville (VA)

Only a week after landing guard Lavonte Dority, South Florida has struck again, this time getting a commitment from big man Waverly Austin.

Austin, a 6-11, 250-lb. forward from Heat Academy in Martinsville, Va., chose the Bulls over Indiana, Cincinnati and Seton Hall.

“I had a good relationship with the coaches,” Austin said. “I’m going to be able to play right away as a freshman, plus my mom lives in Jacksonville so she will be able to come and see all my games.”

Austin is a long and athletic performer who can finish well in transition. He runs the floor very well and has excellent hands when catching passes.

He is confident he can be a factor immediately in the Big East.

“I think I can make a great impact,” Austin said. “I’m going to get a lot of minutes, about 27 minutes per game as a freshman. I can contribute with rebounding and blocking shots. Offensively, I can play an all-around game, I can face-up and shoot, play with my back to the basket. That’s how I will help them.”

Austin visited the USF campus this past weekend, attending the Bulls’ football game against West Virginia and checking out the campus with the current basketball players. He was ready to make a commitment shortly thereafter.

He added that it was always a goal of his to play in the Big East.

“Of course,” Austin said. “It’s the best conference.”

Austin was familiar with current USF big man Augustus Gilchrist, whom he trained with before Gilchrist went to college. He said it helped that he knew a player on the team before committing.

Although Austin’s recruitment is over, he is not resting on his laurels – he wants to improve.

“I want to work on everything,” he said. “I need to get strong, work on my shot. I want to improve my post moves, my conditioning.”

With the recent commitment of Austin and Dority, South Florida head coach Stan Heath has one more scholarship currently available in the 2010 class. One player possibly on the USF radar is Pe’Shon Howard.

Howard was a fast-rising prospect this past summer. The physical guard from Los Angeles who plays for Oak Hill Academy (Va.) was impressive in every event in which he participated.

His recruitment was blowing up quickly. In August, Howard claimed offers from upwards of 12 schools – including St. John’s, Marquette, Rutgers, Harvard, Stanford, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, USC, Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee – and interest from UCLA and Arizona.

The 6-foot-2 Howard seemed to be well on his way to being a marquee recruit in the class of 2010.

Now, he is down to just one offer – South Florida.

“All got guards or something,” he said. “None of them [are] on me anymore.

“Of course [it motivates me]. But I’m a very motivated person; I don’t need a lot to push me.”

Nonetheless, Howard recently took a trip to South Florida, and enjoyed his visit.

“It was cool,” Howard said. “I like it a lot; they are doing some positive things down there.”

When discussing what he did on the visit, one interesting thing stood out in particular.

“I met the AD,” Howard said. “Like the student advisor – I think you call it – she handles all the team classes. [I went] to practice. And I ate a bunch of food.”

With so many regional ties for Howard, it is very difficult to project where he might end up. Without a doubt, though, it seems that South Florida will be in the running – and likely not just because of the cuisine.

“I don’t have a list but I do like them,” said Howard, who also added that he has no favorites or even any more visits scheduled.

When asked if he was going to wait until the spring to sign with a program, Howard responded: “Maybe. Not sure yet.”

While Austin was a visitor this past weekend, he was not alone touring the USF campus and taking in the USF-West Virginia football game with Bulls coach Stan Heath.

Four talented players from Montverde Academy in Orlando made unofficial visits to take in the game as well according to Greg Auman of the St. Petersburg Times.

Haukur “Hawk” Palsson, a 6-foot-6 senior guard from Iceland who has a scholarship offer from USF but isn’t likely to make his decision until the spring signing period was one of the players making a visit. A couple other intriguing names to remember include Mark Overdevest, a 7-foot-2, 260-pound junior center from New Zealand who just enrolled at Montverde this past month and Michael Avery, a 6-5 sophomore guard who transferred to Montverde from Thousand Oaks (CA). Most might recognize Avery’s name as he had previously committed, as an 8th grader, to Kentucky when Billy Gillispie was the head coach at UK. Former Gillispie UK assistant Jeremy Cox is now on Heath’s staff, giving the Bulls a close connection beyond the proximity to Montverde with Avery.

According to Auman, the fourth Monteverde player visiting over the weekend was Caleb Clyburn, a point guard at Montverde who is from Winter Garden.
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