Thursday, April 06, 2000XU, Temple vie for forward Brooks
Michigan native to visit Muskies; JC players in mix
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati EnquirerXavier may end up battling Atlantic 10 Conference champion Temple off the court.
Robert Brooks, a 6-foot-81/2, 210-pound forward from Saginaw, Mich., is scheduled to make an official recruiting visit to Xavier the weekend of April 15, his coach, Dave Slaggert, said Wednesday.
Brooks is visiting Temple this week. He has no other trips scheduled.
The spring signing period begins April 12.
Brooks had signed a letter of intent to attend Eastern Kentucky last fall but was released from that commitment after coach Scott Perry re signed in March.
Brooks had a strong junior year, helping lead Arthur Hill High School to the Michigan state final. He played with Jason Richardson, who plays for NCAA champion Michigan State.
Brooks averaged 10 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 blocks as a senior, Slaggert said. He does not turn 18 until August.
“He's a hard-working kid, a good character kid,” Slaggert said. “He's got a great attitude. He's kind of an unselfish player. ... He's a very good defensive player.”
Among other schools interested in Brooks: St.Joseph's, Central Michigan, Loyola (Ill.) and Wisconsin, which just recently started calling.
Brooks, who knows Xavier junior and Saginaw native Maurice McAfee, already has qualified academically, Slaggert said.
Slaggert plans to come to town with Brooks and teammate Rick Wil son, who is interested in playing for Northern Kentucky.
Xavier is also recruiting two of the top unsigned junior-college players: Johnnie Selvie (Southeastern Community College, West Burlington, Iowa) and Jackie Rogers (Barton County Community College, Kan.).
Rogers, a 6-7, 220-pound power forward, is from Syracuse, N.Y., and played on the same AAU team as Xavier freshman Lionel Chalmers. He is being recruited by Massachusetts, Louisville and St.Bonaventure and already has visited those schools.
Selvie, from Flint, Mich., is a 6-7, 225-pound power forward who helped lead Southeastern (34-4) to the junior-college national championship. He was named all-tournament and averaged 15 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks for the season.
Southeastern coach Joe O'Brien said Selvie has visited Louisville and South Florida and took an unofficial visit to Michigan. He is expected to visit 1999 NCAA champ Connecticut this weekend.
“He's awfully talented,” O'Brien said. “He's an explosive jumper, a very, very good rebounder and a good defender. He can run the floor. He's small for a power forward for a high-major (college), but he plays bigger than 6-7.”
The Musketeers probably will get an unofficial visit from Princeton High School senior Erik Daniels, the player's father, David Daniels, said.
His son has visited Temple and Clemson. Michigan and Kentucky will make in-home visits this weekend.
Randy Holbrook, who was ready to commit to XU last fall, is still trying to qualify academically. He took a standardized test last weekend.
Randy Kriewall, Holbrook's coach at Kirkwood (Mo.) High School, said Holbrook is starting to look at junior colleges.
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