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Date Posted: 17:46:38 07/27/04 Tue
Author: dent
Subject: possible recruit from Southern Utah
Area Spotlight
Summer basketball gives SC's Leavitt the best exposure
By F. A. KRIFT
fakrift@thespectrum.com
LAS VEGAS -- Snow Canyon senior Coby Leavitt has the height at 6-feet-9. He has the bloodlines: His father, Coby Sr., played at the University of Utah and professionally in Europe. He has the basketball skills, too.
Leavitt just needed the skills to be seen by the right people: college coaches.
In the hectic world of college basketball recruiting, most basketball programs don't have a road map that leads to St. George. Southern Utah is basketball's backwater compared to Los Angeles, New York and Chicago and in many ways the only road out -- that is the only way to a college scholarship for basketball -- is to find the coaches and let them see you play.
Leavitt's way out has been playing for the Salt Lake Metro basketball club, a national summer league team that competes in adidas-sponsored tournaments.
With Salt Lake Metro, Leavitt played against the elite players from around the United States over the weekend at the adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas, and he was exposed to college coaches that would normally pass on a trip to watch him play at Snow Canyon.
Leavitt has made it easy for coaches to locate him. And with his performance all summer on the tournament circuit, he's made it easy for them to like him. In two short months of touring, Leavitt has risen from a mid-major recruit with questions about his weight -- as in a lack of it at 185 pounds -- to a WAC and possible Mountain West Conference recruit with a game that supersedes weight issues.
"The graph on Leavitt is still on the upswing," Salt Lake Metro founder and coach Dave Hammer said. "Leavitt is cruising along here. I almost want him to stay out (playing in tournaments through August). He has a chance to blow up."
The college coaches' current enjoyment can be measured in the exquisitely organized red crate that Leavitt's mother, Carol, put together. Yellow dividers separate the letters and media guides from each school interested in her son. Among the obvious suitors are the local schools like Utah State and Utah and California schools like Pepperdine and Santa Clara University. But mixed in are East Coast schools like Marist College and Yale.
"(Summer league basketball) is one of the only ways a kid from a small school in a rural area has the exposure that allows college coaches to see him," Carol Leavitt said.
The highest of admiration from college coaches comes in the form of a formal scholarship offer. After a grand four-game performance over the weekend, Leavitt received that from Fresno State University, Carol Leavitt said Sunday.
Coaches had reason to be impressed. While Leavitt's teammates who are being recruited by UNLV, Louisville and other national programs toiled in a loss Friday against a team from Colorado, Leavitt shined, scoring 16 points and missing only one of his first nine shots. He had a nice dunk and showed range on his jumper to 15 feet.
No surprise but Fresno State assistants were among the 25 or so coaches on hand.
And Leavitt did it all in typical fashion. Like his soft-spoken demeanor off the court -- "so laid back," his mom says -- Leavitt just did his job on it. He scored without yelling. He blocked shots without a finger wag. He politely listened to his coach's instruction. His play, not his mouth, filled coaches' notepads.
"I definitely see myself getting better," Leavitt said. "I think it's working great."
The impact of summer basketball on Leavitt's recruitment is obvious, too.
"It's absolutely imperative," Hammer said. "Coaches come and watch a thousand (recruits) play. They see Coby play versus his peer group. The coaches get to see him against athletic guys. Coby gets to play the elite guys. If they see him play against Dixie, they see him against a 6-3 guy and still have questions."
Leavitt has taken unofficial visits to Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount University and Cal Poly, but with Leavitt's recent ascension Hammer said soft feelers have been put out by basketball's big boys like UCLA.
Bigger name programs bring awe to the onlookers interested in his recruitment, but they don't mean a better fit for Leavitt. His college choice will be based on what is best for him as a student and a player, he said.
But an increase in recruitment means playing with Salt Lake Metro has unveiled Leavitt to colleges near and far that would otherwise miss out on his talent.
Heavier recruitment means more phones ringing and a lot more letters.
Leavitt's mom better get another crate. Thanks to Salt Lake Metro, it looks like one won't be enough.
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Dent --- You've been Doing SOME Digging -- Bronco66, 00:36:00 07/28/04 Wed
good get Dent ... maybe we have to add Digger to the Dent ... as you seem to
have dug this one out of Southern Utah of all places ...
Looking for more info it seems that Coby Sr. was drafted twice ... in 1979 by
the 76'ers (9th round) and 1980 by our friends the Suns (6th round)
A few Pictures of Mr. Leavitt from the net (some of which appear to be the
wrong person)
the following is from the
2002-2003
Salt Lake Tribune All-State Boys Basketball Team
Coby Leavitt, Jr.,
Snow Canyon
Interesting the Coby (jr.) is not looking at Utah schools (as is often the case with good Utah athletes ... check GU's board) but seems to be concentrating on the West Coast schools (the Insiders site show High Interest for Cal Poly, Fresno State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, San Jose State, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and Medium interest for Oregon, Portland, and Utah) of that lot SCU should stand a good shot if he really has that level of interest in us ...
don't know how this works (if the Student Athlete makes some sort of indication of his/her desires)
apparently he has made "unofficial" visits to that included LMU (my guess
when his AAU team was in LA) but nothing "official" yet ... Fresno St. apparently has made an offer (at the Vegas Rebook Big Time tourney???)
I hope the staff is checking him out ... seems to me I remember reading somewhere that Steve Nash was originally scoped out at a Vegas tourney .... the Hinterland have been very good to SCU ... and likewise ...
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"Best Fit" -- Bronco4Life, 03:05:10 07/28/04 Wed
"'I definitely see myself getting better,' Leavitt said. 'I think it's working great.'"
"Bigger name programs bring awe to the onlookers interested in his recruitment, but they don't mean a better fit for Leavitt. His college choice will be based on what is best for him as a student and a player, (his AAU Coach) said."
If he really is focused on a great STUDENT/athlete environment then Coby will give Santa Clara a good looking over. Good Coaches, an environment that stresses the academics, and great academics to be stressed. Not pressure to be an athlete first.
When ever I get a chance to meet, or read about the exceptional people that have played at Santa Clara (the Wagners (Ali), Joneses(Brent & Brian), Nashes (Steve), Cannons (Joe), Awtreys (Dennis), Chastains (Brandi) etc.) who are great people as well as great students, and great athletes it makes me glad that my school does it "right".
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update -- dent, 22:26:18 10/05/04 Tue
according to his theinsidershoops.com page, Coby Leavit is interested in Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine. looks like SCU is out of the running. the page also indicates that SCU never gave him an offer
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