Date Posted:14:49:46 03/23/04 Tue Author: Local Fan Subject: Another Recruit?
The Rivalshoops site reports today that 6-10 John Oates from Don Bosco Prep in NJ took an official visit to HC recently. Does HC have another scholarship to offer for next year? Oates is very similar to Tim Clifford--big and slow, but with the potential to turn into a productive player by junior or senior year. The article says HC has offered Oates but that Oates has also had some contact with Rutgers, Syracuse and Ohio State.
does anyone out there have a definitive answer as to the number of scholarships avaialable this year. jave was only senior so i assume clifford got that scholarship, did doherty get scholarship when richter left program or is he paying own freight for 1st year, rivals does say oates took official visit yesterday, where would his scholarship come from? is fingleton not going to play next year? if oates is being pursued by programs mentioned i think he's more than a project particularly at the pl level. i think you'll also see clifford contributing immediately also. at the pl level if a player can't be somewhat productive right away he's not much of a prospect, just look at the frosh impact in the league this year.
I know nothing about number of available scholarships for next year, nor whether Oates is considering HC, but didn't someone recently post that Willard was in attendance at the NJ state tournament? Could he have been scouting Oates?
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john oates -- dadominate, 18:32:48 03/23/04 Tue
hchoops - you always seem to be in on the recruiting news. what do you think hc's chances of landing oates are? oates and clifford would be an outstanding big-man recruiting class.
Not that I wouldn't take him, but what is the benefit in having two frosh centers, unless Clifford would move to the 4 if Oates is that much better. Is this to hedge against injuries at the 5?
Also, given the competition we are facing...why is HC on his list unless he would not really get much PT at the other schools.
This all seems weird to me. Is a player transfer or something to this effect about to take place? Just speculating...
Oates' game growing in Jersey
RAMSEY, N.J.: A reserve at Don Bosco Prep, John Oates, a 6-10 junior forward from Harriman, has attracted great interest from top Division I colleges.
By Kevin Gleason
Times Herald-Record
kgleason@th-record.com
"Uggghhh!" John Oates screeches when a second straight free throw clangs off the exact spot on the back iron. Behind the hoop reads a wall mural, "Tell my boys I await them in paradise." - St. John Bosco.
Welcome to Don Bosco Prep, a plush parochial preparatory 20 minutes from southern Orange County. Every minute of playing time and morsel of respect are earned in this gym, whether you're an agile 6-foot-10 junior like Oates or not.
Oates, from Harriman, treats practice free throws as they are designed: tie game and a second left. He gathers the miss, settles himself and flicks his wrist for proper shot rotation. Swish. Adjustment made.
Oates allows enough smiles during the two-hour practice to show he's having fun. Even later, when pressed, Oates will swear his love of basketball has been unaffected by pressures of auditioning for a college scholarship.
He loves Bosco, and has never regretted choosing the all-boys school over Monroe-Woodbury or John S. Burke Catholic back in Orange County. Oates and his teammates are drawn to Bosco's camaraderie, school spirit and wealth of academic possibilities. The surroundings make it easier for Oates to answer his 5:45 a.m. alarm with full knowledge he won't be back home until 7:30 p.m.
All that said, he's dead serious about his game and where basketball fits into his being. "He doesn't really accept anything but the best out of himself," Bosco coach Kevin Diverio says.
After all, the once gangly 6-7, 195-pound eighth-grader at Sacred Heart in Monroe is now a 6-10, 245-pound high school junior 20 months from Midnight Madness on some sprawling college campus.
St. John's, Connecticut, Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan - most of the biggies - want him. Everybody knows the potential market for 7-footers, a height doctors consider reachable with Oates showing signs he's still growing.
"Anything with a kid that size, it can happen," Diverio says.
"In eighth grade, all I thought about was the NBA," Oates says when practice ends and he's accidentally spilled Gatorade on his warmup. "Now I think about the NBA, but mainly I think about college."
Hot commodity
The shoe boxes that once held recruiting letters have been replaced by crates, 10 letters a day added to the pile. Oates saves every letter, but where once he devoured each word with bulging eyes, now he reads messages from elite programs and tosses aside the others.
The clichés and sophomoric come-ons can get a little old. Oates laughs telling how he and buddy Chris Rose, a teammate from Middletown, got the same exact letter from a coach - word-for-word - outside the "Dear John," and "Dear Chris," headings.
Out here though, in the foreground of a huge "Home of the Ironmen" mural, recruiting letters are like shameless trash talk: legit only if you have game. A message on the back of Oates' sleeveless T-shirt supports the notion. "Bring your Game,'' it says. "Not your Name."
Oates faces the daily challenge of earning minutes on a team with potentially six Division I players. He plays about half the game off the bench and averages eight points and five rebounds.
In practice Oates bangs with Karl Anderson of Chester, a 6-8½ forward/center who has committed to Quinnipiac, and Tyrell Biggs, a 6-7 bruiser from Rockland County. Losing focus at any time can result in bodily harm or, worse, embarrassment.
Diverio believes Oates' greatness will come with added consistency. With Bosco graduating eight players, Diverio expects Oates to be a centerpiece of next season's team.
"I wouldn't be shocked if John has a better college career than high school career," Diverio says. "When he really fills out, he's going to be a monster. I think he'll be a real force here next year."
Oates will finish up the season and continue his virtual year-round AAU basketball tour. Mostly off his AAU play, he recently was named an honorable mention all-American by Street & Smith's magazine. Oates laughs at the interruption in the family's three-week Cape Cod vacation each August. It coincides with the famed Rucker Tournament in New York City, leaving the Oates a 12-hour, one-day commute so John can play for two hours.
"If I get in foul trouble, oh my God," Oates says of his dad's post-game critique. "I never hear the end of it."
Oates would have it no other way. After all, he loves basketball as he did during simpler times on the CYO team three years ago in Monroe. Each game brings him closer to college and perhaps a pro career.
Basketball paradise may await. For now Oates enjoys a slice of hoops heaven in New Jersey.
Oates, Fisher preliminary selections for McDonald's
So much for the framed picture of former Yankee Rick Cerrone. John Oates has something more meaningful to fit the spot: a nomination certificate for the McDonald's All-American Game.
Oates, of Harriman, is among 1,500 seniors nationwide nominated for the prestigious team. A 6-foot-10 center for Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., Oates is one of 34 New Jersey players nominated.
Kingston guard Artavius Fisher and Chris Cortes of New York Military Academy in Cornwall are among 33 New York players nominated.
Nominations are made by a game selection committee and state representatives who closely monitor the prep scene. The list will be pared 24 players for the East-West game March 31 in Oklahoma City.
In November, Oates visited Oklahoma State, and hopes to round out his allotted visits with trips to Rutgers, Syracuse, Ohio State and Fordham.
He described Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton as "real intense, but a real nice guy. The coaching staff was great,'' Oates said. "I liked the players, I liked the chemistry of the team. Even the chemistry between the coaches was great.''
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Re: An Article About John Oates February 8, 04 -- NTKHC64, 13:03:15 03/25/04 Thu
Don Bosco shows why it is tourney's top seed
Sunday, February 8, 2004
By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer
Don Bosco Prep's Carl Augustin scored 7 points in a 17-3 run to help the Ironmen take control of their Round of 16 win over Queen of Peace.
ALLENDALE - With just over a minute remaining in Queen of Peace's second round Jamboree game with Don Bosco, head coach Dennis Gregory signaled for a timeout, wryly looking over at Bosco head coach with a big smile.
No, he wasn't enjoying the fruits of a major upset, he was just having a moment at the expense of his former assistant when he was the Bosco head coach in the early 1990's. Diverio returned the smile, knowing that his team would be headed to the quarterfinals next week.
With a 71-42 win, the top-seeded Ironmen will now face the up-and-coming Cardinals of Westwood at Paramus High School next Sunday in what will likely be a 7:00 p.m. start.
Don Bosco's Tyrell biggs led all scorers with 22 points.
"We present (Westwood) with some matchup problems," was Diverio's early analysis, "and they'll give us some matchup problems. That's a good basketball team that has been playing very well the last few weeks. They're here (quarters) because they deserve to be here."
As does Don Bosco, now 15-3 on the season. After spotting QP a 5-0 lead in the first 2:30 of the game, the Ironmen quickly righted the ship and turned a 7-3 deficit into a 20-7 lead with 17 straight points in 2:51.
Bosco went to a press after the Golden Griffins' quick start, and it changed the complexion and the tempo of the game. Carl Augustin had 7 of the 17 points in the streak after Chris Rose scored the first seven Bosco points in the game.
"We were going to play the pressure defense at some point," Diverio remarked, "but I didn't think we would have to go to it so quickly."
Mike McTigue (left) scored the game's first two points to help Q of P take and early lead.
Bosco held a 24-11 lead after one period and increased it to 36-20 at the half before scoring the first 8 points of the third quarter. Ryan Kearney broke through for Q of P with a free throw 3:27 into the second half, but the game was basically decided at that point with DB owning a 44-21 lead.
Gregory, in his first year with Queen of Peace (10-6), saw two of his starters, Kearney and Michael Lamego, foul out in the third quarter. Kearney left with 11 points and 7 rebounds, having been the most effective Griffin on the floor.
Augustin finished the game with 18 points despite not playing the entire fourth quarter, including 10 of 13 from the foul line. The guard has become another strong scoring threat for the Ironmen in recent games.
John Oates and the Bosco front line put the Golden Griffins in foul trouble.
"Carl has really stepped up," Diverio noted. "We've been getting consistency out of (Tyrell) Biggs, (John) Oates and Rose, but Carl has added that next dimension, both offensively and defensively."
One of Bosco's goals was to contain QP's Nathan Gainer ("he's the guy who makes them go," Diverio said), and while he topped Queen of Peace with 12 points, he was never a true factor in the game.
The Griffins were 12 of 42 from the floor and 13 of 22 at the line, while Bosco hit 24 of 52 from the field and 19 of 25 free throws. The Ironmen also enjoyed a 37-22 rebounding edge, with Oates claiming 10 boards and Rose 7. Biggs topped all scorers with 22 points and had six rebounds, and Pete Conte had 8 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.
I'm not sure how these things work, but isn't it unusual that a recruit of this quality(at least from the articles and ratings he appears to be a quality recruit) is still available this late in the year? I would've thought a 6'10" kid recruited by Syracuse et al would've committed months ago.
Don't know for sure but think maybe oates had a sub par senior season and bigger programs may have backed off. I read articles of his teams last couple of tournament games and it didn't appear he had big numbers. In any event he would be a great get for RW and hopefully he and Clifford could share the 5 position and free up Nate to move to 4 full time. One more thought, if a scholarship is available for Oates, does this mean Maley's not going to play next year, as it seems he would have gotten the scholarship. Maybe RW would rather have another big man?
Before we get too excited about Oates, let's think back to last year and Mike O'donnell. He also gave us a courtesy visit before signing the next week with NC State. I agree, he would be great for the program, but if all the big schools were seriously looking at him and he visited OSU, How can HC and the mightly PL lure him.
If a scholarship is available because of someone leaving, and Oates gets the scholarship, I still thing RW will go after Maley. He is already in school and paying his own way. He didn't come here for BB and wasn't looking for a free ride.
Here is the Rivals article...
March 23, 2004
Oates on Official Visit
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Jerry Meyer
RivalsHoops.com Recruiting Analyst
RivalsHoops.com caught up with 2004 prospect John Oates last night while on an official visit at Holy Cross. The 6-foot-10, 255-pound center from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, New Jersey spoke with us for a moment before his formal meeting with Coach Ralph Willard.
As of now Oates has an offer from Holy Cross, but he has also been in communication with Rutgers, Syracuse, and Ohio State.
“Right now I am on an official visit at Holy Cross,” said Oates. “The visit is going well. I am about to meet with Coach Willard.”
“Rutgers hasn’t offered yet. They are waiting on my official visit, which will be sometime after the Final Four. I am also talking to Syracuse and Ohio State. I will figure things out more after the Final Four. Starting tomorrow it is a closed period until after the Final Four. More stuff will happen after then.”
Oates indicated that he is in no hurry to make a decision and will wait till the signing period.
According to Oates, he averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks per game for state runner up Don Bosco Prep. Don Bosco Pep finished 26-4, but Oates spoke of the disappointment of losing a close game in the state finals.
“We lost a close one to Seton Hall Prep in the finals,” said Oates. “I believe the score was 47 to 46. It was a heartbreaker to lose like that, since we had worked so hard. It had to end, but it was tough.”
Oates had previously officially visited Oklahoma State and had interest from South Carolina, but he said there is nothing in the works with those two schools anymore.
If we've offered, which it appears we have, John is either being offered after a prep year and everyone else is still on board the team OR someone is leaving. Those are the two options as I see it and as of right now, there is no info to show that he is being offered after a prep school year.
Maybe more to the Fingleton situation than we know right now.
Oates would contribute well before his "junior or senior year". He also could play a 4. I know nothing about his situation but wonder if he would choose HC/PL over any chance to play in BE (Rutgers) or Ohio State. I do think he was thinking much bigger coming off his junior year. He would be a GREAT pick up. He is not "slow". I have never seen Clifford play but you seem to have very modest expectations for him as well. I think you are wrong about both guys.
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Re: Another Recruit? -- tonyt, 16:25:45 03/27/04 Sat
that's great news as i don't think there's any way hc gets this kid if big east or big ten offered, i think rutgers is an up and coming program so don't think its a big slight that they're not recruiting him, even if they think he's not big east type talent i think he will be a big factor in the pl if we're lucky enough to get him
