Projo College Hoops

By KEVIN McNAMARA

Providence College's basketball staff had spent a ton of time evaluating and recruiting Massachusetts schoolboy star Evan Smotrycz but he is going to Michigan.
It is unclear of the Friars had ever actually offered the 6-9 shooter a scholarship but the Friars clearly expressed quite a bit of interest.
"He's got great upside ... he's a very talented kid," said Vin Pastore, Smotrycz coach with the Mass Rivals AAU team. "He's visited a ton of schools - Notre Dame, Providence, Syracuse, an unofficial to Michigan, so quite a few. Stanford was interested in him and Oregon State loved him. But I think everyone truly knew that with his skill set, the guy that could best utilize his skill set is Coach (John) Beilein."
Smotrycz played this year for New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire and is one of several N.E. prepsters the Friars are chasing. One is a teammate of Smotrycz's with the Rivals, Lawrence (Mass.) native Cason Desrosiers. Syracuse, Boston College, Arizona State and Georgia Tech are just some of the other schools after a versatile big man some scouts rate one of the nation's top 50 juniors.
The other clear Providence target is Gerard Coleman, a 6-3 guard from Boston who plays at the Tilton School in New Hampshire. He is looking hardest at PC, BC, Connecticut and Louisville but also hearing from Clemson, Virginia, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt.
With Smotrycz off the board, it'll be interesting if other juniors follow. College coaches are resticted to seeing players only at their high schools this time of year and not at the elite AAU tournaments going on around the country virtually every weekend. PC, like other schools, have been pressing Desrosiers and Coleman for a commitment but those two haven't made a decision yet.
PC is also mentioned with several other members of the Class of 2010, including guards Melvin Ejim of Brewster (NH) Academy, Dante Holmes of Baltimore, Roy Marble, Jr., from Michigan and forwards Jordan Latham of Baltimore and Devon Collier of Jersey City, NJ.

 Tags  Carson Desrosiers Gerard Coleman PC Recruiting

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