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Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Indiana star Berry feels at home with Flyers
Jesse Berry is an avid weight-lifter, one of the few athletes at Lafayette Jefferson High School to bench press, squat and clean and jerk more than 950 pounds.
But when the Indiana native came to Dayton for a visit, he realized the UD players had spent just as much time in the body-building arena.
“I could tell when we went shirts-and-skins. I have some work to do,” he said.
Berry was one of five recruits who signed with the Flyers today. The 6-foot-1 senior averaged 27.3 points last season, finishing second in the state in scoring to Ohio State recruit DeShaun Thomas.
He made a commitment to the Flyers several months ago and was glad to be able to make it official.
“I feel really comfortable at Dayton,” he said. “I like all the players. I like all the coaches. It’s a great fit for me. It reminds me of home.”
He was excited about joining forces with Brandon Spearman and Juwan Staten, two other signees.
“I’ve known those guys all my life. I’m real close to them. I played with them when we were little. I never thought we’d play on the same team, but now we are, and it’s great.”
Asked what he’ll bring to the team, Berry said: “I’m more of a play-maker, slash shooter, slash defensive player. I’ll be an all-around player when I get to Dayton.”
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Gregory had to bite tongue while Staten was being grilled
During the two years between Juwan Staten’s verbal commitment to Dayton and his signing today, UD coach Brian Gregory became more and more impressed with Staten’s off-court qualities while at the same time inwardly seething over the treatment he was getting.
Some Flyer fans were guilty of questioning whether Staten would follow through with his oral pledge, and recruitniks peppered him with questions about that matter, too.
“I’ve coached 20 years. During this time, I’ve never seen a player have to reconfirm his commitment more than Juwan. I mean, continually have to reconfirm his commitment. Through that, here’s what the kid achieved: Led his underdog high school team (Thurgood Marshall) to the state championship game, was part of the NCAA student leadership group, represented the United States in USA basketball, was student of the week at Oak Hill Academy and solidified himself as one of the top point guards in the country. While all this was going on, he stayed focused and never let himself get derailed from what was important.
“The hardest part for me through all this was, when all this stuff was swirling around, I could never comment on it (because of NCAA rules). I feel sorry for the kid because it’s always the kid who has to come out and say, ‘Listen, this is where I’m going.’ I’m sitting back wondering, when is enough enough? How many times does a kid have to say he’s not changing his mind, that he’s committed to the University of Dayton? He’s acting at the maturity level some of these other people should be acting. And I can’t say anything, like, ‘Hey leave the kid alone.’ “
Chris Wright, the junior star for the Flyers, went through some of the same treatment, but Gregory said: “As much as a guy like Chris Wright went through that, you magnify it by 25 times for Juwan — because recruiting has changed in the last three or four years. The Web sites are out of control. Everybody is an expert in recruiting. Rumors, gossip and blog innuendoes run rampant.
“But he stayed level-headed through all that. He gets a lot of credit for that, and the parents get a lot of credit for that. He demonstrated a maturity far beyond his years.”
Wright was ranked as the 48th-best prospect nationally by Scout.com when he came out in 2007 and the 88th-best by Rivals.com.
Staten is ranked 82nd by Scout, 44th by Rivals and 64th by ESPN (there were no ESPN ratings in ‘07).
Asked if the 5-11 point guard is the best recruit he’s landed in seven years at UD, Gregory said: “There’s no question he’s the highest ranked player we’ve ever brought in. And he comes with an overall pedigree with more accolades than anybody else.
“As his dad (Bill Staten) said to me when we talked, ‘Juwan knows he has to earn everything here.’ I think that’s one of the reasons he came here. Earning something is a lot better than having it handed to you.”
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Staten, four others sign with UD
Juwan Staten, one of the most heralded recruits in University of Dayton basketball history, has signed a national letter-of-intent with the Flyers this morning, making his commitment official.
Staten, a 5-11 senior point guard for Oak Hill Academy, is ranked as the 44th-best prospect nationally by Rivals.com and the 64th-best player by ESPN.com.
All five Flyer recruits signed today. The other four — Devin Oliver of Kalamazoo, Mich.; Brandon Spearman of Chicago; Jesse Berry of Lafayette, Ind.; and Ralph Hill of Westerville, Ohio — help give UD a recruiting class that is ranked in the top 30 nationally by Rivals.com and Scout.com.
“Today’s a great day for our future,” UD coach Brian Gregory said. “It started a little more than two years ago when Juwan made his commitment. As excited as I was that day, I’m even more excited today.
“What we did a few years ago was build the program with a great commitment to local talent, and Juwan is another example of that. I believe in the last four years we’ve been able to bring in the top player in this area (counting junior Chris Wright, redshirt freshman Josh Benson and true freshman Matt Kavanaugh). We wanted to make that commitment not only to this area, but also to the Dayton Public Schools.”
Staten may be the most talented player Gregory has recruited in his seven seasons. The Dayton native is ranked as the 11th-best point guard nationally by ESPN and the 12th-best by Rivals.
He was a little less highly regarded by Scout.com, but he still was ranked No. 82 overall and No. 17 as a point guard.
“With the way we play, the pace we play at and the intensity we play with, you need a high-quality floor general to lead that attack, and we have that in Juwan,” Gregory said. “He’s proven that right here in the city in leading Thurgood Marshall to the state finals last year. He’s proving it at a national high school level at Oak Hill. And he proved it all summer long winning all those championships with his AAU team as well.”
Gregory believes playing high-caliber competition at Oak Hill will benefit Staten.
“There’s no doubt he’s being challenged every day in practice. He’ll also grow up. He’s on his own in a different type environment that’s challenging academically and basketball-wise,” Gregory said.
Spearman also is a highly rated player, ranked No. 116 in the Rivals.com top 150. And he’s an accomplished offensive player, he’s known more as a defensive stopper.
“That was the first thing that really drew me to him, his toughness and his ability to guard just about anybody — and his willingness to do that,” Gregory said. “And then all of a sudden, you started watching him and he’s making plays on the offensive end, too, because he has a great motor. We’ve been pretty successful with guys like that.”
