Austin84 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 By Mike Brown One of Oral Roberts University's new signees is called by his high school coach as "probably the best-kept secret in Oklahoma basketball." Another one is possibly the best-kept secret in the world. The Golden Eagles signed Muskogee guard Dominique Gaines and 6-foot-4 forward Jeremy Hazell of the Bronx, N.Y., during Wednesday's first day of the NCAA early signing period. Recruiting expert Bob Gibbons said Hazell is "the equivalent of a top-25 national player." But Hazell is not rated "on the normal high school lists" because he has finished his high school eligibility and is playing at an elite prep school program (Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C.) this season. "He's a great leaper, plays extremely hard, and Oral Roberts overachieved in getting him," said Gibbons, previously helpful in the University of Tulsa's signing Jarius Glenn. "(Hazell) could easily play in the Big 12. He can shoot the (3-pointer), dunk on anyone, plays excellent defense, and he's a tough kid with that New York City mentality." Hazell played high school basketball at Urban Peace Academy in Manhattan until transferring to Los Angeles Fremont as a senior. He also played for one of the nation's elite summer teams -- H-squad of Southern California, often alongside 6-8 Davon Jefferson, who is being recruited by Oklahoma State. Gibbons said Hazell "fell under the radar screen because people weren't sure whether he was going back to New York" and "emerged" at Patterson School. Hazell visited ORU "and loved the campus and the Christian environment. It's a good fit for him," Gibbons said. "He's one of the more highly regarded recruits we've ever signed," said ORU coach Scott Sutton. "Jeremy plays for the best prep school team in the country, and because he goes up against so many other great players in practice every day, he's going to continue to get better." The Scout.com Web site rates six of Patterson's players among the top 25 nationally. Muskogee coach Tony Roach said the 6-2 Gaines wasn't heavily recruited, despite being the Frontier Conference's second-leading scorer last season, with 18.2 points per game. "That's fine with me. I think with Muskogee, we always have to prove to people we can play ball," said Gaines, who also averaged 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 This guy is an super stud. Hat's off to the coaching staff, especially "the closer", for bringing this guy in. Welcome to the Golden Eagle family, Jeremy. I hope you're excited about playing in the NCAA Tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Both of these players seem to be good recruits.... good job coaching staff! They will both get to play a year with Ken Tutt (and Caleb Green) and learn skills from him. I especially like that Jeremy was drawn to ORU because the school's spiritual dimension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 More info about Hazel. Click on link to get the full story: http://www.pattersonschool.org/athletics/prepbasketball/pdfarticles/scrimmagereport.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 There are possible benefits beyond just signing Jeremy Hazzel. The most positive is that this prep school (and the coach) know who we are and could open more doors for us in the future. If Hazzel goes on to do well at ORU (ala Green and Tutt) we will get nice exposure on the East Coast and in some prep circles. Wonder if Hazzel has any friends playing ball in NYC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I'm with you, Terry. Hazel is going to open up a lot of doors. ORU Basketball was a total surprise to me when I visited the campus almost 6 years ago. How does this small christian school in Tulsa have an 11,000 seat arena, how are they winning conference championships at the division I level(1998-1999?). I was pleasently surprised by the athletic department's commitment to excellence, and I went back to Charlotte and told all my friends. Of course they didn't believe me, but signing Hazel could open up a lot of eyes on the East Coast of all that ORU has to offer. Especially with us playing on ESPN this year. We're About To Blow Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Had we only been able to find the article vcb posted a few weeks ago - did you notice that the article stated that Hazell had committed to ORU by the time the article was written on 10/13/05? Hopefully we'll be able to keep track of how he perfoms this season on line. The other thing that's pretty amazing about the article, or I should say the team, are the places that his teammates are heading. UNC, Charlotte, and KU, to name a few, and Jefferson, who may go straight to the NBA. Jeremy is definitely playing with an elite group - and playing well, at that. In the game discussed in the article he had 19 out of his team's 96 points. Not too shabby. I've got a feeling we're in for a treat when Jeremy shows up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 darrenj hinted about him and then someone found a link about his verbal commitment a couple of weeks ago. You were too busy on the beaches of Hawaii to keep up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Man, I found the thread on the old board about him, and you guys already discussed all of the points I was making. Now I feel really dumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Just don't pay too much for car insurance. That would be really dumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Another story about Gaines..... http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051110/SPORTS/511100322/1006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 the pic is too large to fit, tmh. That's why the url showed up. Try compressing it, or it may just be too large. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 post by our old (and knowledgeable) friend darrenj from the old board (I invited him to join us on the new message board): -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry about that work has been really busy. I saw that the prep kid and the kid from Muskogee had signed. I think the juco guard is waiting. He is still committed but has not signed. I know that Shawn King was suppose to decide today. I do not know if he picked ORU. Be over there soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 vcb, you're amazing! You answered my EXACT question before I even had a chance to ask you!!! That is HILARIOUS!! I thought I'd deleted the message before anyone would have a chance to see it. You're quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 No problem man. I got you covered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 So Darren J. will be back in business soon. Nice to hear. I had forgotten that Shawn King was on the radar. No sense holding out for a perceived better situation, Shawn. ORU is where it's at. Come on over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 More info on Marques Gaines: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051203/SPORTS/51203007/1006 http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051207/SPORTS/51207016/1006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Thanks for the update, Terry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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