New hoops recruit? That and other notes ...

I haven't been able to get calls out myself, but as some of the commenters pointed out last week, the Washington Post dropped USF as a possibility for another top-notch frontcourt recruit: Augustus "Gus" Gilchrist, who was supposed to play at Virginia Tech, then Maryland, but is transferring again, supposedly because he didn't want to sit out the first month of the upcoming season.

USF has "emerged" as a possible destination for Gilchrist, a 6-foot-9 center, according to this Post story. We'd heard Gilchrist's name as a possiblity for USF last summer when he'd ask for a release from Virginia Tech following the tragic campus shootings there. Gilchrist previously attended Friendly High in Fort Washington, Md., where USF point guard Chris Howard won two state championships. I know Howard called Gilchrist last summer, but he wound up at Maryland, apparently unaware he'd have to sit out a season by switching from one ACC school to another.

USF has a scholarship available and has plenty of opportunity at power forward and center, with basically one experienced player returning between the two positions. If he can't go to an ACC school, the Big East is the next logical major conference that would allow him to play games close to home. Again, we'll get calls out and see what we can find out in the next day or two ...

-- We'd pretty much written off the possibility of USF signee Adrian Nieto making it to campus after his being drafted in the fifth round Thursday, but the Miami Herald has an intriguing development. Apparently one of the reasons Nieto wasn't taken higher -- he'd been projected as a second-rounder or higher -- was that he was telling teams not to draft him because he had a deal in place with the Baltimore Orioles, with a certain signing bonus arranged regardless of where he was picked.

Nieto went to the Nationals, but the two sides are "far" apart financially, according to the Herald. USF would be extremely fortunate if the Bulls can get a fifth-round draft pick to campus for at least three years. Something else we'll be making calls on ...

-- From the Where Are They Now Department: Remember Darren Haliburton? He did little more than get into trouble off the field at USF (I don't think he ever caught a pass with the Bulls) but apparently is doing well trying to work his way into the pro ranks. He's playing for the American Indoor Football Association, according to this Albuquerque Journal report, and claims to have a workout coming up with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings.

Remember Greg Walls? He's playing af2 football for the Florida Firecats and, according to the Naples Daily News, has stepped up into a leadership position, trying to help his team to a championship before his playing days are over.

-- Looks like you could see Mike Jenkins and Anthony Henry lining up in the same Cowboys secondary. Dallas' glut of cornerbacks could have the Cowboys shifting Henry to safety, where he played at USF, according to the Cowboys' official site.

-- One West Virginia newspaper writes about Mike Tranghese going out on top, having led the Big East through tremendous change in the last three years. Another wonders who his successor will be, suggesting it likely won't be anyone in the current Big East staff. Who, then?

Comments

[SMH]

I'm concerned. A post regarding a really good ACC player possibly coming to Tampa and no opinions. It's been over 14 hours with no one piping in. Champ, Reality where are you guys. Is there some boycott of Greg I don't know aobut???

[G.A.]

Boycott! Woohoo! Count me in!

[steve oneal]

Calm down GA! You're not gettin' off that easy. I upped my FB season tickets from 8 to 16. If the BB news keeps getting better, I'll have to get more BB tickets before they get too hard to get the good ones. GO BULLS!