NEWS

Golden Eagles Blog - Recruit Wrap-up: Junior Cadougan
By Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel Apr. 6, 2009

While the days of their starting point guard throwing down vicious alley-oop dunks are gone for the forseeable future with the impending graduation of Dominic James, Marquette Golden Eagles fans will probably be happy to know the odds-on favorite to replace him has been working diligently on his hops of late.

So much so, in fact, that Junior Cadougan recently tried to take the ball right down the lane on his coach at Christian Life Center, Carlos Wilson, and finish with authority -- a move neither could have foreseen previously.

"We were playing pickup the other day after workouts, and he tried to dunk on me," Wilson said. "I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m 40. You just can’t be doing me like that.’ But that’s how confident he’s become – finger rolls have turned into dunks because he’s lost weight."

Added Cadougan with a laugh: "I tried to posterize him. He didn't like that."

Weight and conditioning have been continual battles for the 6-foot-1 Cadougan during his time at Christian Life in Humble, Texas.

Compared physically to Khalid Al-Amin and more recently Levance Fields because of his body type, Cadougan has apparently taken his commitment to reshaping his body to higher levels since he helped lead his team to a 35-2 record and a national championship in the Elite Division of the National Association of Christian Athletics.

"Right now he has a personal trainer that he sees," Wilson said on Monday. "After our workouts that we have at school, he goes on to his personal trainer, his dietician. He has people around him that really are conducive to him being in the best possible shape. He’s dunking the ball now. He’s down to about 210-212.

"So he’s working really, really, really hard, and it shows. His body’s looking better, his confidence is growing. He’s playing hard, he’s more athletic. And I think when he gets there he’ll take it to the next level, when he gets with the strength coach. He’ll continue to develop as far as that aspect is concerned."  ...Read Full Story
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Findlay Prep upsets Oak Hill: Player Thoughts
April 5th, 2009 by Trips Right
Focusing on the Texas kids.

Avery Bradley had a solid game before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. The DQ was set up by back to back offensive fouls in the third. Avery displayed his patented midrange game and even hit a deep three to spark Findlay’s big 3rd quarter run. What was striking to me was Avery’s ability to drop down in the paint, grab a board, and then go 0-60 in the blink of an eye for coast to coast buckets. Just f’ng electric. Reminds me of a young Corey Maggette in that he’s so explosive that sometimes he gets ahead of himself which leads to offensive fouls. As he continues to polish his game, he’ll learn when to slow things down and when to go turbo. Defensively, he’s such a tremendous leaper that he gets into guys’ jumpers and forces misses. I thought he bothered Momo Jones and a couple of Oak Hill Shooters with his athleticism out of the zone. Not quite a lead guard at this point, but the day is coming with a little more polished handle. He’s already got the leader component down.

Tristan Thompson. Kid’s a pogo stick, but looks like a colt out there trying to grow into his body. Has excellent touch for a big man. He’ll improve in leaps and bounds once Wright gets some good weight on his long frame. Already a basketball player from a skill standpoint, just needs to get stronger.

Keith Gallon is one of the most interesting players you’ll see, because he’s actually a solid perimeter player trapped in a 300 pound body. He just destroyed Findlay on the boards when he wanted to, but it seemed conditioning was a problem for him because he disappeared for stretches, and then lived on the perimeter in the second half. If Capel lights a fire under his ass, he can be a special player for OU posing matchup nightmares for most teams because he can step out and hit 3’s or post up most any post player. Defensively, he’s an uninterested sloth. He seems to despise contact inside and allowed Findlay drivers to get to the rack with impunity. Offensively, he’s got all the tools, especially for such a big kid. His career path should be an interesting ride.

Nice to see Thompson and Bradley throw up the Hook ‘EM in the post game interviews.

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DJ Wright wins a national title/is voted MVP of the Juco World
March 21, 2009

“This feels so good,” said tournament MVP D.J. Wright, who averaged 24 points per game. “I don’t know how to express myself.”

DJ Wright finishes off the job. He and his Salt Lake teammates rally back from a second half double digit deficit to beat Midland and claim the title.

Wright was named Tournament MVP and named to the All-Tourney team. Did I mention that was a unanimous MVP vote. Read Full Article at: http://fromtheblueseats.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/dj-wright-wins-a-national-titleis-voted-mvp-of-the-world/
 

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