Rutgers-bound McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario of the Playaz was named to the first-team iS8/Nike Spring High School Classic All-Star Team, according to our friends at NYCHoops.net.
Joining Rosario on the first team were two of Dan Hurley’s players at St. Benedict’s, Louisville-bound big man Samardo Samuels (Shooting Stars) and Texas commit Tristan Thompson of NY Elite; UConn-bound guard Kemba Walker of Gauchos Orange; and West Virginia commit Darryl “Truck” Bryant of United Brooklyn.
Florida commit Erving Walker of the Shooting Stars was selected PLayer of the Year and Sterling Gibbs of the Panthers Juniors was named Rookie of the Year.
Seton Hall-bound PG Jordan Theodore of the Gauchos, the 2007-08 Herald News Player of the Year, was named to the second team, and is rapidly improving this summer, according to recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski.
“Jordan Theodore has improved almost exponentially since the end of the season,” Konchalski said. “He made second-team All-iS8. He is a really quality player and he’ll be two years behind Eugene ‘Nunu” Harvey (at Seton Hall).”
PIrates coach Bobby Gonzalez is also very high on his incoming recruit from Paterson Catholic.
“I think that Jordan, for our system and our style, is going to be terrific,” Gonzalez told a group of us on Wednesday. “And I think he’s going to be better than people think he’s going to be, because I think people are just looking at it like, ‘Well, he’s a good solid get from Paterson Catholic, he’s from New Jersey, he’s a good student,’ I think Jordan Theodore is a little better than that. I’m not saying he should have been a McDonald’s All-American, or that Mike Rosario shouldn’t have been. I’m just saying I think Jordan Theodore’s a little underrated when he gets compared to the Ashton Gibbses of the world, or the Mike Rosarios or the other guys that are very good recruits. I think Jordan’s right there with all those guys.”
Gonzalez told me that he thinks Theodore will complement Harvey, another St. Benedict’s product, well in the backcourt.
“Yes. 100 percent,” he said. “He will give us, for the first time in three years – I’m not bringing him in just to be a backup point guard, but he’s certainly going to give us, I’ll say a second point guard. A pure point guard. A guy that can push the ball on the break, make people around him better. I think Eugene is more of a score-first point guard, even though Eugene can get in the lane and Eugene’s a good passer when he wants to be. But I think Jordan is more of a pass-first point guard. Jordan is more of a traditional, pure point guard than Eugene. I think they can play together, even though they’re two little pipsqueaks, because they’re both quick and Eugene can score a little bit, so I can see Jordan at the point and Eugene at the two a little bit, knowing that I know they’re very small.”
“I think that Jordan, for our system and our style, is going to be terrific,” Gonzalez told a group of us on Wednesday. “And I think he’s going to be better than people think he’s going to be, because I think people are just looking at it like, ‘Well, he’s a good solid get from Paterson Catholic, he’s from New Jersey, he’s a good student,’ I think Jordan Theodore is a little better than that. I’m not saying he should have been a McDonald’s All-American, or that Mike Rosario shouldn’t have been. I’m just saying I think Jordan Theodore’s a little underrated when he gets compared to the Ashton Gibbses of the world, or the Mike Rosarios or the other guys that are very good recruits. I think Jordan’s right there with all those guys.”
Gonzalez told me that he thinks Theodore will complement Harvey, another St. Benedict’s product, well in the backcourt.
“Yes. 100 percent,” he said. “He will give us, for the first time in three years – I’m not bringing him in just to be a backup point guard, but he’s certainly going to give us, I’ll say a second point guard. A pure point guard. A guy that can push the ball on the break, make people around him better. I think Eugene is more of a score-first point guard, even though Eugene can get in the lane and Eugene’s a good passer when he wants to be. But I think Jordan is more of a pass-first point guard. Jordan is more of a traditional, pure point guard than Eugene. I think they can play together, even though they’re two little pipsqueaks, because they’re both quick and Eugene can score a little bit, so I can see Jordan at the point and Eugene at the two a little bit, knowing that I know they’re very small.”
