[Fumblerooskies]

From this morning's Asheville paper...

Colleges eye Veritas 7-footer
by Andrew Pearson, APEARSON@CITIZEN-TIMES.com
published April 8, 2007 12:15 am

FLETCHER — Veritas Christian Academy junior Catalin Baciu got his first exposure to the English language by watching television cartoons.

The cartwheels? Where they came from is anybody’s guess.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs. ... 0770407074

Cartwheels? Did someone say cartwheels?

[Cider Jim]

Also from Fumble's article...

With four seconds left in a January game versus High Point’s Future Academy, Baciu scored to give Veritas a two-point lead. To celebrate, Baciu ran by the scorer’s table and turned two cartwheels.

“It cost us a technical foul, but it was worth it to see a 7-foot-1 guy do that,” Jordan said.

Judging by his pic, he will need an LU haircut, but I'd like to see him wearing the LU red, white, & blue...& grey & black.

[Sly Fox]

We used to have a bunch of Romanians on campus back when I was in school.

[jmdickens]

Ummm....This guy is out of our league as it looks

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=78&p=8&c=1&nid=2861514

[TDDance234]

He's a high-major prospect -- we have little chance of getting him here.

[Fumblerooskies]

The cartwheels quote is the whole reason I posted the article...about fell out of my recliner this morning when I read it...and I bet Coach MK would turn cartwheels if we could get him...

[jmdickens]

I would not only do a cartwheel, but also a back flip if we landed this kid

[TIMSCAR20]

Trust me fellas, Liberty can and will get players like this in the not too distant future. Liberty has so much going for it. Meyer and Dunton both recruited on this level (Dunton was the recruiting coordinator during Meyer's division 1 tenure of course). In fact I would say that the only difference between this guy and say, Kenneth Annabonam or Peter Aluma is that he is here already and the big boys are aware of him. As far as a prospect, those guys were high major prospects but slipped through the cracks. With Liberty willing to spend money on hoops and football (as clearly they are), look for guys like this to start landing in our laps. Obviously work will need to be done to recruit them but it will happen. This program has everything a kid is looking for; a chance to play in the NCAA's year in and year out, conference affiliation, great facilities (which are expected to undergo some significant improvements according to a source), TV package (which should be on CSTV or some other major outlet next year if I have anything to do with it...) and a rabbid fan base which I believe will be there next year. Add to that the Christian environment and you have a formula to attract a major talent. The down part is the conference affiliation, the rules, a little school called Winthrop standing in your way of the NCAA's and things like that. All I am saying is it is not out of the question to get blue chippers at LU in the near future. That may be a bit optimistic but that is my view point. I have known, recruited and been around blue chip recruits and you would be surprised to know what goes into their decision making process besides just playing in the ACC or playing for Jim Calhoun or something. A lot more goes into it than what's on the surface.

[Sly Fox]

Stealing a line from medic in the other thread ... Preach it, Scar!

I agree wholeheartedly that these are the types of players we CAN land. But it will take a lot of hard work and some good fortune.

[olldflame]

I'm so glad you said that SCAR. I was about to post something along those lines, but it has a lot more credibility coming from you, and so I'll just add my voice to the amen chorus. I think we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking of these prospects as x number of stars on some websites rating system and forget that they are individuals with distinctive interests and priorities in their lives. I have absolutely no doubt that there are high-major prospects for whom Liberty is a perfect fit. It's just a question of convincing the first one or 2 to make a leap of faith and others will follow when they see that it is possible to achieve their basketball goals here as well as academic and spiritual goals.

[thepostman]

great facilities (which are expected to undergo some significant improvements according to a source)

I like what you had to say Scar, but this line has me very curious....but for some reason I have a feeling you won't share anymore then this....but man I would like to know what your source is telling you about facility upgrades....

[TIMSCAR20]

Postman, it was more of a general statement from my source but the whole atmosphere in the Vines Center is going to have more of a "big time" feel. Of course a lot of that has to do with putting people in the stands and making their experience more of an event that is worth coming back for.

[Cider Jim]

Speaking of upgrading the Vines, did someone ever get our Rot blimp off the ceiling???

[JDUB]

yeah, it was back in use in a week

[thepostman]

Postman, it was more of a general statement from my source but the whole atmosphere in the Vines Center is going to have more of a "big time" feel. Of course a lot of that has to do with putting people in the stands and making their experience more of an event that is worth coming back for.

Interesting...I am all for improvements to the Vines Center....sounds good to me

[jmdickens]

looks like we lost this kid

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=78&p=8&c=1&nid=2861514

[PAmedic]

according to that, didn't look like we even offered him...

[shukcb04]

Looks like, based on the schools competing with him, that Liberty - from a purely bball standpoint - probably couldn't have competed for him. If McKay turns the program around, maybe they could be like Davidson, who had apparently been competing for this kid.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

This kid is GOOD, if we land this kid I will do naked around the Vines... I hope we do, not just cause i like naked cartwheels, but because HES GOOD

[PAmedic]

This kid is GOOD, if we land this kid I will do naked around the Vines... I hope we do, not just cause i like naked cartwheels, but because HES GOOD

Clemson seems reasonably convinced he's coming to them. Something about a verbal commit

http://clemson.scout.com/2/644965.html

It's been a while since Clemson basketball has picked up a commitment this big.

Literally.

Thursday afternoon, 7-feet-1 inch tall Catalin Baciu (pronounced CUT-A-LEEN BA-CHOO), Scout.com's No. 56 player in the country, gave his verbal commitment to Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell and recruiting coordinator Shaka Smart during a press conference held at Veritas Christian Academy in Fletcher, N.C.

Baciu's head coach, John Jordan, said Friday that Clemson's recruiting efforts, namely those of Purnell and Smart, made the difference in Baciu's decision.

"In my last four years I've had 13 kids that have gone on to play college ball," Jordan said. "Clemson did the best recruiting job I've seen. They did a great job building a relationship with Catalin. You could truly tell they cared. Every kid wants to go where he's wanted."

[TIMSCAR20]

Looks like, based on the schools competing with him, that Liberty - from a purely bball standpoint - probably couldn't have competed for him. If McKay turns the program around, maybe they could be like Davidson, who had apparently been competing for this kid.

Don't base who we get on who else is going after him Shuck. I know you are new around here and not really a fan of Liberty basketball but I can tell you from personal experience that we have recruited and landed several players at Liberty that had choices to go to much bigger schools and much bigger conferences. Players don't choose schools like fans think thay do. In football Liberty has the top workout facilities than most if not all schools in the state. That means something to a student athlete. Atmosphere, teammates and many other variables go into landing a recruit. The coaching staff and relationships have a lot to do with it as well. Everyone has such a short memory but Winthrop is on the national scene now thanks to Gregg Marshall and Gregg Marshall alone. Before he got there WU was a laughing stock and now everyone acts like they have been good since Naismith created the game. The same for Liberty football and hoops. There have been some good years in both and Liberty has put many guys in the NFL going back to the early 80's. Shuck you can stick around and learn a thing or two about LU athletics. Believe me, all the mis perceptions you and others may have around Lynchburg will change in the next couple of years.

[paradox]

I'm so so sure that I can agree with that one, Scar.

I think that maybe Jeremey Day had an actual offer from Kansas, but he chose LU becuase of the Christian emphasis here. Other than that, I can't think of any legitimate offers from big-time programs that were actually turned down by players who decided to come here instead. Oh, I'm sure that there are plenty of current as well as ex-players who like to pretend and boast otherwise But I'm not buying it.

As far as Marshall goes, he's had success finding diamonds in the rough, and in some cases, such as with Greg Lewis, he actually found big-time talent that wasn't even being recruited by the opposition. Marshall, McKay and others will tell you that finding talent that is good enough to play at a much higher level, but got overlooked, is a big part of the equation as far as success goes at this level.

We need to be realistic. We are not there yet.

[LUconn]

I can't remembered who else offered LB, but he was ranked #98 in the pre-July ranking of the Class of '03. And really, at that point in our program, 90% of all DI offers would have been a step up from us.

[Rocketfan]

I can't remembered who else offered LB, but he was ranked #98 in the pre-July ranking of the Class of '03. And really, at that point in our program, 90% of all DI offers would have been a step up from us.

If i recall correctly i believe NC State was one team who offered.

[LUconn]

I thought it was an ACC team, but I wasn't sure so I didn't say it. I remember he got a good offer but was figured to not get much PT.