Eric Ferguson Taking Visit

Eric Ferguson, a solid 6-1, 185 pound point guard from Hempstead, N.Y., took an official visit to Iowa State this weekend, according to sources close to Ferguson. Eric had also taken a visit to Rutgers -- an unofficial visit on Friday, Nov. 9.

We will keep you updated on how his visit goes this weekend. Iowa State is researching the skills of Ferguson, according to sources close to Eric.

"He likes the new head coach there (at Rutgers)," a source close to Ferguson told Russ Blake of the Insiders Report/Rivalshoops.com. "He's a very personable guy. He likes the coach's style of play too."

Since reopening his recruitment a few weeks ago, Ferguson has seen serious interest from Iowa State, N.C. State and Providence in addition to Rutgers, according to the source.

"There's no front runner or leader now," the source said. "Providence has always shown interest since he was at Milford [Academy], so they've contacted Eric again since he's become available."

But this could change if Iowa State offers Ferguson a scholarship.

Of the four involved programs, the source said that only Iowa State and Rutgers can accept partial qualifiers. Ferguson is currently a partial qualifier, but he is hoping to achieve a qualifying ACT score this fall and enroll at a college in January. Either way, he hopes to be at a Division I school come January as a partial or full qualifier.

Ferguson played last year at Milford Academy in Connecticut, where he was able to boost his core grades in line with current NCAA standards. However, he fell a point short on his composite ACT score. Based on a 2.5 core GPA, an incoming freshman student-athlete needs to score a minimum of 17 (or total of 68) on the four part ACT exam.

Many high majors began to inquire about Ferguson last winter, after he helped lead Milford to the championship game of the National Prep School Invitational Basketball Tournament in Worcester, Mass.

He continued his fine play on the spring circuit last year with the Jersey Shore Cyclones after first establishing his reputation with Gary Charles' Long Island Panthers program.

All of that eventually led to a scholarship offer from Villanova, where Ferguson hoped to play for new Wildcat Head Coach Jay Wright. The Hempstead native had formed a strong relationship with Wright when he was the head coach of the Hofstra program.

However, Ferguson's intentions to Villanova hit a snag when he did not qualify academically for freshman eligibility. Even though he was a partial qualifier, Villanova was unable to put him on a basketball scholarship due to the school's academic policies.

The upshot became clear this fall when Villanova aggressively pursued talented New Jersey combo guard Randy Foye, who recently gave a commitment to the Wildcats. Shortly before Foye's verbal, Ferguson and Villanova opted to part ways amicably.

Rivalshoops.com reported several weeks ago that Ferguson would be reopening his recruitment this fall after speaking with Gary Charles.

"He will be taking the test and hopefully everything works out," Charles said in the previous story. "Whether he does or not, I know that there are schools out there who would definitely take Eric as a partial."

Ferguson will take the ACT on Dec. 8 in an effort to land a qualifying score.

Rivalshoops.com will certainly keep you posted on his recruitment and academic status in the coming weeks, so stay tuned....