Luminaries All Over NEPSAC Quarters

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Like any big-time basketball event, the New England Prep School Athletic Council Class A quarterfinals bring out lots of heavy hitters from the Division I coaching ranks.

Wednesday was no exception, with several big name coaches traveling to Endicott College in Beverly, Mass., to watch a number of touted basketball prospects.

South Carolina Head Coach Dave Odom was in the building to take a look at New Hampton's Femi Ibikunle and Bridgton's Alex Johnson.

Iowa State Head Coach Larry Eustachy was in town to check out Cyclones' fall signee Curtis Stinson, who led Winchendon to a thrilling victory over New Hampton. Eustachy got extra bang for his buck in the game, as the Cyclones are also looking at a pair of Husky players this winter -- the 6-9 Ibikunle and 6-2 scorer deluxe Mike Cook.

Oklahoma State's Glen Cyprien was also on hand to take a look at Ibikunle. UConn Asst. Coach Tom Moore also made the trip up I-95 to get another look at Bridgton's Johnson.

Providence Head Coach Tim Welsh and Asst. Coach Steve DeMeo were at the NEPSAC Tournament, presumably looking at fall signee Dwight Brewington (Worcester), and key 2004 Friar targets Norman Plummer (Brewster) and Kashif Payne (Northfield Mt. Hermon).

In all, there were probably 30-40 Division I coaches at the NEPSAC quarters. Here are some of the other schools that Rivalshoops.com saw in attendance:

Robert Morris

Quinnipiac

New Hampshire

Maine

Toledo

George Mason

Central Connecticut State