Pair of JUCO Commitments Hit Newswire
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Doug Doughty of the Roanoke Times reported that Virginia Tech has landed mammoth 7-3 center Luke Minor (right) of Hagerstown C.C. in Maryland.
But even bigger news was the commitment of 6-4, 220 pound shooting guard Derrick Tarver of the City College of San Francisco (CA), who has pledged to Akron University, according to Mike Duncan of our sister site OhioPreps.com.
Minor is no stranger to the state of Virginia. The Texas native attended the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va., before signing with Southern California three years ago.
Minor red-shirted a year at USC and played sparingly at the PAC 10 school before deciding to transfer to Hagerstown. His family now lives in Fredericksburg, VA.
You can read Doughty's account of Minor's commitment by clicking here.
As for Tarver (right), he is a tremendous pick-up for Akron, although there are some questions as to his ability to fulfill NCAA Division I academic requirements for junior college transfers.
Tarver enjoyed an outstanding freshman campaign a year ago at Howard J.C. in Big Spring, Tex. He scored over 800 points in the season, earning NJCAA All-American acclaim for his efforts.
A coaching change at Howard last year was one of the factors that precipitated Tarver's transfer to CCSF. He actually enrolled at Vincennes this summer for a cup of coffee, but left the Indiana JUCO and decided to head out to California.
Because Tarver re-signed to play last spring at Howard under new Hawks Head Coach Chris Jans, he could not simply enroll at another NJCAA institution this fall.
Howard would not grant Tarver an unconditional release from the letter he signed, so he decided to head out to the California JC ranks.
California's community college system is governed by the Commission on Athletics, and not the NJCAA.
In many ways, Tarver's selection of Akron was an easy choice. His close friend, Maverick Carter, transferred into Akron this fall after spending a year at Western Michigan in 2000-2001.
On top of that, former Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary's Head Coach Keith Dambrot is now an assistant for the Zips.
It is important to point out that Tarver never played high school ball for Dambrot at St. Vincent/St. Mary's, as he opted to transfer to public school Buchtel High when Dambrot accepted the position at SVSM.
Over time, however, Tarver developed a close relationship with Dambrot, and this certainly paid dividends this fall in the form of a verbal commitment.
Since leaving a somewhat troubled past in Akron, Tarver has been a well traveled young man.
He spent half a year at Wabash Valley with his twin brother Darren (now at George Mason) in the fall of 1999, before sitting out half a year (at you guessed it!) Akron University.
Due to his non-qualifier status, Tarver could not play at all in that partial year at Akron. Things did not work out and he headed off to Howard in the fall of 2000 where he jumpstarted his once promising career.
A player blessed with great strength and good athleiticism, Tarver can hurt defenses in so many ways. He has deep range out beyond the three point arc and is an excellent slasher and finisher at the rim.
He should pay immediate dividends for Akron next fall provided that he can fulfill his academic obligations at CCSF.
JUCO Junction will keep you posted on Tarver this season, and we hope to catch him in action during the winter.
(Minor's photo is from the Southern Californian Sports Information Department; Tarver is pictured at last March's Region V Tournament in Lubbock, Tex., for Howard J.C.)