St. Joes Has Early Interest in Bernal

Junior Bernal, a 6'4'' 195 pound swingman from The Hyde School in Bath, Maine, is a member of the class of 2004 who should boost his stock in the coming months.

The native of New York City, who started out at The Chelsea School in Manhattan, has gotten early feelers from St. Joseph's and Kent State, as well as some other Mid-American Conference schools.

Bernal's body has drawn comparisons to that of Brian Laing of St. Raymond's, a high major target in the class of 2004. While Laing is more of a power forward at this point, Bernal is a better ball-handler and slasher who isn't as explosive of a leaper. He possesses good quick, and attacks the rim. His shooting needs work.

Bernal will compete this spring and summer with the CAS Warriors. He will paritcipate in this weekend's Charlie Weber Tournament in Washington, D.C., along with a number of other prominent tournaments this spring and summer, among them the Gym Rat Tournament during Memorial Day weekend, and the Rumble in the Bronx in June.

He is a "B" student and will take the SAT for the first time this spring.

Bernal is another in a line of players from the CAS Warriors AAU program who has benefited from the Warriors' "Project Assist" program. "Project Assist" helps place promising students and athletes in some of the nation's finest college preparatory high schools.