How would Scooter Sherrill look in red?If
he had to make a decision on his college basketball future immediately, that’s the color he would be wearing.
N.C. State red.
The Wolfpack is the front-runner for the services
of West Rowan’s
high-jumping, 6-3 guard. Sherrill practically said as much Saturday morning while the Falcon football team was
taking its team photos.
``If I had to choose today, I’d say N.C.
State,’’ smiled Sherrill. ``I want to go to a place that cares about me as much as I care about it.
Right now, that’s the
school that does.
``But I’m still evaluating schools.
Herb Sendek and his staff has made quite an
impression on Sherrill this summer as he toured the country attending camps and tournaments with some
of the best seniors in
America.
``They saw me 31 times,’’ Sherrill said.
``That’s a lot.’’
He said the assistants and/or Sendek were always
present. They have told
Sherrill that he is the final piece to what they’re trying to build in Raleigh.
``They came to all my AAU games and the Nike
camp,’’ Sherrill said.
West coach Mike Gurley took his Falcons to the
N.C. State team camp and
Sherrill was treated to a tour of the brand-spanking new Entertainment and Sports Arena, which is scheduled to
open this season.
``It’s unbelievable,’’ Sherrill
said. ``I’ve never seen anything like it.’’
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Gurley has been hearing from the Wolfpack as much
as Sherrill. The coaches
would fax him with results of Sherrill’s exploits throughout the summer.
``Some of the faxes were really neat,’’
he said.
After one loss in Augusta, coaches faxed to say
Scooter had missed the last shot. they went to mention a former Wolfpacker named C.C. Harrison, who had
made his share of big shots, but reminded the Falcons that he had also missed some.
They then wrote that they wanted Scooter to ``come
to N.C. State and miss some big shots for
them.’’
N.C. State has done a fabulous job recruiting
Scooter,’’ Gurley said, mentioning Sendek and assistants Sean Miller, Larry Harris and Mark Phelps.
Kentucky called Sherrill early but he hasn’t
heard from them. Gurley got a call from Duke assistant Steve Wojciechwoski. He added that Clemson and UNC Charlotte are the most persistent, after N.C. State.
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And then, there’s that school of blue in
Chapel Hill. Sherrill admitted to growing up a Tar Heel fan but for some reason, UNC hasn’t been a major
participant ~ yet, although Sherrill has had two of his greatest performances in Chapel
Hill during two state title games.
It miffs Gurley. ``Scooter’s averaging 33
points in the Dean Dome!’’ he said.
``I grew up a Carolina fan,’’ said
Sherrill. ``But it would be good to play for
N.C. State, though.’’
Gurley said rumors were circulating that since
Sherrill was a UNC fan, he was heading that way.
``But that hasn’t stopped State or Clemson or
UNC Charlotte,’’ Gurley said. ``They’re intelligent for that. North Carolina has definitely not put
forth the effort of the
others.’’
In September, Sherrill will begin his campus
visits and N.C. State will
surely be one. As for the others, Gurley said, ``It’s so early, he’s going to play it by
ear.’’
He may not need many visits.
``I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t
make a verbal committment in the next month or
so,’’ Gurley said.
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Sherrill explained Saturday morning why he decided
to play football at West this season after a two-year layoff.
``I was sitting at home not doing
anything,’’ he said. ``I got a little bored
so I thought I’d come out here.’’
Sherrill was a running back until this year. He
told Young he wantewd to play receiver.
``There’s less chance of injury,’’
he said, adding that a summer full of basketball
hadn’t tired him out.
``I took a couple of weeks off.’’
Sherrill laughed about the reaction from a story
in the Post Friday noting
he was on the football field. No one had any idea he was out for the team until then.
``People on the street came up to me after they
read it in the paper and
they’re like, `Scooter, are you crazy? You’re taking a chance of getting
hurt.’ But I just want to have fun and I plan on doing that. We’re going to have a good team.’’
Sherrill is practically assured a Division I
basketball scholarship in an elite conference but first, he’s going to spend the fall with his best
friends on the gridiron.
``I’m very happy right now,’’ he
said.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor of the Post. |
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