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Adebamowo sets sights on hoop career at Sacred Heart |
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Monday, 03 August 2009 |
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By BRENDAN McGAIR Sports writer Some college hoop tidbits designed to make you forget about the Big Papi saga for a moment or two …
The letters from college coaches started flooding in during his redo sophomore season. Some were addressed from lower-tier Division I programs, others from D-II. That’s nice, Toso Adebamowo perceived at the time, but let’s see what develops in the next few seasons at Marianapolis (Conn.) Prep.
Let’s see thought Adebamowo, engulfed in full stargazing mode, if bigger and brighter comes a-callin’.
“I had a big head honestly, I’m not going to lie,” reminisced Adebamowo, who prior to enrolling at Marianapolis suited up for two seasons at Lincoln High. “My mindset was ‘I’m a sophomore now, my game is in transition and there’s things I need to work on. Maybe by my senior year I’ll have Duke and North Carolina looking at me.’”
Sometimes the best-laid plans go awry. Sometimes reality intervenes, forcing us to reshuffle the deck and come up with a new outlook. Duke and North Carolina never entered the Adebamowo Derby. In fact, many of the schools that showed interest his first prep season veered off in other directions.
That wasn’t meant to be an indictment of Adebamowo’s game, which by his own volition has improved ten-fold from his tenure with the Lions. It’s just that Adebamowo’s head starting swimming with possibilities far too soon, the belief that they were within a short jump shot of obtaining.
Recruiting, as Adebamowo learned, is far from a finite science. The past few years taught him that. That said, the goal of becoming a D-I athlete is still readily obtainable, providing he can first get through “initiation.” Adeba-mowo plans to enroll at Sacred Heart this fall, where according to him he will be allowed to walk-on the men’s team. If he meets all the specifications laid out by longtime Pioneers head coach Dave Bike, an athletic scholarship could be awarded as early as his sophomore year.
The journey of Adebamowo has been fraught with difficult decisions and the consequences resulting. He contemplated departing Lincoln the spring following the Lions playing in the D-II state championship in 2006. The pieces were in place for another deep run the ensuing season, Adebamowo teaming up with Tom Coulombe and Aaron Sabatino to form a lethal trio.
Ultimately Adebamowo settled on the prep school route, believing the choice served as the best path for where he believed he was destined to end up. “I actually wanted to stay [at Lincoln], but I played AAU for the R.I. Breakers, which is coached by Dave Vitale, also the coach at Marianapolis. I was torn. Should I stay in Lincoln and try and get a state championship or move to prep school?”
A new school wasn’t the only thing Adebamowo needed to adjust to. Repeating his sophomore year, he quickly learned what worked at Lincoln needed to become discarded at Marianapolis. His basketball skill set cried out for a makeover.
“When I was at Lincoln, I was one of the tallest (6-foot-4) guys, playing power forward and sometimes center. I never had to worry about dribbling the ball,” Adebamowo said. “It was a transition [at Marianapolis] because there were guys 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9. I would stay after practice a lot, working on my handling and shooting.
“I had to change my game from a big man to a guard.”
Those college scouts who checked out Adebamowo his sophomore campaign saw through the transitional phase, viewing him as a sturdy shooting guard down the road. Soon the feelers in the form of typed notes with personalized messages started appearing. “All the colleges that were recruiting me thought I would grow a few more inches,” said Adebamowo, rattling off Sacred Heart and Yale as schools that were serious at first. “Even Providence College showed some interest because I attended some of their summer camps.”
Adebamowo had gotten his foot in the door. With two seasons still before him, the goal was to keep building, hoping other schools would become involved.
Turns out the luster that was once there rubbed off. Adebamowo, who leveled off at his current height of 6-foot-5, hardly ever started at Marianapolis, depriving him of the offers he anticipated. They were still trickling in, but now they were mainly of the D-II and D-III variety. It reached a point that Adebamowo gave serious thought to leaving Marianapolis for St. Andrew’s.
Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Adebamowo started applying on his own. He got accepted into Syracuse, a school that met his reconfigured game plan because it offered the chance of walking on to a big-time program.
Ultimately Adebamowo settled on Sacred Heart because of what potentially lies in store. “They told me I’d be a glorified walk-on and have the same privileges as everyone else. I just may not have as much time.”
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Expect the 2009-10 men’s basketball schedule for Providence College to be released next month. The only items in need of finalizing are the league dates and times. The Big East released its 18-game slate in June, which calls for every team to play each other once and three teams in a home-and-away format.
In another bit of scheduling news, PC will head to Alabama, the news confirmed by school officials. The game is slated to take place in Tuscaloosa sometime in November.
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Looks like Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea cast a line and reeled in one of his prior catches from his tenure at Ohio University. Frankie Dobbs, a 6-foot-3 point guard, has transferred from Ohio to Bryant.
Dobbs saw action in 32 games as a freshman for the Bobcats, averaging 14 minutes. He signed on with Ohio when O’Shea was still on campus. Dobbs will have three seasons of eligibility remaining upon sitting out the upcoming season in compliance with NCCA transfer regulations.
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A few loose ends need tightening before Avery King’s enrollment at D-III Lyndon (V.T.) State becomes official. The 5-foot-11 King was St. Raphael’s go-to performer last winter, witnessed by the 20-plus points he averaged as a senior.
What must have aided King’s emergence on Lyndon State’s radar was the fact the program’s head coach, Joe Krupinski, was an assistant at St. Michael’s when James Sorrentine starred for the Purple Knights earlier this decade. In an ironic twist, Sorrentine took Krupinski’s spot on the St. Michael’s coaching staff, a move necessitated when Krupinski became in-charge at Lyndon State.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 August 2009 )
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Go Tolman Baseball Team. Joshua Amado you Rock!! - Ana Kinsley
Good Luck to NORTHEAST Elite RI @the
BRUTE IMPIRE NATIONALS TOMORROW WE HAVE A LOT OF TALENTED WRESTLERS GOING SO WE WILL HAVE A FEW CHAMPS AND A LOTR OF PLACERS!! GO NORTH EAST ELITE!!! - Dawn Lariviere Go tolman high school go leanna fanning my favorite player
on the team well wishes for your uocoming games. - Shauna Marrow
Saturday night I attended the semi-final girls basketball
game vs Townies Girls team as an aunt of one of the EP players. It was an exciting
all-around game for both teams, and I give credit to my niece and the Townie girls
too for a great season. <br />I just have to say though, that I was
particularly impressed with the talent, poise and unflappable playing style of this
Tolman girls team! It can only speak well of a great coaching staff, and their love
and encouragement of these talented girls. After the game, the low-key humilty that
the Tolman girls displayed, showed real sportsmanship and class. I have a feeling
that this season is the "Year of the Tiger" and hope that they go straight on to
victory in the championship. No matter what the outcome though, they've gained a new
loyal fan in me, and I look forward to following the next seasons with real
interest. This is the way that high school sports should be played! You go Tolman
girls! - Regina Orio
THANK YOU TO THE PAWTUCKET TIMES AND THE WOONSOCKET CALL
FORV THEIR GREAT COVERAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING IN YOUR PAPERS IT IS VERY MUCH APPERICATED!! A SPECIAL THANKS TO TERRY NEAU FOR HIS EXCELLENT COVERAGE OF CUMBERLAND CLIPPERS WRESTLING AND FOP ALL THE GREAT PICTURES YOU PUT IN THE CALL THEY ARE AWESOME!!!THANKS AGAIN!!! - Dawn Lariviere
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