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Hinds emerges as UNLV’s top 2011 point guard target
Following Carson’s commitment to ASU, Kruger and staff sure to put full-court press on NY guard
UNLV coach Lon Kruger talks to his players during a first-round NCAA Tournament game against UNI at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City on March 18, 2010.
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.
Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High point guard Jabarie Hinds
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In the eyes of Mount Vernon High coach Bob Cimmino, Jabarie Hinds is in some pretty exclusive company.
The school is a longtime hoops powerhouse in the shadows of New York City and has produced countless NCAA Division-I standouts.
"In my time here, Ben Gordon and Jabarie are the two best players I've had," Cimmino said of his 6-foot senior point guard. "Ben's legacy to our program was his work ethic. It's fantastic to have that work ethic, but not everyone can have the talent to put with it that Ben and Jabarie have."
Gordon went on to win a national championship at UConn, was an NBA lottery pick and has been a successful pro since 2004.
As for Hinds, he's currently figuring out what's next.
The lefty has narrowed his college choices to three final schools — West Virginia, UNLV and Oklahoma State, in no particular order.
Several schools that made scholarship offers to Hinds have dropped from the radar, including Wake Forest, UConn, Louisville and Oklahoma, leading to what looks like quite the random trio of finalists.
Last week, Hinds confirmed that he'll take official visits to all three before making a final decision. He's hoping to make that happen before the start of his senior season. The visit to UNLV will take place in September or October.
With former target Jahii Carson committing to Arizona State last weekend after saying last week that he planned on visiting Las Vegas this fall, there is now no question that Hinds is the UNLV staff's clear-cut top target in the search for a point guard prospect in the 2011 class.
"I could see myself playing for all three schools," said Hinds, who has never been to Las Vegas. "I want to get to know (Vegas) better, see what the team has to offer me, see how the players are."
The driving force behind Hinds' recruitment from UNLV has been assistant coach Lew Hill — also a Mount Vernon High grad. The Rebels began recruiting Hinds in the ninth grade and the staff has seen him evolve every step of the way. Hill and head coach Lon Kruger more than likely will make an in-home visit to talk with Hinds before he comes to campus.
Last season, he broke out for the Knights, earning Class AA All-State honors and averaging 22 points per game.
He enters his final prep campaign ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 23 point-guard prospect in the 2011 crop and 108th overall.
"He's a prototypical New York guard," Cimmino said. "When a coach tells you someone is a great defensive player, usually it's a quote for someone who can't play offense. He has dominated a couple of games in his career on the defensive end. But he enjoys attacking the rim. He's very athletic, shoots the ball well. There aren't too many holes in his game."
Those are all qualities that helped Gordon make a name for himself.
Hinds said that reaching those same heights became a real priority for him about a year ago. Now, it's all about finding the next stopping point along that path.
"I saw a couple of (UNLV's) games, saw the game against Louisville — Coach Kruger is a good coach and knows how to get guys to the next level.
"When I was coming up, I'd play hard, but I never realized what I could do with basketball. As I've gotten better, I've realized that basketball can take you a long way if you just keep working hard and doing the right things."
Mashour now a Rebel, no word yet on Buckley
Karam Mashour, a 6-foot-6 Israeli wing who committed to UNLV on Friday, just six months after coming to the United States, officially enrolled in classes Monday and is a member of the men's basketball program.
Mashour played in a handful of tournaments this summer with the Las Vegas Prospects and drew the interest of nearly 20 schools from around the country, including UCLA and Florida.
Following his commitment, the NCAA needed a couple of extra days to clear him by confirming his amateur status. Mashour played for the under-18 Israeli national team before coming to stay with his uncle, Jason Awad, over the past few months.
He's still learning English by studying at home with his uncle and teenage cousins and will get assistance on campus to help bridge the language gap.
Now the attention turns to 7-foot incoming freshman center Henry Buckley, who has yet to be academically cleared by the NCAA.
If he is not enrolled early in the semester, there is a chance he might not join the school and program until the spring semester or even next year.
Discussion: 12 comments so far…
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UNLV is going to need a good PG for the next class coming up. If Hinds wants to play, come to UNLV because he will not just be wanted, but he'll be needed.
Hope Buckley can also get his stuff in order and get into the classrooms as soon as possible.
Hinds would be a good Rebel
I know we use a "run and gun" style of play, but does anyone else see that we cannot really compete late in the year without a dominant big man? Look at how we were out rebounded against UNI and how Utah gave us trouble twice last year, and they were a pretty mediocre team. I agree that Hinds would be a great asset, but I'd like to see the program land a top big man once in a while...
Glad to be on his list, but can't help but be a pessimist when it comes to landing him. We have missed out on so many before.
Prove me wrong, Hinds! Would love to be wrong!
The last high status big man we landed, Beas Hamga, was a flop. I believe our big man play will improve immensely this year. Brice showed glimpses of his potential against BYU in the conference tourney. Once he got the defender on his hip in the post, it was two points. I'm looking for Lopez and Thomas to step in and help out. Kruger can turn average big men into good players(AMundson, Anthony).
@blueandgold: Agreed that Amundson and Anthony turned out to be great additions, but Anthony was really only a defensive powerhouse. He stuggled offensively. But you are right in that Kruger's got that magic to turn ordinalry into good. But just think what he could turn a great post player into.
a) Massamba, Lopez, Thomas
b) Kruger doesn't coach the big guys (specifically) I believe it's Lew Hill's job.
RebelBen is pretty confused. He doesn't seem to know this roster. Buckley is not a banger. He may be 7' but needs some pounds. Like Jerry said....
I'm not confused. I was merely speaking of going after gaurds like we have the past few years. I don't know anything about this Buckley guy. I'm not saying we should be focusing on him instead of Hinds, I'm just saying it would be nice to get some top name big man recruits.
Truth is 99% of all of college basketball would like to land a quality big man. The problem is there aren't many out there anymore.
There no question that UNLV struggled against bigger teams last year, but I do believe we will see a big improvement in Brice this year, and the addition of Thomas and Lopez should improve the low post game.
Great guard play is an absolute MUST to be successful in college basketball. They have the ball in their hands the most. Also Tre, Kendall, Jasper are leaving and OB is becoming an upper classman, so landing a quality guard is a must for this team.
rebelben, it looks like we have a kid coming in next year, Grandy Glaze, that is a serious banger down low. He's also a good student. QT should help this year, and Lopez too.
C'mon, Hinds makes a trip to Vegas and nothing is being reported. What's up?