And now for the future. We all dream when someone signs who has a younger brother that we get the younger brother later on. We just missed with Scooter and Rodney McCray but maybe we score with the Fergusons? Jamal, our first signee for next year, scored 30 last night while grabbing 10 rebounds. His younger brother, Jaleel, scored 20 along with 11 rebounds.
It's no dream....we get another victory Saturday over the Bearcats.
Joe Streator
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The pipeline to the 757 is open!
Maury 73, Granby 51
Jamal Ferguson scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds, while his brother Jaleel added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the No. 3 Commodores cruised past the No. 9 Comets (15-7, 8-6).
Maury (16-5, 10-4) clinched second place in the Eastern District and a berth into the Eastern Region tournament.
Ray Gajan
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Jamal Ferguson: Not Forgotten
By Mark Strotman MarquetteHoops.com Nov 10, 2011
MU coaches are excited for what the 6-4 wing can bring to the Golden Eagles.
Since prep wing Jamal Ferguson committed to the Golden Eagles, 309 days have passed. Three more players were added to the 2012 class. Marquette played 20 games, winning 10, including two NCAA Tournament games.
Yes, Ferguson has become the seemingly unknown recruit. But make no mistake; you'll soon know who he is.
The 6-foot-4 wing from Norfolk, Va. signed his National Letter of Intent Wednesday morning, joining forward Steve Taylor, center Aaron Durley and junior college guard T.J. Taylor in Marquette's 2012 recruiting class.
Fittingly, Ferguson reportedly was the first of the four to sign his letter.
Ranked No. 137 overall by Rivals.com and the No. 22 small forward in the nation by Scout.com, Ferguson will have four years of eligibility with the Golden Eagles.
Assistant coach Aki Collins, Ferguson's main recruiter, first saw Ferguson while he was recruiting current sophomore Davante Gardner in Virginia.
"I liked his athleticism," he said. "I just liked his ability rebounding the basketball, his ability to finish in transition, and knowing how Buzz likes to play, he's a guy that can play multiple positions and help us on the defensive end as well."
Williams echoed the same sentiment of his newest versatile athlete.
"He’s another switchable," he said. "He doesn’t really have a position. He needs to get better at everything but is not bad at anything. As he continues to get stronger, I think he’ll have a presence for us on both ends.”
Despite committing to Marquette relatively early in the recruiting process, Collins said Ferguson took his time in deciding and eventually landing on the Golden Eagles.
In the midst of committing during the midway point of his junior season, Ferguson finished his third year at Maury H.S. with averages of 19.0 points and 7.0 rebounds and was named first team all-district and co-MVP of his team.
Ferguson also was being heavily recruited by fellow Big East school Georgetown, but Collins said an unofficial visit helped end any concerns he had.
"He came out here and saw (campus) and watched us practice," Collins said. "And he just really felt like this was a good fit for him. So once we got over that hurdle, because you have to deal with proximity with a kid from the East coast, once we got over that hurdle and seeing Davante, the success he'd had out here at Marquette, that's helped with Jamal as well."
The period in between committing and eventually signing was lengthy, but Collins said Ferguson "never wavered from his commitment to Marquette."
Offensively, Collins described Ferguson as such: "He's an attacker," he said. "I think he needs to work on his jump shot, but I think he can handle the ball and slash to the rim and work on the offensive glass. I think the next step in his development is becoming a better perimeter defender."
As is the case for all freshmen under Williams, Ferguson will earn his minutes by getting after it on the defensive end, something Collins reiterated.
"I don't know what his reach is, but he's very aggressive on that end of the court, so his length and ability to get after it defensively will give him a chance," he said. "And that's for all freshmen. If you're ready to work on the defensive end, you'll get playing time early on."
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