Darrell Crawford has made sure his phone is fully charged at all times over the last week, which hasn’t been easy. It’s been ringing off the hook ever since word spread his nephew, former Lincoln standout Jordan Dickerson, was fully qualified to play Division I basketball in the fall.
“It’s been ringing like crazy,” he said. “It’s starting to get overwhelming. There were rumors he wasn’t going to make it, but he fooled everybody.”
The 18-year-old, 7-foot-1 center, who is finishing up a postgraduate year at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., has landed scholarship offers from Auburn, South Carolina, Dayton, DePaul, South Florida, VCU and Providence, Crawford said. St. John’s, Arkansas and Florida State have also expressed interest. Dickerson will visit Providence on Friday, Crawford said, and the plan is for him to see at least two other schools before making a decision.
“We’re looking for a school to develop him and let him play right away,” Crawford said. “We’re going to take visits and then sit down and see which school he likes the best.”
Dickerson came to Lincoln as a raw junior from Alexandria, Va., with limited basketball experience. After a solid senior year, he headed down to IMG this past fall and enjoyed an impressive season there, coach Loren Jackson said. He averaged 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per game as the team went 28-2.
“Jordan is a very talented kid that has a great opportunity – his upside is tremendous,” Jackson said. “Someone is going to benefit from him and he’s going to benefit from going to school. He really, really improved. He has a good concept of how a big guy should play. He’s a lot more skilled than people think.”
Hofstra lands versatile Connecticut forward: Darren Payen, a talented 6-foot-8 forward from Connecticut, had an exact idea what he wanted in college: a medium-sized campus, immediate playing time and the chance to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Hamden Hall Country Day School product saw all those factors in Hofstra after taking his official visit there and signed a National Letter of Intent on Tuesday.
“I figured that Hofstra was the place that had the whole package for me,” he said. “Their program is about to make the jump the next couple of years and I thought I would be a great addition.”
Payen, who led Hamden Hall to a 21-5 record this winter and averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game, picked the Pride over St. Bonaventure and Northeastern. Rhode Island also offered, but didn’t make his top three. Payen improved his perimeter game over the last year and will likely be used inside and out. Hofstra coaches, in fact, they seem him filling the void left by high-scoring senior Nat Lester.
He joins St. Anthony of Jersey City forward Jimmy Hall and Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) guard Dallas Anglin in coach Mo Cassara’s 2012 recruiting class. Transfers Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (UConn) and Taran Buie (Penn State) will also be eligible and former Long Island Lutheran standout Jordan Allen will be available after redshirting as a freshman.
“I took official visits to all three schools [that made the final three] and I liked Hofstra the best out of the three,” he said. “It’s a mid-size school, it wasn’t too big. I played pickup with the team, they were a tough group of kids. I figured playing with them over the next few years I could really develop.”
Curtis’ Edwards takes JUCO route: Curtis forward Debonair Edwards has opted for junior college rather than sitting out a year at St. Francis College, he said. The 6-foot-6 forward signed with Southeastern Iowa on Tuesday. He had the option of paying his way at St. Francis for a year as he failed to meet the NCAA Clearinghouse’s requirements.
“I decided to go to Southeastern Iowa [because] I like the atmosphere and I like the environment and I like the school,” said Edwards, a Post first team All-Staten Island selection said. “I can go further from there then I would be playing for St. Francis. I was leaning toward [St. Francis], but I looked at the long run. I think I’ll get better opportunities if I go to a junior college first and raise my grades.”
Edwards led Curtis to its second SIHSL title in three years and to the PSAL Class AA quarterfinals this winter, averaging 13 points and 12 rebounds per game. Fellow Curtis senior DaShawn Richmond has signed with JUCO Broward College in Florida and Kevin McIntosh will play for Division II Dominican College in Orangeburg, N.Y., coach Rich Buckheit said.