Marquette secured a verbal commitment from 6-foot-7 Notre Dame Prep forward Damian Saunders Tuesday, according to scout.com. Saunders attended Crosby High School in Waterbury, Conn. where the Hartford Courant named him First Team All-State his senior year (2005-'06).
Saunders averaged 25.8 points per game and 15.8 rebounds per game as a senior at Crosby. He received a scholarship offer from Providence, too. At 6-foot-7 and 190 lbs, Saunders has a similar build to junior Trend Blackledge, and figures to play small forward in college.
Right now, he plays for Notre Dame, the same prep school freshman Lazar Hayward attended, in Fitchburg, Mass. The two did not play together. Scout.com lists Saunders as a three-star recruit. He is expected to sign with Marquette today.
Marquette has already received verbal commitments from 6-foot-7 forward Patrick Hazel, a senior at Blair Academy in New Jersey, and 6-foot-8 forward Trevor Mbakwe, a senior at Henry Sibley High in Mendota Heights, Minn. Scott Christopherson, a 6-foot-1 senior at Aquinas High in La Crosse, Wis. has also made a verbal commitment.
Marquette has two seniors on its roster this year, Mike Kinsella and Jamil Lott. Sophomore red-shirt Maurice Acker will fill one of those two scholarships next season.
Assuming Hazel, Mbakwe, Christopherson, and Saunders all sign letters of intent, Marquette would have 14 scholarship players, but only 12 scholarship spots in 2007-'08. Unless head coach Tom Crean is certain that sophomore Dominic James will jump early to the NBA and another player will transfer out, he must be anticipating that not all four will sign letters of intent. Either that, or Crean intends to red-shirt two players next season.
Scout.com lists Mbakwe as a four-star recruit, Christopherson as a three-star, and Hazel as a two-star.
Other Notes:
The Associated Press released its Preseason Poll. Marquette is No. 16.
http://www.ctyounggunz.com/in_the_news/newsView.asp?NewsID=200&NewsTypeID=1
http://www.huskynan.com/ctboyshonors2005
http://marquette.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=987&CID=141338
for scout.com fact checking just google the players names and "scout.com" next to the name and you'll see their profiles.