by Alex Schwartz

A few days ago, an under the radar commitment was made to Northeastern by 6'7 power forward Alex Bates '10 of Eleanor Roosevelt (MD). The big man's decision did not get much fanfare, but he is a great pickup for Bill Coen and Co. "Well basically I felt extremely comfortable with the coaches and players. They kind of felt like family. Also because it's a great academic school with a really nice campus," stated Bates on how he picked the Huskies.

Prior to taking his name off the board, the Old Line State standout had Iona and Boston University as his other finalists. Asked how it feels to have the decision behind him, Ales replied, "A little bit of both happy and sad. I'm happy because it was a long, stressful process and now it's over. I'm sad because I know that I'll probably never be pursued by this many people again."

Bates was superb at Hoop Group Elite Camp Session One this summer, and that is about the time the post player saw his recruitment pick up steam. "It really picked up after Hoop Group camp and the entire month of June." At that event, Alex was selected as a Senior All-Star and was ranked by Northstar Basketball as the #14 performer in camp, third amongst Senior All-Stars. When I talked to Bates on the last day of camp, he had no scholarship offers and did not even list NU, or BU or Iona for that matter, amongst the schools recruiting him.

Was there one main factor in particular that led Bates to pick Northeastern? "Not really. I just felt the most comfortable with them and loved the way the program is run by Coach Coen, but I did realize that the CAA was a real competitive league and that helped [me in] my decision a little, but it wasn't a deciding factor." Alex has some goals for his time at the Boston school, despite knowing how good of a league the CAA is: "I want to make the All-Conference Team by the end of my sophomore season and become the leading rebounder at NU." With hard work, he just might be able to do it.

Another commitment that did not get as much publicity as it may have deserved was that of Dezmine Wells '11, who popped to Xavier today. In all the hoopla over Kyrie Irving '10 committing to Duke, Wells' decision to attend the Atlantic-10 power was a huge coup for Chris Mack. So how did the Word of God Academy (NC) baller decide on the Musketeers? "Everything about the school and the coaches are real down to earth. . . . The academics are real good. . . . They graduate all their seniors [and] . . . it will put me in a good situation."

Wells did not have any specific finalists before making his commitment. "Everybody was on the same level. Georgetown, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, Miami, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Oregon State." When I spoke to the 6'4 wing at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando this summer, he said, "I don't plan on making my decision until my senior year." I inquired of him how he knew the timing was right, and Wells responded, "Just everything about the school. . . . When I went on my visit my mom really liked it. . . . Everyone in my inner circle liked it [and] . . . I just felt the timing was right because it's not likely everyone in my inner circle would have the same opinion on it."

Dezmine's AAU teammate with the CP3 All-Stars, 6'5 SF Jay Canty '10 of Ragsdale (NC)—the #117 ranked player in Northstar Basketball's Class of 2010 Terrific 125—is also committed to Xavier. Asked if that had anything to do with his decision, Wells had an interesting response, "It's just something I did by myself because at the end of the day it's a business decision. It's not a personal decision, it's a business decision. . . . I'm not going to always be around my friends [and the fact that] . . . one of my friends happens to be in the same position, that's just a plus for me." Wells does not plan to recruit others to the school, stating, "I'll just let the coaches handle that."

Considering that Xavier was the only non-BCS school he listed, I asked if he was tempted to go to a school in a high-major conference, to which he said, "Xavier, they get to the NCAA Tournament every year. They have gone to four Sweet Sixteens in the last five years and two Elite Eights. . . . It's not the conference. It's who gets to the Tournament." What were the coaches' reactions to hearing that Wells would be a part of the group that would be trying to keep Xavier's run going? "They were very ecstatic. They told me they were break dancing, but I didn't believe them."

Note- photos are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/