Luke Cothron: Profile

Height: 6'9
Weight: 220
Position: PF
Class: 2010
Team: Flora MacDonald (Red Springs, NC)
Stars: Scout and Rivals - 5 Stars (Scout #16, Rivals #17)
Status: Prospect
Offers: NC State, UCONN, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Georgetown, Florida State, Florida, Oklahoma State, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, UAB, Auburn, Cincinnati
AAU Team: Boo Williams

Description:

Take a quick glance at Cothron's offer list and you begin to wonder...who hasn't offered Luke Cothron? Luke is a 6'9 'big' who literally fills the roll of the point guard from time to time on his high school and AAU squad. He has no problem putting the ball onto the floor. He has reminded many recruiting analysts of Pervis Ellison with his game and his a haircut. Luke has very good footwork in the post and has a fairly mature post-game repertoire for his age. He has a nice touch around the basket and he also has a nice stroke on his jump shot. Cothron isn't the least bit shy when it comes to poppin from behind the arch. His height and length make him a dangerous shot blocker and a vacuum for rebounds. Cothron was the definition of production this past season for Flora MacDonald. He averaged a ridiculous double-double of 30 points and 20 rebounds a game. Coach Lowe personally offered this young man a scholarship after the Maryland game this season. Luke also made it to the game vs. UNC earlier in the season. The fact that he is familiar with some of the soon-to-be Pack players definitely doesn't hurt our chances. He has played against Richard Howell and Lorenzo Brown and speaks very highly of their ability. The addition of Cothron would put together a ridiculous class in 2010.

Sharing the Wealth: "Scott Wood Deserves Mr. Basketball Award"

Chuck Landis is a sports writer for the Marion Chronicle-Tribune and he believes that Scott Wood deserves to be Mr. Basketball for the State of Indiana this year. I don't know if you realize how prestigious of an award this is. The last three names to don the title were Tyler Zeller, Eric Gordon, and Greg Oden. Landis is going to give his vote to Wood but fears that Elston or Hulls will bring home the award due to their Indiana college destination. Nothing is set in stone at this point and a strong performance from Scott this weekend might prove his doubters wrong.

Here is the article where we found Landis' quote.

Wheeler Cruises To State Title

Wheeler was predicted to win the State Championship this year and they did not disappoint the bookies. Wheeler made it a handful of State Championship trophies back in their home gym after last night's 73-53 thrashing of Milton in the title game. Richard Howell capped off his Senior campaign by leading his team with 20 points in his last game donning the Wheeler jersey. Wheeler made it to last night's title game by beating Westlake 71-54. Wheeler finished the season 25-7 and they also claimed their 4th State Title of the decade. One thing is for sure, Sir Rich is coming to State next year with the taste of a State title in his mouth.

Zo To Play in All-Star Game...John Wall To Announce at JBC?

Lorenzo Brown will be playing in the Derby Festival Basketball Classic on April 11th. The game will be in Louisville at the Freedom Hall (7pm). The game will boast 3 McDonald's All-Americans in Peyton Siva, Michael Snaer and Maalik Wayns. 17 of the 20 players in the game are ranked in the Top 100 and 10 of the 20 are in Rivals Top 50. Dave Telep stated that he believes that Zo is one of the Top 30 players in the country in an article previewing the Classic in the Courier-Journal. It is exciting that Lorenzo gets to play in this All-Star game even though he deserved to be in many others.

John Wall has come out and said that he thinks it would be cool to announce his college destination at the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden on April 18. This is not completely etched in stone though. He also told PackPride that if it didn't work out while he was up in New York then he would do it back down here in Raleigh.

Pack Goes Out with a Wimper ; 74-69

And just like that, the season is over. NC State simply did not have what it took to beat the Terps tonight. On a night when all was on the line, when the seniors were on the clock, it was a freshman who took the team on his shoulders... a freshman who hadn't seen the floor in weeks. Mays led the Pack with 18 points, but it was not enough to stop Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes who combined for 38 points. It was defense that doomed the Pack, they were simply not quick enough to help on Vasquez and recover to the wing where Hayes and Neal were waiting to drown the Pack with 3 balls.

You really can't blame Sidney Lowe who pulled the right strings with the zone defense and Julius Mays. The upperclassmen did not play 40 minutes with a true sense of urgency. One thing is for sure, the losing culture of this team needs to go. There are far too many people on this roster who accept losing. Now, I'm not saying they want to lose, or they're not trying to win...what I am saying though, is that they accept losing as an option. Great teams and great players do not recognize losing as an option, they never lose the focus of the victory. Hate him if you will, but Greivis Vasquez is simply a winner. He does what it takes to win basketball games and the NC State upperclassmen should take notes, because when the going got tough it was Julius Mays and CJ Williams bailing them out.

I do want to thank our seniors for 4 years of hard work and loyalty. While these 4 years have not been the most pleasant, they were part of a bigger picture. If you take a close look you can see what Sidney is building. Game after game, his recruits prove to be gamers, guys that refuse to lose and play the game the right way...smart.

The next question is where will State land? We should all be hoping for an NIT bid, but of course, that is no guarantee. Post season play would surely benefit the young guys, but may be a simple waste of time for the seniors, although I hope that is not the case.

Another question is about Brandon Costner. BC is going to now have to decide whether or not he'll come back to play his senior year. From all I gather, Costner has no shot of being a 1st round NBA draft pick but could definitely hone his game in a European setting. That question will lurk until he makes an official comment about it.

Also all eyes are now on John Wall. Is it Memphis or State? Good question, but whatever the case with him, NC Sate has a top 25 class coming in, and looks to begin building a nationally respected program.