Thad Mumauâs column runs over at Smartnewsnc.com, and heâs nice enough to let us reprint it on DBR. Thanks Thad!
College coaches are drooling over Derrick Favors.
There are several reasons he is attracting so much attention: he stands 6-foot-9, weighs 220 pounds and is growing stronger every day; he is extremely athletic, runs the court well and has good hands; and he is an intimidating force on defense.
Favors' main attraction, though, is that he is a rebounding machine.
There are plenty of guys bigger than him who are not outstanding rebounders, so qualities other than size contribute to great board work. Desire is a big part of it. So is the knack for being where the ball comes off the rim. (The latter, by the way, often is a result of the former.)
Favors possesses those qualities.
A junior, he is averaging nearly 20 points and 20 rebounds per game for Atlanta (Ga.) South Atlanta High School.
"Derrick is like a vacuum cleaner," South Atlanta coach Michael Reddick said. "He feels he should get every rebound, and sometimes he gets just about every one."
Check out the following performances by Favors this season:
41 points, 25 rebounds, 14 blocked shots vs. Therell (Ga.)
42 points, 20 rebounds, 12 blocks vs. Jeannette (Pa.)
26 points, 24 rebounds, 14 blocks vs. North Atlanta (part of three-game stretch in which he averaged 23.7 boards.)
32 points, 29 rebounds, 8 blocks vs. North Hollywood (Cal.) Campbell Hall
Favors, who is ranked No. 2 in the class of 2009 by prepstars.com, is being chased by just about every big-time hoops team, including Duke, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Virginia and Florida State. (UNC is listed, but with three junior big men already in fold, the Tar Heels probably are not in the picture.)
The rest of the 2009 top 10 looks like this:
1. Renardo Sidney, 6-9 power forward, Los Angeles (Cal.) Fairfax.
3. Lance Stephenson, 6-5 wing guard, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln.
4. Xavier Henry, 6-6 wing guard, Warr Acres (Okla.) Putnam City.
5. DeMarcus Cousins, 6-10 center, Mobile (Ala.) LeFlore.
6. Kenny Boynton, 6-2 wing guard, Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage.
7. Jordan Hamilton, 6-6 small forward, Compton (Cal.) Dominguez.
8. Dexter Strickland, 6-3 wing guard, Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick (NORTH CAROLINA).
9. DeShonte Riley, 6-10 center, Beverly Hills (Mich.) Detroit Country Day.
10. Leslie McDonald, 6-4 wing guard, Memphis (Tenn.) Briarcrest.
Hokies get junior
Virginia Tech has received a commitment from a junior.
Erick Green, a 6-4 point guard from Winchester (Va.) Millbrook, chose the Hokies over George Mason, St. Joseph's and James Madison.
He is averaging about 19 points, five assists and three rebounds this season.
Thad Mumau may be reached at thadmumau@smartnewsnc.com.