Linebacker-U.com: Tuesday Basketball Recruitin': NEEDS WORK

Yes, it's the end of March. Yes, I'm still writing about basketball, because it's my blog and I do what I want. Plus, Penn State managed to snag themselves a recruit in 6'3" shooting guard Tre Bowman from St. Thomas More Prep School in Connecticut. No, he's not the post player we've all been desperately awaiting for but he appears to be somebody who can fill in the role left behind by Chris Babb's transfer...Or so the Germans at BWI would have us believe:

Averaging 17 points per game, Bowman was the leading scorer for a St. Thomas More school that advanced to the national semifinal championship, and had games of 39 and 36 points this season...Describing himself as one who likes to shoot, Bowman noted that he can play above the rim, dribble, and pass as well.

But hey, don't take Bowman's word for it. ESPN (who rate Bowman an 86 out of 100) had a slightly different take on Bowman's game, though they more or less tend to agree with his personal self-assessment:

October, 2009: Bowman is a versatile player who does a number of things well but isn't great in any particular area. He's a good shooter with his feet set, shows good athleticism slashing to the basket and finishing, and is solid defensively. He makes good decisions handling and passing in the...That's right, we're cutting your free-loading ass off mid-sentence because we're The Worldwide Leader In Sports and we want you to fork over a non-trivial amount of money, just so you can read a few more words, suckers!

Perhaps ESPN is on to something with their description of Bowman's game, even Bowman himself admits on his MySpace page that his game has room for improvement:

Can you hit the 3?:	NEEDS WORK
Do you have handles?:	NEEDS WORK
Can you post up?:	NEEDS WORK

And if there's any worries about Bowman's motivation, let the record show that this kid slam-dunked his umbilical cord into the trash can the moment he popped out of his mother's womb:

Why do you play basketball?:	CUZ I LOVE DA GAME!
How long have you been playing?:	ALL MY LIFE!

Really, I don't know what's more refreshing: Bowman's ability to be frank with himself or the fact that Bowman is a non-celebrity/musician who frequently updates his MySpace page. His athleticism and perhaps more importantly, his three-point shooting ability will make him a key player off the bench and perhaps even part of a 3-guard look at times featuring Talor Battle and Taran Buie. Admit it, you're drooling just thinking about the idea of having three slashing threats on the court at once...And on that note, it's time for a YouTube-a-Palooza topped off with a little recruiting-flavored GOO PUNCH.