Baldonado draws interest at Miami-Dade

Miami-Dade head coach Butch Estes is not yet sure how his 2005-06 team will look when it takes the floor this fall.

"We're not quite done with summer school, we've got a couple kids on the borderline," Estes said. "On paper, we looked like we were going to have really good team. We have had some challenges discipline wise and academically, therefore as we enter this year, we are sort of a team that is in transition."

However, Estes knows he'll have one thing he can count on: sophomore post player Stuard Baldonado.

"He is every bit of what his reputation says he is," Estes said. "He's clearly one of top five players in this state and I think he will probably be first team all-American. He's an inside player who is very creative offensively, is able to get shots on the initial move and just a tenacious rebounder. He can go get it and put it back in if he misses."

Baldonado, who was rated as the No. 56 player in the country by JucoJunction in our pre-summer rankings, is being recruited by just every level of Division One program at this point.

"SEC, Big Ten, Pac 10," Estes said, listing some of the interest. "At this time, Purdue, Oregon State, Georgia, Western Kentucky, he runs the whole gamut. Florida Atlantic down here, UTEP, East Carolina. He's a man."

Baldonado will lead the way, but it will be the responsibility of Gabriel Lazo to get him the ball. Lazo played as a true freshman at Florida International, where he averaged 2.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and one assist per game. He then sat out last season.

"He's kind of gone under the radar," Estes said of Lazo. "He sat out last year, then we've had summer school so he hasn't been to any of the events this summer. He is not getting the attention now that he will later."

Over the next few months, JucoJunction.com will be doing team previews from coast to coast to get junior college basketball fans set for an exciting 2005-06 season. To talk about this story with other juco hoops fans, check out the JucoJunction Board or our premium forum.