LSU Commit Gransberry Has Great Potential

Kentrell Gransberry might have signed to play football out of high school, but the mammoth 6-9, 291 pound center will play basketball at the high major level in college.

Gransberry, a freshman at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Tex., committed to Louisiana State recently, putting a very early end to his recruitment.

As a senior in high school, Gransberry signed a national letter of intent to attend Louisiana Tech on a football scholarship. But after it became clear that he wouldn't qualify academically, Gransberry had a change of heart.

One of his first calls was to San Jac, who had shown some interest in the big man as a roundballer as a high school senior in Baton Rouge, La. The Ravens were coming off a second place finish at the NJCAA Tournament in 2002-2003, and Asst. Coach Scott Horstman was excited about adding Gransberry into the fold.

That excitement turned to concern when the Raven staff learned that Gransberry would be playing in a summer all-star game. Surely, other junior colleges would be there to see him and get involved.

"Coach [Scott] Gernander told me that we needed to sign Kentrell before the game," Horstman reflected. "But later on, we found out it was a football all-star game, and not a basketball one."

Gransberry has paid immediate dividends for San Jac this season. He averages 10.1 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, and shoots 67 percent from the field.

"He's powerful around the basket, and runs the floor well for a big man," Horstman explained. "He has great hands, soft touch and combines finesse with strength and power."

On the flip side, Gransberry has a tendency to gain weight easily and is a poor free throw shooter (35 percent). So in that regard, he shares some things in common with former LSU great Shaquille O'Neal.

"He's still learning how to play hard all the time now," Horstman said. "Once he learns how to play hard all the time, he can be a great player."

"At times, he takes over games, and at other times, we take him out of games because he's going through the motions," Horstman continued. "He carries his weight great, but if he were 15 pounds lighter, he might be able to dominate the game another seven or eight minutes."

Since he's just a freshman, San Jac will benefit from the services of Granberry for one more year. The Ravens are currently 19-2 overall and hoping to make a return trip to Hutch next month. If San Jac is to make it out of Region 14, Gransberry will likely play a big role.

JUCO Junction plans on evaluating San Jac next month, so keep it here for the top coverage of JUCO recruiting on the internet.