McGrew Touring Deep South; Freeman Wide Open

D'Andre McGrew, who carried Cloud County C.C. of Concordia, Kan., to the Region VI semis last month, is taking his second straight official visit this weekend.

The 6-3 swingman is currently on the campus of Georgia State, according to Cloud County Asst. Coach Shawn Ellis. Last weekend (Apr. 11-13), McGrew visited Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.

Ellis expects McGrew to sign with one of the two finalists on his list.

McGrew was instrumental in Cloud County's improbable run last month at the Region VI Tournament. He scored 28 points in a quarterfinal round upset of top seed Barton County, and followed up with another 20+ point output in a semifinal loss to Cowley County.

Built more like a bruising fullback than a basketball player, the husky 220 pounder from Salina, Kan., is terrific at getting to the basket and finishing. Even though he's not blessed with great footspeed and athleticism, McGrew is able to outmaneuver defenders on the way to the basket. On top of that, he has range out to three point land, and is a terrific free throw shooter.

This past season at Cloud, McGrew averaged 16.6 points per game and earned 175 attempts at the foul line. He shot 81 percent from the charity stripe, so he wasn't a player that the opposition rushed to foul late in games.

Another Cloud sophomore, 6-2 swingman Darrell Freeman of Oviedo, Fla., is wide open and interested in hearing from other colleges, Ellis said.

Freeman is a fine run/jump athlete who excels at attacking the basket. He is a player well suited for an up tempo style of play, because he plays consistently hard and with a lot of energy.

This spring, Freeman has taken one visit to Division II Central Missouri State.

"He's played in [the Jayhawk] conference for two years, and he's never going to lose a spring or a race," Ellis said. "He's competitive, a gym rat, and he will work his butt off wherever he goes."

In the semifinal round loss to Cowley last month, Freeman played one of his finest games of the year, hitting several perimeter shots to keep the T-Birds on the Tigers' heels.

And that will be the key for Freeman, to keep improving the consistency of his perimeter game. He does a lot of different things on the basketball court (e.g., grabbed six rebounds a game), but he's one of those classic tweeners until his jumper comes around.

JUCO Junction will keep you posted on McGrew and Freeman until their recruitments reach a conclusion this spring, so stay tuned!