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Noriega is Bull's first recruit in the 2009 class

By: Aaron Seybert

In terms of the 2009 class in Southwest Florida there are few that would argue with the opinion that Shaun Noriega is the cream of the crop. The 6'4 195lb junior wing guard has proven to be the area's most consistent scorer over the last two years despite the fact that he is often times double-teamed and is always guarded by the opposing team's top defenders.

And this afternoon the area's best junior took his name off-the-board and verbally committed to Coach Stan Heath and the University of South Florida, making him the first player in his class from Southwest Florida to commit.

Coach Heath originally took notice of Noriega on the travel circuit last summer and soon after, he took the South Florida job. Heath and his coaching staff continued to follow Shaun's progress throughout 2007-2008 and eventually invited him up to campus a few weeks after the season ended. It was there that Noriega really got to know the Bulls coaching staff. He was also introduced to Tama Bay Bucs head coach John Gruden while on the visit and said "I've been a Bucs fan since I was little so meeting coach Gruden was a neat experience. He had that famous look on his face (the Chucky look), but he was really nice and down to earth."

After watching Noriega and his Florida Elite team compete in the Charlie Weber Invitational in Washington, DC, last weekend, Coach Heath paid visit to the North Point High School gym on Tuesday to watch him go through a workout. After one last viewing of his talent, Noriega, North Point's all-time leading scorer, was extended a scholarship offer.

"I chose USF over the other schools because of the close distance to home, the coaching staff, and the opportunity to play at the highest level, Butler and Washington St. were interested but both were so far away and I couldn't pass up the chance to play in the Big East, when an offer like that comes around you have to jump on it." Noriega told us in a phone interview.

Besides Butler and Washington State (neither of which had offered yet), other schools that were in the recruiting race include Stetson and FGCU.

Coach Heath is not expecting Shaun to come in and be a slasher or playmaker. He needed a guy who could stretch out defenses and open up lanes so the slasher/playmaker types can go to work. Shaun can definitely do just that, having knocked down 83 shots from behind the arc just last season.

Noriega is primarily known for his shooting touch and scoring ability, but his biggest strength may be his overall improvement season-to-season and his ability to recognize his weaknesses and work on them. He is constantly getting better. Over the last 2 1/2 years, Noriega has added over 25 pounds of solid muscle to his frame and improved the lift on his jumpshot allowing him to get his shot off in any situation.

He recently shared with us some of his current training regimen, "Right now I am focusing on improving my defense, overall athleticism, and lateral quickness. I try to shoot at least 500 shots a day and I'm still trying to get stronger so I lift weights everyday for about two hours".

If Noriega is able to improve at the same rate we've come accustomed to seeing it will be scary just how good he could become next season and beyond.

Here are some other questions and answers from our interview today with Shaun:

SWFL Hoops: Going into your senior season and being the focal point of your team how much of a leadership role have you taken? "I am a quiet person in general so I'm not much of a vocal leader, I just try to work hard and do my job and hopefully the guys will follow my example."

SWFL Hoops: How much pride do you take in leaving behind a good legacy after you graduate? "I hope that I can help North Port continue to gain more respect on a local and state-wide level. We have alot of good young talent in our program and hopefully when I leave those guys will continue to build on what I've done."

SWFL Hoops: How important do you think it was to your recruitment to play with a big time AAU team? "I think I still would have gotten some attention overall but without playing in tournaments with Florida Elite around the country these past two years I probably would not have gotten the attention from the really high level schools like USF, Butler and Washington St."

SWFL Hoops: Who would you say is the best player you've played against on the travel circuit?

"In a tournament last year in Texas we played against a team from Oklahoma called Athletes First and hey had a kid named Xavier Henry who is ranked in the top 5 in the country right now as a junior."

SWFL Hoops: Who would you say is the best local player you have played against? "I would probably say it's a toss up between Chris (Stephenson, Charlotte High), Dago (Pena, Charlotte High), and Shay (Shine, Desoto) in terms of seniors. For juniors I would probably say Derek Robbins from Sarasota Riverview."

SWFLhoops.com

This article is associated with the following player(s):
Noriega, Shaun
Pena, Dago
Stephenson, Chris

POSTED: 4-24-2008

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