Four-star 2011 center Erik Copes from Philadelphia was recently released from his Letter of Intent to George Washington due to the firing of their head coach. Since he is still a recruit and not a transfer, Copes will be able to attend another school this fall and play immediately (although he will not be allowed to sign another letter of intent – only one of those per customer).
Copes is only 6’ 8”, which seems a little small for a center, but his blocking and rebounding are superb. He is ranked 55th overall by ESPN, 57th by Scout, 91st by MaxPreps and 115th by Rivals.
This from ESPN:
[QUOTE]Strengths:
Copes has a tenacious motor at both ends and he has a nice pair of hands. He is a high-level rebounder and his shot blocking ability is impressive. He has the timing (quick off his feet) and willingness to challenge each and every shot in his area. He has great timing around the basket and he gets most of his points from tip-ins and dunks in traffic. It’s not uncommon for him to rebound, get a deflection, or block a shot, and then immediately fill the lane (runs hard) for the strong finish.
Weaknesses:
Overall, Copes offense is limited especially with his back to the basket. He does have a strong drop-step move, but other than that he struggles to score outside of 5-feet. His footwork is mechanical and he needs to do a better job of keeping the ball high so that smaller defenders can’t get at it. In addition, it would beneficial (at his size) for him to add a consistent jump shot at the elbow to keep defenses honest.[/QUOTE]
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This from Scout.com:
[QUOTE]Copes exploded at the end of the summer before his senior year, and isn’t looking back. He has great strength down low and knows how to use his body. He is a major factor on the offensive and defensive glass, and can be a game changer as a shot blocker. Right now he isn’t quite as advanced on the offensive end, and needs to pay attention to conditioning, but he is a steal for George Washington.[/QUOTE]
[RIGHT]([URL=”http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=4499773″]source[/URL])[/RIGHT]
Granted, Kentucky may not need another big man as they will have Wiltjer (6’ 9”), Davis (6’ 10”) and Vargas (6’ 11”). But if Cal is looking for a true center, this one sounds a lot like Josh Harrellson when Calipari got him – and he turned out to be quite an asset.
