Goshen, IN — After heading to the state of Ohio to sign 2006-2007 Mid-Central Conference Newcomer of the Year Errick McCollum last spring (click here for related article), the Goshen College men’s basketball program returned east for its latest recruit signing, adding 2007 Westerville South High School (Westerville, Ohio) graduate Jeremy Pope to its list of incoming ’07-’08 players, the school announced Monday.
Like McCollum — a 2006 Canton GlenOak High School grad (click here for signing article) — Goshen acquires a stellar guard in Pope, as the 5-9 shooter/playmaker led his Westerville South team to a 47-19 record during his three-year varsity career. A career 45 percent three-point shooter, Pope averaged 13.9 points per game as a senior, leading his Wildcat squad to an 18-6 overall record, coming against — primarily — Division I (large school) opponents.
“We are thrilled to add Jeremy Pope to our family, as we feel he brings a lot of desirable qualities both on and off the basketball court,” said Cory Furman, Goshen head assistant coach. “He’s an extremely talented perimeter player, and he’s got a really big heart. He’s only going to make our backcourt play even better.”
A First Team All-Ohio Capital Conference (OCC) selection as a senior, Pope was a two-year starter at Westerville South (enrollment 1,779), knocking in 43 percent of his three-point attempts this season along with 83 percent of his career free throws. Pope helped his high school team to a pair of OCC Championships and a runner-up finish in the last three years, earning Academic All-OCC honors as well: The combo guard maintained a GPA of 3.6 throughout his high school tenure, and is set to graduate ranked 50th out of his class of 355.
“Jeremy is the type of kid that makes your entire program better,” said Ed Calo, 20-year Westerville South varsity boys’ basketball head coach. “He’s a young man of great character and is a very kind and considerate person. His parents have done a great job. He’s a very unselfish kid that makes those around him better in how he carries himself and how hard he works. Best of all, he wants to get better and enjoys being coached. He always represents himself and his team extremely well.”
Pope had plenty of help during his prep efforts on the court at South, as his good friend and teammate B.J. Cunningham was touted as one of the best players in all of central Ohio for the past two years. The two-time OCC Player of the Year, Cunningham signed a letter of intent to continue his football career at Michigan State University, but a dual-sport career may not be out of the question.
“B.J. was obviously our top offensive threat, but Jeremy did a really good job of running the point as a senior and scoring when needed,” Calo said. “He was, without question, our sparkplug. He’s a great player in his own right.”
Pope scored 20 points or more on six occasions in 2006-2007, putting up a career-best 32 points against Columbus South High School on Jan. 27. Pope was voted as an Honorable Mention All-District performer and an Honorable Mention Columbus Dispatch All-Agonis Team member as a senior, finishing as a unanimous First Team All-OCC selection: Only Cunningham received more votes in the all-conference balloting than Pope.
“Unfortunately for him, his size is usually the first thing that people notice,” Calo said. “We play very good competition being in Columbus and in the big-school division, so a lot of people come in thinking his stature might hinder his play. But Jeremy has outstanding skill level and commitment that more than makes up for his height. He’s a great shooter and is very consistent in that regard. He has a very good first step and is able to score over bigger people. Defensively, he’ll extend himself and make things tough (for opponents) on the perimeter. He always wants to push himself to work harder and has the right frame of mind to get better.”
Pope captured the Bob Spahr Award following his senior season — given to the Westerville South player who shows “the highest level of commitment, inspiration, dedication and leadership” — and was elected to the Westerville South Hall of Excellence, the school’s highest honor bestowed to just 10 seniors each year. Pope will graduate as a member of the National Honor Society, a two-time Westerville South academic letter winner and a Columbus Dispatch Scholar Athlete.
“One of the best things about Jeremy is how well respected he is by his peers,” Furman said. “We want to bring in players that not only are talented on the court, but can lead in all the time off of it. We think Jeremy really fits that bill.”
Pope said his college decision was difficult, as Ohio Northern University, Pfeiffer University and West Virginia State University were all on his list of finalists. In the end, it was the Goshen program that stood out above the rest.
“I liked the community and all of the people at Goshen,” said Pope, who said he plans to major in sports management. “They want you to succeed, and they had everything that I wanted in terms of academics and a high-caliber basketball program. The returning players seemed real humble and helped answer a lot of my questions. They seemed like really cool people to be around. That helped to make my decision easier.”
Pope is the fourth player to sign with the Goshen program this spring, joining 2007 Jay County High School (Portland, Ind.) graduate Scott Bruggeman (click here for article), 6-8 Kalamazoo Valley Community College transfer Kyle Laker (click here for article) and 6-7 Zeeland West High School (Zeeland, Mich.) graduate Taylor TenHarmsel (click here for article). Like Bruggeman, Pope commits to a Leafs’ program in the search for a new head coach, as six-year leader Stan Daugherty announced his resignation May 2 (click here for article). Furman said the college could announce its new head coach by as early as this week.
“Jeremy has placed his trust in our institution as a whole,” Furman said. “He is confident waiting out the process.”
In addition to McCollum, Pope joins sophomore-to-be Nate West as Goshen’s Ohio connection in ’07-’08. A three-sport athlete at Westerville South — Pope was a three-year letter winner in both football and baseball, earning all-conference accolades as a safety, receiver and kick returner in the former — Goshen’s newest basketball recruit said he’ll stick to solely the hardwood for the next four years.
“Playing football and baseball was fun, but I’m going to continue work at becoming the best basketball player that I can be,” he said. “Hopefully I can bring some excitement and leadership to Goshen. I have to learn a lot first, but I hope to help accomplish the goals that the team has set. It’s going to be fun.”
Furman said that the program plans to announce another recruit signing in the coming days, in effect wrapping up the 2007-2008 recruiting season. To contact Cory Furman, call him at (574) 535-7497 or click here to send him an email.
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