Tuesday, Sept. 21: Marquette will add Israeli guard Niv Berkowitz for its Dec. 18 game against Arizona on ESPN2. The Golden Eagles landed the 18-year-old Israeli after assistant coach Jeff Strohm went to Israel last week to introduce the Golden Eagles’ program to him. Berkowitz, son of legendary Israeli and former UNLV player Mickey Berkowitz, chose Marquette without seeing the school. DePaul had been the early favorite, but the Blue Demons were left without a scholarship last week when point guard Cliff Clinksdale won an appeal with NCAA to play this season after initially failing to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse. Berkowitz, who visited DePaul, Georgetown, Rutgers and New Orleans, still needs to take the ACT or SAT to be eligible. He would likely come for a visit before he arrives for good. The Golden Eagles’ coaching staff is already planning on trying to get him into the lineup for the nationally televised game against the Wildcats. DePaul was recruiting Berkowitz with the thinking that Clinksdale wouldn’t be eligible. Berkowitz hasn’t played with pros yet and put off his military service. None of the schools expected him to have eligibility issues.[/b]
Looking like a nice pickup for Crean. This from Gregg Doyel:
[b]Getting the Crean of the crop
Sept. 21, 10:06 a.m.
Marquette coach Tom Crean might have found his next point guard in the Middle East.
Israeli teen-ager Niv Berkowitz has committed to the Golden Eagles and could become eligible in December, according to a report in Tuesday’s Jerusalem Post.
The 6-foot-3 Berkowitz averaged 14.4 points and made 53.3 percent of his 3-pointers this summer as Israel finished in eighth place at the European Under 18 Championships in Zaragoza, Spain.
He’s the son of former Israeli star Mickey “Miki” Berkowitz, who sparked Israel’s international basketball heyday of the 1970s and was named the country’s No. 1 athlete of all time in a recent poll.
To become NCAA-eligible this season at Marquette, the younger Berkowitz reportedly must post the necessary standardized test score. If it happens, he would likely spend the second half of the 2004-05 season as senior Travis Diener’s understudy.
That would give Berkowitz a leg up on 2005-06 freshmen Dominic James and Wes Matthews to replace Diener, though Crean likes to play point guards in tandem.[/b]
BTW, when I spoke with Judy Rose about the post-C-USA world, she said we wouldn’t be playing Marquette anymore since Crean & Co. will be “too good” for us once they hit the Big East. So come January 22nd, here’s hoping the Niners bid the Golden Eagles (or Warriors, but that’s another story I’m following) a farewell they won’t soon forget!!!