Friar Basketball

10 Things You Should Know about Rodney Bullock

Bullock

Providence received their first 2013 commitment today when Rodney Bullock pledged to Ed Cooley and the Friars.  The 6’7 Virginia prospect was both a high school (Kecoughtan High School) and AAU (Boo Williams) teammate of current PC freshman Josh Fortune.  Kecoughtan head coach Ivan Thomas noted that Fortune’s presence at PC, as well as Bullock’s familiarity with the staff when they visited Fortune, was a key factor in his decision.

Here are things you need to know about Rodney Bullock:

1. His commitment to Providence continues Ed Cooley’s attempt to lengthen this roster with multi-faceted forwards.  Both LaDontae Henton and Tyler Harris are combo forwards in the mold of many of the kids Cooley coached at Boston College, and in Bullock PC gets another versatile wing.  Providence has been tiny in recent years, but next year’s team will feature a 6’3 point guard in Kris Dunn, 6’7 shooting guard Ricardo Ledo, 6’6 shooting guard Josh Fortune, seven foot center Carson Desrosiers, and plenty of length at forward with Harris (6’9), Henton (who plays bigger than 6’6), Bullock (6’7), Sidiki Johnson (listed as 6’10 by Friars.com), 6’8 Brice Kofane and 6’9 Kadeem Batts.

2. Dave Johnson of the Daily Press of Newport News broke the story this morning.  Dave and I have exchanged emails for over two years now, ever since the Friars landed Fortune under Keno Davis.  He’s been high on Bullock since his sophomore year and provided a pair of updates on him, first in January of 2011 and then again this past February.  Here’s what he said about him each time:

From January 12, 2011 –

Another sophomore I understand the Friars are recruiting is 6-7 sophomore Rodney Bullock, Fortune’s teammate at Kecoughtan. Bullock is still growing and could end up 6-9 or so. Has outstanding skills, both in the post and on the perimeter. He is averaging 19.4 ppg and roughly 12 rpg, with a nice three point shot. In fact, if the district had a 3-point contest like the NBA All-Star game, my money would be on him. He needs to get bigger (I’m guessing he’s 210 lbs) and stronger, but he’s only 15.

From January 9, 2012 –

The last I heard, Bullock has been offered by Virginia Tech and N.C. State. Providence I know is very interested. He’s an interesting prospect. He’s listed at 6-7 and he has long arms, but he’s very lean, so I see him as a 3 in college. He doesn’t get as much attention as Phoebus’ Troy Williams and Hampton’s Anthony Barber, who are rated No. 8 and 23, respectively, in the Class of 2013, but he still has another summer and another full season to work on his strength.

Dave was kind enough to email me at 6:30 this morning with the news.  He’s been covering Hampton area high school sports for over 20 years and will be a worthwhile read throughout the season.  His articles can be found here.

3. Bullock is a product of the famed Boo Williams AAU program.  Few AAU teams have had the success and longevity of Williams’s group.  They’ve had countless NBA players and a handful of lottery picks, including Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, JJ Redick, Joe Smith, Ed Davis, Grevis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, JR Reid, Scottie Reynolds and many others.

They’ve had 12 McDonald’s All Americans, most recently with kids like Kendall Marshall, Chris Wright and Vernon Macklin.

4. Adam Finkelstein believes Bullock’s biggest impact could be as a man who can cover three positions, citing length and mobility as two key factors Cooley looks for in his defenders.

5. One area that seemingly all scouts credit as an area of strength for Bullock is on the glass.  He’s known as a terrific rebounder.

6. Bullock was solid at the biggest AAU event of the year – the Peach Jam at the Nike EYBL.  While Boo Williams struggled, losing four of five games in pool play, Bullock was a consistent standout alongside elite teammates Anthony Barber and Troy Williams.

His best effort came when he scored a team-leaading 19 points in a loss to Team Final (PA).

7. Both Fortune and Bullock received great coaching at the high school level from Ivan Thomas.  Thomas is one of the top coaches in Virginia, winning a state championship at TC Williams (the school made famous by the Disney movie “Remember the Titans”) prior to leaving in 2008 for family reasons.  While there, he compiled a 78-11 overall record, went 52-0 in his district and 65-3 against Virginia AAA Northern region teams.

He coached for a few years under Boo Williams.

8. Fortune and Bullock’s season ended a year ago at the hands of former Towson commit Frank Mason, who was unstoppable in a 37 point explosion.  It was a game Fortune battled back issues through.

Mason has reclassified to 2013 and had been on Providence’s radar, but his stock has exploded.  He’s visited Kansas, Maryland and Virginia Tech recently.

9. Playing through a sprained ankle for a portion of last year, Bullock averaged over 14 points per game and has scored 1,114 points over the course of his three year career.

10. Here’s how he looks on video:

 

 

 

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