2017 Serbian C Mlladus Armus

[LJay]

Hmmmmmm. Creighton coaches never sleep!

Little Rock school brimming with foreign talent
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette1 Nov 2016RICHARD DAVENPORT rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

Arkansas and several schools are taking a hard look at some relatively unknown, but talented basketball prospects at Southwest Christian Academy in Little Rock.
The Hogs are evaluating senior forwards Mladen Armus, 6-10, 215 pounds, of Belgrade, Serbia; Gabriel Osabuohien, 6-8, 215, of To- ronto, and junior forward/ guard Nikola Jerotic, 6-7, 200, also from Belgrade.
Armus and Osabuohien will sign during the spring signing period.
Southwest Academy Christian Coach Charles Baker said Armus arrived in the United States in August.
“We were in a jamboree in Texas and nobody could do anything with him in the whole tournament,” Baker said. “He’s so long, he’s really fast. Athletically, he has unbelievable lateral quickness. He rebounds really well with both hands above his head. He can stretch and shoot it from the perimeter. He has such great footwork in the post.”
Baker was the head coach at Shorter College for five seasons, as well an assistant at Colorado, Kansas State, Louisiana Tech, Campbell and Middle Tennessee State. He said Armus is adjusting to play in the United States.
“I thought he struggled the first jamboree we went to, and even with a lot of things being different, it didn’t stop him,” Baker said. “He played half the game in three games and he averaged 14 and 13 [points per game]. He really has a chance to be a special player.”
Armus is drawing interest from Arkansas, Missouri, UALR, Creighton and Vanderbilt. He intended to come to Southwest Christian last year, but there was a hold up.
“The club team he was playing on was writing letters to the embassy, saying he was trying to defect,” Baker said. “Of course, they had to investigate it. It wasn’t proven, but it held him up a year.”
He was chosen to play on the Serbian national team, but because of the delay tactics of the club team, Armus declined the invite.
“Once he was granted his [visa], he told them, ‘I’m not going to play. I’m going to the U.S. as soon as possible,’ ” Baker said.
Osabuohien is receiving interest from Arkansas, UALR, Western Kentucky and St. Bonaventure.
“He’s really, really talented,” Baker said. “His whole life he’s played off his talent and I’m trying to get him to do the little things, the fundamentals things. If he gets those things down, he can really play anywhere.”
Baker also said Osabuohien is a good ball handler.
“He can pass it most days and he’s a really good defender,” he said. “He blocks an unbelievable amount of shots. Maybe that’s because of his long arms.”
Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson and associate head coach Melvin Watkins watched the Lions defeat Providence Christian Academy of Rogers 72-28 on Saturday afternoon at the Southwest Christian gymnasium.
Armus had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals, while Osabuohien had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a blocked shot.
“When most schools come in here, those are the first two guys they pick out.” Baker said. “They notice them real quick.”
One observer compared Osabuohien to Mills forward Darious Hall, who has committed to Arkansas.
“He can do some of the same things,” Baker said. “He might be a little more skilled. Darious is a little bit better of an athlete. Osabuohien can play in the perimeter and play in the post.”
Southwest Christian plays in the Texas Christian Athletic League. Baker said he expects interest in Armus and Osabuohien to increase as the season goes on.
“Not a lot of people know these kids are here,” he said. “Whenever someone sees them, most people like them and they start calling.”
Jerotic is an intriguing prospect that’s sure to garner his share of interest from colleges. He practiced with Southwest Christian for the first time Friday after being out with a stress fracture of the foot.
Jerotic is expected to play for the 17-under Team Portis Wings in the spring and summer. He recorded three points and two steals in the Lions’ victory Saturday.
“He’a a big guy for a perimeter player,” Baker said. “He can shoot it, he’s athletic. He can shoot the three, he can pull up midrange. He gets to the rim and gets a lot of dunks on people. Also, his standing reach is ridiculous. He’s real long out there on the perimeter.”
He and Armus are still learning English and that can make communicating a challenge.
Forward Emir Ahmedic, who has committed to Oral Roberts, is from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and has been at Southwest Christian for a year. He acts as an interpreter for Baker when there’s struggle in communication with Armus and Jerotic.
“Yeah, he couldn’t talk last year,” Baker said. “This time last year somebody was interrupting for him and now he’s doing the interrupting.”

[gtmoBlue]

Kevin McPherson @ARhoopscoop has a bunch of short clips on Mladen (the Twitter is the link). Definitely worth looking at.

Kevin McPherson
@ARHoopScoop https://twitter.com/ARHoopScoop

SportingLifeArkansas.com

Southern Christian Acad.
@SCAhoops https://twitter.com/SCAhoops

[slaw]

link please?