Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Rodriguez pops for Kansas State

On a fairly boring first day of the Early Signing Period, uncommitted point guard Angel Rodriguez spiced things up with a college decision.

The 5-foot-11 Rodriguez announced that he will attend Kansas State, choosing the Wildcats over North Carolina State and Louisville.

“It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make, with any of my Miami Tropics players,” Rodriguez’s AAU coach, Art Alvarez, said. “All the coaches were working very hard on him, and he made the decision at about 2:00 a.m. We told him to sleep on it, and then about 30 minutes ago, he made his final decision.

While it comes as no surprise that the connection that Kansas State head coach Frank Martin has to the Miami area played a factor, there was one interesting curveball -- Rodriguez does not plan on signing a letter-of-intent until the late signing period.

“He gave them a verbal commitment but he is going to wait to sign,” Alvarez said. “We’re going to see what happens after the season. They’re ranked No. 3 in the preseason, so we’re going to see what happens with Frank [Martin] and everything in April.”

With Jacob Pullen leaving after this season, and no other point guards on the roster, Rodriguez has a chance to make an immediate impact.

“He’s a pure point guard, but, in the same token, he’s a scoring machine,” Alvarez said. “He’s a clone of J.J. Barea, the backup point guard for the Dallas Mavericks [and former Tropics point guard], and he has a chance to come in and play right away. He brings all that to the table.”

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