Daily Swarm

ERIC PATTERSON NAMED TO ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
EP was voted on the 3rd team squad Thursday. Congrats!!!

HOOPS RECRUITING
Wesley Matthews, a 6'5" guard and 4-star recruit, announced Thursday that he has narrowed his choices down to 3 schools - Marquette, Wisconsin and GT. Story here. He plays currently at a high school in Madison Wisc. He did not hint at a favorite, but did say that he would like to make a decision soon. It looks like Coach Hewitt is waiting on Matthews to make a decision before extending offers to other potential recruits. Rivals has ranked WM #72 in his class and the #19 shooting guard. Hoopsmasters has him at #26, Prepstars at #17 and Dave Telep at #93. Quite a spread. Matthews has not had a lot of publicity this year because he was sidelined with a broken thumb. So far his final 3 schools are the only ones he has offers from, but he has also been recruited by Kentucky, UConn and Stanford among others.

He grew up playing the point, but is more of a combo-guard. He seems to have good all-around skills, with an ability to drive to the basket, sound defensive skills and a good shot. As a junior he averaged 15.8 points. As a sophomore he averaged 14.1 points, 4.6 boards, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 51% from the field and 77% from the line.

Wesley's father is a former NBA player (W.Matthews Sr) and happened to attend U of Wisconsin.

Here's a little bio on him from a UConn site:

Wes is a 6'4" 200 pound shooting guard from Madison,
Wisconsin. He attends Memorial High School.

Wes averaged 16 points per game and shot over 50% from the
field. He was the leading scorer on a team loaded with division
one talent. Matthews is the #51 ranked player in his class by
Rivals Hoops.

Matthews is very well built and has an excellent shooting
stroke from mid range out to the three point line. He is also
terrific driving by his man to the basket. Wes is well known
for having a very solid all around game.

His father Wes Matthews Sr. is from Connecticut and was a
standout at Harding High School. Both of Matthews parents
attended Wisconsin where Wes Sr. was an outstanding
basketball player before moving on to the NBA.

In this blurb, it mentions that he met Dick Vitale:

Madison Memorial boys basketball player Wes Matthews Jr. met Dick Vitale at his book signing Friday in Madison and then was mentioned twice by the ESPN commentator during the telecast of Wisconsin's victory over Michigan State on Saturday. "We chit-chatted for a little bit and I guess that led to the ESPN (mention)," Matthews told the Wisconsin State Journal. Matthews, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior guard, is No. 60 out of Rivalshoops.com's 2005 Top 75 players in the country.

This from his local paper:

Congrats also to Wesley Matthews for being selected as Second Team All-State by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wesley is one of the top juniors in the country and will only get better because of his tremendous work ethic and the fact that he is a student of the game. An unselfish leader and great teammate. We are very proud of you Wesley!

To find out more about Wesley's family, read this article. It reveals the connection to Atlanta, as his parents were never married and his father lives in ATL. If just half this article is true, then he seems like humble, good kid - just the type of kid that fits at GT:

"I'm proud of the person that he is," Moore said of Matthews, who carries a 3.2 grade-point average, "and the young man that he's growing up to be."

What Matthews has grown up to be is a young man who is friendly and respectful to others.

"The biggest compliment I could pay to Wesley is, if I had a daughter I'd want her to date him," Collins said. "He's that kind of kid. He's got lots of friends. He does things the right way. He's not only a good basketball player, he's a good person."

Matthews could brag about his many athletic accomplishments but chooses instead to be humble.

"He's a cool guy," said Memorial's Justin Dahmen. "He knows he's good but he doesn't have to show it. He shows it on the court."

No doubt his mom, who was a hoops star in her own right, will have a HUGE influence on his recruiting. What is she looking for in a coach:

"Someone who I can trust can take on all the hard work that I've put into developing a young man and continuing on with that," she said. "That's going to be important to me."

Once she finds this Mr. Right, Moore thinks she'll be able to hand off her pride and joy to him. Sure, she anticipates feeling some of the empty-nest syndrome, but she also believes her job will be complete.

"If I'm feeling that person is the right person, I don't think I'm going to have a problem with it," Moore said. "And I think I'm ready for it. And I think Wesley will be ready for it.

To see a fairly complete list of players that currently have offers from GT, click here.

JESSICA SIMPSON PICKS GT IN HOOPS FINALS
Evidently is the most recently aired episode, Nick and Jessica discuss their NCAA picks. Jessica had picked GT in the finals. No, I didn't see it, but my search engine picked this story up:

Later, Nick reveals on the phone that Jessica is at the moment winning the basketball pool they entered, after betting on Xavier University and Georgia Tech

BEESBALL NOTES
On C.Remole:

Eight-round pick Freddy Sandoval (third base) and 11th-round selection Clifton Remole (Georgia Tech) play positions where the Quakes are already stocked.

How about Kevin Cameron, a former GT player:

Right-hander Kevin Cameron, 24, was 2-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 22 relief appearances for the Miracle. Cameron, a 13th-round pick in the June 2001 draft, was beset by tendonitis last year when he went 1-5 with a 3.92 at low-A Quad City. The Joliet, Ill., native attended Georgia Tech.

Here's a blurb on former GT player who transferred to AZ, Kevin Guyette:

HATING THE DOGS: Guyette, who is scheduled to start Arizona's third game of the CWS, has plenty of reason to dislike the Bulldogs.

He pitched at Georgia Tech for a season.

"I'm not a big fan, honestly. Not a big fan to say the least," he said.

Guyette played one injury plagued season for the Yellow Jackets in 2002, missing out on Tech's trip to the College World Series.

"I was watching them on TV. Now they're watching me on TV," he said.

Guyette remains friends with several Tech players and talked with five of them this week. He said he was rooting for them in the Super Regional. Guyette transferred to Arizona last year, largely to be closer to his father, Robert, who was diagnosed with cancer shortly before he was to begin his second year at Tech. Robert Guyette will be in attendance this week.

Texas minor league team is excited about Mike Nickeas - story here.

NICE STORY ON JAMES BUTLER
Well-written story on Butler from CFN.com - story here.

If you want a player to watch this year and root for as the ideal of what a college football player should be, check out one of the best defensive backs in the nation: Georgia Tech FS James Butler.

From Chan Gailey -

"Most importantly," said Gailey, "he's a very good student and an outstanding person. We will look to him to be the leader of our defense this season."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - DARYL SMITH
Another nice article on the former GT player. From D-Smith:

"Being on the field is all I know,'' Smith said. "I don't want that to change just because I'm in the NFL.''