The recruits:
C Elgin Fitzgerald – 6-9, 245 lbs – Palmer HS (Colorado Springs, CO)
Dunn used his Colorado connections to land one of the top high school prospects in the state in Fitzgerald. The big man is one of the better center recruits in recent Ivy League recruiting classes. He has a solid post game and great size at 245 pounds, averaging 21.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest as a senior.
C Kurt Graeber – 6-9, 250 lbs – Fullerton JC/Arizona State/Peninsula HS (Rolling Hills Estates, CA)
Graeber walked on as a freshman at Arizona State two seasons ago, then transferred to a community college. He didn’t play a great deal for a Fullerton College team that went 37-0 and won the California JuCo state title this past spring, but he is regarded as talented, particularly on the boards and on defense. Graeber selected the Big Green over interest from Brown and is expected to have three seasons of eligibility at Dartmouth.
PG Robby Pride – 6-1, 180 lbs – Kent Denver School (Englewood, CO)
Pride was the 3A Player of the Year in Colorado his senior year after putting up 20.0 points a game. His high school numbers look more like those of a combo guard, but in an article in the Valley News, Dartmouth coach Terry Dunn talks about Pride as a pure point guard.
PG Brandon Ware – 5-11, 160 lbs – Seagoville HS (Dallas, TX)
Ware played his high school ball at Seagoville High School, which has turned out a number of big-time talents in recent years such as Texas’s LaMarcus Aldridge. This past season he played alongside two Big 12 recruits in Derrick Roland and Donald Sloan, both of whom are Texas A&M-bound. In the Valley News article, Dunn praised Ware’s defense and athleticism.
The fit:
Judging by the recruits he brought in, it isn’t hard to figure out what Terry Dunn sees as the areas in need of improvement in his program. Last year’s class may have received more attention — largely because of its size — but this class looks more likely to make an immediate impact in Hanover. With two of the better big men in the league’s incoming recruiting class and a pair of decently regarded point guards, it wouldn’t be shocking to see three or even all four of the recruits in the rotation in 2006-07.
Dunn’s displeasure with the production he go out of the center position was evident by the number of different guys who played in the middle for the Big Green this past season. As good a get as Fitzgerald is, Graeber figures to be slightly ahead of him at this point simply because of his Division I and JuCo experience and could start at center from day one. The added bulk of Fitzgerald and Graeber should help a team that struggled on the boards at times this past season.
Similarly, after watching combo guards Michael Giovacchini and DeVon Mosley combine for a negative assist-turnover differential, Dunn was playing wing Johnathan Ball at the point by the end of the season. Still, Mosley showed some flashes of point guard potential out there, and with the possible return of Marlon Sanders, there isn’t quite the same need at the point as there is at the pivot. However, you can expect Pride and Ware to get every oppotunity to earn the starting point guard job in the fall. Dunn told Tony Lane of the Valley News that he’s looking for athletic defenders at the point to put more pressure on the ball, and both of his guard recruits fit that bill.
