BU recruit- 2013 juco K.J. Bluford

[Da Coach]

K.J. Bluford is a 6'2" sophomore shooting guard at Northeast (Nebraska) CC, in Norfolk, Nebraska.
He is the #64 ranked juco player in the country.
He is originally from Robbinsdale Armstrong HS, in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Last year as a freshman at Northeast CC he averaged 17.7 ppg. he shot 39% from the floor, and 34% from three. This year, in 16 games he is averaging 18 ppg, and shooting 43.7% from three.

He has an offer from Arkansas State, with interest from Missouri State, Murray State, Northern Arizona, Detroit, and UTEP.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/basketball/recruiting/player-K.J-Bluford-143299

http://www.northeast.edu/Athletics/Mens-Basketball/Player-Profiles.aspx

http://www.norfolkdailynews.com/sports/bluford-leads-northeast-men-past-central-cc-of-columbus/article_0286f85e-586c-11e1-a444-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=image&photo=0

[tornado]

almost 44% from 3-pt and averages 2 steals per game --

[DeltaBrave03]

Good guards are a dime a dozen. We need productive bigs who can catch passes and require double teams on the post.

[Da Coach]

Good guards are a dime a dozen. We need productive bigs who can catch passes and require double teams on the post.

I tend to agree. Lets land a couple quality bigs, then go shopping for more guard depth.
This seems to suggest to me that maybe more scholarships might open up than just the ones expected.

[tornado]

Diehard Fan tipped me off to this - but yesterday - while our guys were in Iowa anyway - Geno Ford made the trip to watch KJ Bluford and his juco team play Marshalltown (IA)...

KJ Bluford tried hard to impress his potential future coach by hitting 8-16, and nailing 13 of 14 FT's to post a 31-point performance...
Bluford's head coach said this...

"They did a good job of guarding (Bluford) and trying to take him out of his element early."
The sophomore guard made 13-of-14 from the line and knotted the game at 85
by flipping a shot over his head while spinning through the lane to draw Lamont Adair's fifth foul."

I wonder how many he'd have scored had they done a bad job of guarding him!

"Northeast's KJ Bluford entered Saturday as the ICCAC's 2nd leading scorer (
18 ppg). The sophomore guard has made and taken more 3s than anyone in
the conference (69-of-158 ) and is third in accuracy (43.7 percent). Bradley
men's basketball coach Geno Ford, whose Braves played UNI in Cedar Falls
earlier in the day, was in attendance at Saturday's game. Ford was there to
see Bluford according to a report from the Lincoln Journal Star."

http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/556291/Free-throws-help-Hawks-escape-25th-ranked-Tigers.html?nav=5010

[LittleBrave]

We can never have enough good perimeter shooters. Hope we get this kid.
We could really be a good 3-point shooting team with our newcomers next year, along with Bluford...and Crawford has shown potential of hitting the 3.

[LittleBrave]

We can never have enough good perimeter shooters. Hope we get this kid.
We could really be a good 3-point shooting team with our newcomers next year, along with Bluford...and Crawford has shown potential of hitting the 3.

[wily coyote]

Good guards are a dime a dozen. We need productive bigs who can catch passes and require double teams on the post.

I agree we need some bigs but, if guards are a dime a dozen how come we got short changed.

[SFP]

I agree we need some bigs but, if guards are a dime a dozen how come we got short changed.

LMAO Good response. Getting a good big that can help us next year is the real challenge though IMO.

[tornado]

Iowa State/Fred Hoiberg making a big push to land Bluford

http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/basketball/mens/news/hoiberg-pays-visit-to-nebraska-juco-guard/

[LittleBrave]

Iowa State/Fred Hoiberg making a big push to land Bluford
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/basket...ka-juco-guard/

Hope we're pushing to land him too, though he gets most of his points with 3-pointers, and he's only around 40%...just haven't heard of many other JUCO shooters we're after lately. (???)

[SFP]

I'm more concerned not seeing any bigs then shooters.

[tornado]

here's an interview with juco KJ Bluford who I had sensed might have been one of our priorities but...

"K.J. Bluford...attended Iowa State’s Monday night game...
The shooting specialist has been offered a scholarship by the Cyclones, but ....
.. said Evansville, Murray State and West Virginia also are on his radar.

“I’m looking for a place that I can come into and play and make an impact right away
“I like to shoot a lot,” said Bluford, who averages 17.9 points and shoots almost 40 percent from 3-point range."
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/d....com+-+SPORTS))

Bluford had just 3 pts in his team's 27 pt loss last week

http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/556856/Tigers-net-first-league-victory-at-Northeast.html?nav=5010

[LittleBrave]

here's an interview with juco KJ Bluford who I had sensed might have been one of our priorities but...

"K.J. Bluford...attended Iowa State??™s Monday night game...
The shooting specialist has been offered a scholarship by the Cyclones, but ....
.. said Evansville, Murray State and West Virginia also are on his radar.

???I??™m looking for a place that I can come into and play and make an impact right away
???I like to shoot a lot,??? said Bluford, who averages 17.9 points and shoots almost 40 percent from 3-point range."
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/d....com+-+SPORTS))

Bluford had just 3 pts in his team's 27 pt loss last week
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/....html?nav=5010

There is a red flag with this kid in that he does chuck it up an awful lot, even when he's not feeling it.
Would be nice to have another long-range shooter, but I think that Grier can be just as productive and do other things (shoot mid-range shots off screens) that maybe Bluford can not.

My main concern, as should be the coaching staff's, is a big who can step in and contend for a starting spot - not worried so much about perimeter shooting or guard depth.

[Da Coach]

K.J. Bluford just committed to Iowa State.
He had stated he wanted to go somewhere he could play a lot right away and make an impact- but at Iowa State, there is a good chance he will be a career backup. But it seems regardless of what a kid says, he is always attracted to the higher level schools where they mainly are recruiting him as bench depth.