Akron coach Keith Dambrot picked up the first Top 100 player in his tenure.

The Zips got a commitment from 7-footer Zeke Marshall out of McKeesport High (Pa.) and while Dambrot isn’t allowed to comment on the big man, he was ecstatic.

Marshall was also pursued by Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Penn State.

Dambrot, better-known as the LeBron James’ high school coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio), has done an impressive job since taking over the program.

The school has had 13 winning seasons since going D-1. Bob Huggins has four and Dambrot has had a winning mark in all four seasons at the helm.

Akron went 24-11 last season despite losing seniors Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce. Dambrot will again have his work cut off for him after losing his top three scorers – Cedric Middleton, Jeremiah Wood and Nick Dials.

Dambrot admitted that LeBron certainly helps on the recruiting front.

``That’s how we get guys,” Dambrot said. “It helps us immensely.”

``He’s the biggest name in basketball,” he added. “And he does everything here in Akron – runs his camps, plays with our guys in the offseason. We sell the fact that if you come here, you get to play with him. The effect of it is unbelievable.”

GRAND MARSHALL

Marshall coach Donnie Jones will have a completely revamped roster in Year 2 of his regime.

Jones will have three key transfers become eligible – Chris Lutz (Purdue), Brandon Powell (Florida) and Octavius Spann (Georgetown).

Jones will also welcome in four freshmen – point guard Damier Pitts, 6-foot-10 big man Marcus Goode  and a pair of Florida natives - combo guard Shaquille Johnson and forward Kore White.

``We’re trying to blend experience with young,” Jones said. “We’ve got some guys who can help us out now and also some guys who will be able to help us in the future.”

Jones said that Lutz has used the past year to become more effective putting the ball on the floor while Spann has dramatically altered his body. ``He’s 6-foot-7 and 230, has six percent body fat and has increased his vertical five inches,” Jones said.

The Thundering Herd should be vastly improved despite finishing 16-14 in Jones’ rookie campaign.

They return one of the top players in C-USA in Markel Humphrey (13.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg), who was hurt much of last season, and also have Tyler Wilkerson (9.2 ppg, 5.9) and Tirrell Baines (11.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and point guard Darryl Merthie (8.1 ppg, 2.7 apg) back in the fold.

HUGGINS OK AFTER FALL

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he’s fine after taking a fall last week at an airport in Charlotte.

``I just tripped,” Huggins said. “I didn’t want to break my cell phone – and I didn’t think I’d fall on my head.”

Huggins was checking his messages and tripped on a cone. He went to a local hospital for a few hours.

``I whacked my nose pretty good,” he laughed. “And if I get cut, I bleed.”
 
RANDOM NOTES: Doc Rivers’ son, Jeremiah, was on Indiana’s campus and is also looking at Georgia Tech and a couple other schools. Jeremiah opted to transfer from Georgetown after a couple of seasons with the Hoyas. The hook with Indiana is that Hoosiers coach Tom Crean was previous at Marquette – where Doc played back in the day. … Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie confirmed that freshman big man Mike Williams will transfer and also said that an announcement will come soon that guard Derrick Jasper is also leaving. … The Houston Hoops beat the Compton Magic to win the third annual Cactus Classic. … Florida transfer Jonathan Mitchell took a trip to Marshall this past weekend and, according to sources, the New York native is leaning towards Rutgers. … Memphis coach John Calipari has hired Arizona assistant Josh Pastner and is still looking to hire another guy to replace Chucky Martin. One name that has surfaced is that of Pittsburgh assistant Orlando Antigua.