WVU Looking at JUCO Center Philip Jurick
By Geoff Coyle for wvillustrated.com
Feb. 17, 2011
West Virginia has a quality signing class coming in next season to help replace five seniors on this year’s basketball team. Those five players will all be true freshmen getting their first college experience, though, and now the Mountaineers are looking for experience.
A number of Junior College players have popped up on WVU’s radar as the staff tries to find athletes who have proven themselves at a higher level of competition. One of those is Philip Jurick, a 6-foot-10 center who has taken a long route to get where he is ready to play D-I basketball.
This won’t be his first time playing at this level, either. Jurick is in his second year at Chattanooga State Junior College, but his third year of college ball. His experience began at Tennessee, when the Volunteers beat out a number of qualified programs for his services, including WVU.
“They [WVU] recruited me out of high school and I just got caught up in staying close to home, so I really didn’t give them a good look,” Jurick says.
Now, the story is different. Jurick is giving Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers a close look as West Virginia is among a list of offers from schools like Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Southern Mississippi, “like all the SEC schools” and others. He will have two years of eligibility.
Jurick’s team has just three games remaining in its regular season schedule and sports an 18-4 record on its way to a playoff run that he feels will be a successful one. The last time he spoke with his head coach, Jay Price, his season statistics were 14 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots per game.
Do you think the Mountaineers could use a big man with that stat line right now?
“Right now they’re [WVU coaches] saying that I could fit in on the defensive end right away and of course when I get to the Division-I level I’ll get better offensively battling bigger players again,” says Jurick.
The word “again” is something Jurick says quite often these days. He’s so close to getting back to the level of basketball he became accustomed to right out of high school. For the past two years, it isn’t just the level of competition that has changed, but the lifestyle altogether.
“Especially coming from Tennessee and having everything handed to you,” he says. “The Junior College I’m at now, it’s okay as far as the living environment, but it’s nothing like working out at the Division-I level and with the meal plans. This is really like you’re on your own just going to school and playing ball. I’m looking forward to getting back on the D-I level just for the comfort level and you don’t have to worry about all that other stuff you do at a Junior College.”
Jurick looks forward to those luxuries that were familiar with the Volunteers, but says that the past two seasons have given him a greater appreciation for them than many players have. He says he left Tennessee for some personal reasons and simply because he didn’t think it was the right fit. With that in mind, he wants to be certain this time around, because his next choice is not one he can go back on.
According to Jurick, his high school coach at East Ridge High, Jon Goddard, is a WVU fan. He says by walking into his office, you can see that in the decorations. Goddard has worked some camps with Coach Huggins and feels that West Virginia is a good fit for his former big man.
“That’s really what has drawn my interest,” says Jurick. “Just watching them play, I’ve watched them a couple times on television and I see where I could come in right away and just really play, but for now I want to take a visit up there and see what the school is like and if I’m comfortable with the team.”
First thing is first – Jurick has a season to focus on. When the upcoming task of postseason play is behind him, then he will put his attention on colleges and which of those he will take visits to in making his decision.
