On February 7, 2012 two of IMG Basketball Academy’s own laced up against one another for the always hard battled Louisville vs. UConn rivalry.
Jared Swopshire, University of Louisville Forward
Jared Swopshire excels in rivalry match-up against the University of Connecticut
Under Coach Rick Pitino, the 6’8” junior forward is starting to get his rhythm back after a season ending groin injury last year. He had a stellar season in 09-10, where he averaged almost 8 points and 6 boards a night reaching double digits on 12 different occasions. He also was ranked 6th in the Big East in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive 84 percent from the charity stripe; something most big man can’t even dream of doing. This season, he is slowly but surely getting back into the Cardinals rotation as the only returning starter from the 2010-2011 season. He has turned into a solid sixth man off the bench for the 23rd ranked Cardinals. His overall impact and significance for the 19-5 Cards was exemplified in their latest game against the UConn Huskies, where Swopshire scored a solid 9 points and had two big time blocks on the night. With the help of Swopshire, Louisville has continued their win streak to five with this 80-59 win over the Huskies.
Swopshirne was featured in the games highlight reel against UConn. He has a tough and one finish (3:27), a rim shaking dunk (3:27), and a deep three in the corner that gave Louisville much momentum (3:37).
DeAndre Daniels, University of Connecticut Forward
DeAndre Daniels shows much potential and promise for the University of Connecticut Huskies
The 6’8” athletic Daniels started his freshman season at the University of Connecticut with a bang to say the least. He made an immediate impact for the reigning national champs, starting at small forward in early games including Maine, where Daniels peaked with 15 points in 29 minutes. Since, he was greatly impacted by the flu in the early part of the season, “That kind of threw me off track,” Daniels said. Even though his numbers have fallen, there is much potential and hope for Huskies’ fans for this California native. While at IMG Academies, Daniels was the 10th ranked player overall and the number three small forward in the class of 2011 according to Rivals.com. He was also rated as the 19th-best prospect in the class of 2011 by Maxpreps.com and at one point was the highest ranked unsigned prospect on the market. With a resume like this, we are sure to be hearing the name DeAndre Daniels a lot more in the near future.
Daniels was featured in the games highlight reel against Louisville. He has an impressive block (1:25) as well as a tough finish at the rim for two (1:27).
