Ben McCauley

Offered.

05/12/05: Listed as the 98th best player in the country, in his class. - ScoutHoops.com

09/07/04: "NC State landed a major verbal commitment this past weekend when Pennsylvania big man Ben McCauley verbaled to the Wolfpack." - TheInsidersHoops.com

09/02/04: "Cincinnati, Ohio State, and Xavier are fighting it out, along with N.C. State, for 6'8 Ben McCauley from Pittsburg (Yough) PA. And this is interesting, because Ohio State head coach Thad Matta and assistant coaches John Groce and Alan Majors previously were at Xavier and Ohio State assistant coach Dan Peters previously was at Cincinnati and Xavier assistant Monte Mathis was previously at Ohio State, which means they all started out recruiting McCauley when they were at another school." - HoopScoop

08/31/04: "Ben McCauley, a 6-8, 230-pound forward at Yough, is one of the WPIAL's most heavily recruited players in the past few years and he also played for the JOTS. He said yesterday he had narrowed his choices to North Carolina State, Xavier, Ohio State and Cincinnati. He is no longer considering Pitt because he doesn't believe the Panthers want him. He said he has not talked with any of Pitt's coaches since June. "In a way, I'm kind of disappointed because I developed a pretty good relationship with their coaching staff," McCauley said. "But all of a sudden, they just stopped calling. They must have found someone else. But that's OK." McCauley will make September visits to North Carolina State, Xavier and Ohio State." - Pittsburg Post

08/30/04: "Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier, and North Carolina State are the four left standing. Xavier will get the first visit on September 24. McCauley also has plans to visit Ohio State on October 8 and North Carolina State on October 22. He is also planning to visit Cincinnati, but a date has not been set. "There are no plans yet for Cincinnati because they are not in school yet,” he said. “They do not start until late September."

McCauley did assert that Coach Huggins’ troubles over the summer will have no effect on his decision. "Coach Kennedy had been recruiting me, so it was not a big deal,” he said. “We have a really good relationship. He took care of everything with the recruiting. Talking to him is just like talking to Coach Huggins." McCauley also emphasized the fact that all four schools are even prior to his visits." - RivalsHoops.com (3 to 4)

08/27/04: "Cincinnati is also actively recruiting 6-9 PF Ben McCauley, Herminie, PA, Yough High School. McCauley's top choices now appear to be the Bearcats, NC State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, and Xavier." - HoopMasters.com

08/20/04: Listed as the 82th best player in his class. - theInsidersHoops.com

08/09/04: "Ben McCauley, a star 6-foot-8 forward on the Yough basketball team, has narrowed his list of schools to seven -- Pitt, North Carolina State, Xavier, UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan and Cincinnati. All seven schools have offered scholarships. McCauley is ranked by scouting services as one of the top 100 players in the country. He played for the Pittsburgh JOTS AAU team this summer. At a game in the AAU national tournament in Orlando, these coaches were all present to watch McCauley: Pitt's Jamie Dixon, UCLA's Ben Howland, Xavier's Sean Miller, North Carolina State's Herb Sendek and Ohio State's Thad Matta." - Pit Post Gazette

08/04/04: "Among the schools he’s considering are Xavier, North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Michigan, Florida, Ohio State, Georgia, Cincinnati and Virginia, which have all offered McCauley a scholarship. He said he doesn’t have a favorite among those: “I wouldn’t say I have a favorite. . . . I talked with coaches from Florida, Georgia and Cincinnati." - theInsidersHoops.com

08/03/04: Listed as the 91st best player in his class. - RivalsHoops.com

08/03/04: "I'm currently interested in Pittsburgh, N.C. State, Xavier, Ohio State, UCLA, Michigan, Cincinnati, and U-VA (Virginia)," McCauley said. "Those are the ones I'm looking at." - theInsidersHoops.com

07/11/04: "A number of major college coaches agree with (Former Toronto Raptors assistant Craig) Neal, which explains why they're vying for McCauley's services. Pitt, North Carolina State, Virginia, Xavier, Ohio State and UCLA have offered scholarships. Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina are showing interest and may join the McCauley Sweepstakes, as well. At this juncture, nobody seems to know where McCauley, a forward, will end up -- including McCauley. He's said all along that he's not close to making a decision and he re-iterated that stance yesterday. And, if the 17-year-old is hiding something, he might want to consider entering a Texas Hold-em tournament. "I honestly have no idea," said McCauley, who averaged 26 points as a junior last season and is considered a top 100 recruit by just about every publication. "I'm going to figure out where I want to take visits and then decide. I want to get it done before November, before my senior season starts. The reality is, if McCauley continues to impress at camps and AAU tournaments with the Pittsburgh J.O.T.S., more schools could offer and his options will expand." - Pittsburgh Tribune


07/10/04: "McCauley, who has the Wolfpack among his elite schools at this point, said that he has already taken Stanford and Villanova off his list, but added Georgia, Kentucky and Florida – all of which have called recently. He won’t start taking visits until the fall." - theInsidersHoops.com

06/30/04: Listed as the 49th best player in his class. - theInsidersHoops.com

06/29/04: "I would say N.C. State, Xavier, Pitt, UCLA and Virginia are some of the main ones," McCauley said, adding that he has offers from all of those schools and has unofficially visited each, with the exception of UCLA. "I'm still thinking about Ohio State, Stanford maybe and Cincinnati." - PrepStars.com

06/23/04: "N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Stanford, Cincinnati, Virginia, and Xavier were mentioned by 6'8 Jr Ben McCauley from Pittsburgh (Yough) PA." - HoopScoop

06/17/04: Listed as the 86th best player in his class. - HoopScoop

06/15/04: "Currently, McCauley’s list includes the Pack, Virginia, Cincinnati, UCLA, Pittsburgh and Xavier. Stanford, Ohio State and Villanova, once prominent on his list, are not likely to make it through the next round of cuts." - theInsidersHoops.com

06/15/04: "With the questions surrounding the Cincinnati and Ohio State programs, McCauley has put the Bearcats and Buckeyes on hold for the time being. “I’m not sure what’s happening there so, for now, I’m putting them on the backburners,” he said." - RivalsHoops.com

05/21/04: Listed as the 39th best player in his class. - theInsidersHoops.com

05/21/04: "When asked what schools McCauley would like to officially visit, he lists Stanford, UCLA, NC State and Xavier." - theInsidersHoops.com

05/20/04: "The number of schools that have offered Ben McCauley continues to grow. He now has offers from UCLA, Ohio State and Virginia. Ben said, “Stanford also told me that they would offer if I applied and was accepted first.” These are in addition to offers from Pittsburgh, North Carolina State, Xavier, Cincinnati, Villanova, Western Kentucky, Akron, Penn State and Duquesne." - PantherLair.com (Pittsburgh)

05/17/04: Listed as the 54th best player in his class. - PrepStars.com

05/11/04: Won the MVP award in the All Ohio Great 8 tournament. His Pittsburgh Jots beat an All Ohio Red team that included Withrow's Chris Knight.

05/07/04: "His recruitment is along the lines of his ranking. UCLA, North Carolina State and Xavier have made significant headway. "They’re not so much my top choices; they’re just the ones that I think have thought about [the most]. Actually, Virginia has [recruited him hard] too. They’re all still pretty even in my mind. It’s just that they’re doing a little more right now." - www.theInsidersHoops.com (2 to 1)

04/29/04: "McCauley remarked that NC State and Xavier are on him the hardest. Maryland, UNC, Pittsburgh, Penn State and Cincinnati are in the hunt." - www.theInsidersHoops.com

04/20/04: Workhorse. Beast. Prototypical power forward. All of those work when describing 6-foot-8, 225-pound power forward Ben McCauley. There are very few big men in the class of 2005 that know how to use their size to their advantage down in the blocks. But the Yough (Penn.) High School product does. That is why schools all over the Eastern seaboard are hot on his trail. "I’ve been talking to Huggins a good bit" - RivalsHoops.com (snip)

04/11/04: "More and more big-time college basketball coaches are getting in contact with Yough's Ben McCauley. As they do, it's beginning to look more and more like McCauley will be one of the most heavily recruited WPIAL players in the past decade. McCauley, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, has scholarship offers from Pitt, Xavier, North Carolina State, Cincinnati, Villanova and Duquesne, among others. But he recently had a long phone conversation with North Carolina coach Roy Williams. McCauley and his parents also went on an unofficial visit to North Carolina in March and spent an hour visiting with Williams in his office.

North Carolina has not offered a scholarship yet. "I talked to coach Williams last Wednesday and they're really interested," McCauley said. "He saw a tape of my home game against Uniontown this year and he really liked it. He thinks I could fit in well there, but he doesn't want to just go by a tape. He wants to see me play in some AAU tournaments."

McCauley will play with the Pittsburgh JOTS AAU team in two tournaments in Maryland and Texas the next few weeks. McCauley said Williams hopes to attend. Also, UCLA coach Ben Howland recently called McCauley, who is ranked the No. 42 junior in the country by rivals100.com. "I would definitely be interested in North Carolina if they offered, but I'm not going to make a decision right away," McCauley said.

McCauley, who averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds last season, said his top schools right now are North Carolina, Pitt, North Carolina State, Xavier, Maryland and Villanova. All but North Carolina and Maryland have offered scholarships. "People are thinking I'm all about the ACC," McCauley said. "But I still like Pitt a lot. I'm still thinking about Pitt." - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

04/08/04: Listed as the 21st best PF in the country. - PrepSpotlight.com

04/07/04: In an interview with www.theInsidersHoops.com, McCauley does not mention Cincinnati as one of his favorites. (4 to 2)

04/05/04: Listed as one of Pittsburgh's 'Fab Five' high school ball players. "McCauley, a 6-8 forward, is ranked among the best juniors in the eastern part of the country. This should tell you how good he is: He already has scholarship offers from Pitt, Duquesne, North Carolina State, Cincinnati and Villanova, among others. McCauley has the strength of a power forward but the shooting and ballhandling ability of a small forward. He averaged 26.6 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks this season. He scored 40 or more three times, including 49 against Keystone Oaks. McCauley has 1,445 career points." - Pitt Post Gazette

03/05/04: "2005 prospect Ben McCauley from Yough High School in Herminie, Pennsylvania recently took unofficial visits to Cincinnati and North Carolina State. RivalsHoops.com spoke to the No. 42 player in Rivals100 about both of his visits. On February 21st, McCauley watched Cincinnati tangle with Louisville and came away with a new scholarship offer. "I was there for the Cincy/Louisville game,” said McCauley. "It wasn’t what I expected. The campus wasn’t in the city like I had thought. Although the campus is under construction it was nice. I had the chance to talk to Coach Huggins. I like him a lot. He’s a great guy. They offered me a scholarship while I was their." - www.RivalsHoops.com

03/04/04: "There was one expected visit to Tobacco Road for Ben McCauley – and one that sort of just happened. The 6-8, 225-pound Yough High (Pa.) junior finally found some time to take an unofficial visit to N.C. State last weekend for Wolfpack’s home loss to North Carolina. N.C. State has been in McCauley’s top three, along with Pittsburgh and Maryland, the only one of the trio yet to put forth a scholarship offer. "It was pretty much everything I imagined,” McCauley said of his visit to N.C. State. “The gym is great and so is the staff. It’s one of the nicest campuses I’ve ever been to. The crowd was really loud and the atmosphere was great.”

McCauley and his parents made the seven-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Raleigh last Saturday and ended up getting in around midnight. Upon getting up, they took a tour of the RBC Center, met with the staff, took a look around the campus and then went back to the hotel before taking in the game. "After the game, they weren’t quite as happy because they lost,” McCauley said. “But we had a real good talk with Coach (Herb) Sendek. He’s a great guy and he grew up near me in Penn Hills. His father still lives in Penn Hills and goes to a lot of my games."

That was the expected. Now for the somewhat unexpected. According to McCauley, when UNC caught wind of his plans to take a trip to the area, assistant coach Steve Robinson put in a call to Yough head coach Brian Zvanor, inviting him to stop in for a visit with the Tar Heels staff.

McCauley, who never expected to be pursued by the likes of the top ACC schools coming from a football area, was enamored to say the least. "I got a chance to talk to Roy Williams and he said he really likes the way I play,” McCauley said. “He told me he was planning on seeing me in AAU games this spring. He’s coached so many great players and it would be great to play for a great coach like him."

"Just before I got a chance to shake hands with Roy Williams, I was just watching him walk by me and thinking that’s really him,” he added. "I was hoping I’d actually get to meet him. As it turns out, we sat in his office for an hour and talked to him like we’d been friends forever."

Maryland – if it offered - was basically a no-brainer of sorts for McCauley and a dream school, but that has changed after a chance to get a first-hand look at N.C. State and with the Tar Heels stepping to the picture. "It definitely does change things,” he said. “Nothing is better than Tobacco Road. With UNC and getting a chance to see N.C. State, it’s really opened my mind up a lot more.”

Now McCauley, whose junior season ended about two weeks ago, will just work on his game and also hit the weight room prior to the start of the summer season. He’ll once again play with the Pittsburgh JOTS, who plan to make April appearances at Boo Williams, Charlie Weber (D.C.) and the Kingwood Classic (Houston, Texas).

Scouts View: "McCauley is a guy who is going to heat up this spring. He's got size to play a little combo forward in college. However, it's his ability to play facing the basket that has college scouts flocking to see him. He's got a nice frame and possesses the ability to score the basketball. As the spring goes on his name will heat up."

02/20/04: Listed as the 113th best player in his class. - HoopScoop

02/13/04: "Standout junior forward Ben McCauley (6-8, 225) from Yough High in Herminie, Pa. has put up some outstanding numbers this season, including averaging a double-double on the year. McCauley is averaging nearly 27 points per game and almost 16 rebounds per contest. McCauley has been a big reason why Yough is headed to the playoffs with a 16-8 overall mark and 12-2 record in league play.

Opponents are not the only ones to take notice of the Keystone State product’s play on the hardwood. North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Duquesne, Western Kentucky, Akron, Penn State, Villanova and St. Bonaventure have all offered the junior. “I’d like to go through the AAU season [before making a decision],” McCauley said. “I feel that AAU last season really helped me out with getting started with all the college recruitment and all that. I feel that if I do even better this year, I don’t know what could happen. Some even bigger schools can start contacting me and sending letters. So I think I’m going to try and have a really good AAU season and see what goes from there.”

McCauley took an unofficial trip to Penn State back in November, but did not come away as impressed as he was when he visited Maryland Feb. 1 for the Terrapins game with N.C. State. Although McCauley’s brother, John, attends Penn State, the Nittany Lions do not appear to be a serious contender at this point of the recruiting process.

Maryland, Pittsburgh and North Carolina State are probably the top schools on McCauley’s list right now, but that could change if the Terps do not offer him. However, there is a good chance that will happen somewhere down the line.

What are some of the factors McCauley is going to take into consideration before making a decision? “I’d like to go to a really nice school where they offer you the best academics in the country,” McCauley said. “I’d like to have a good relationship with the coach...and also have a good relationship with your own teammates because those are the ones you’re going to be playing with.”

McCauley plays the center position for Yough but expects to play at either the power or small forward in college. The four-star recruit is rated the 38th best junior prospect in the nation by RivalsHoops.com." - BlueWhiteIllustrated.com

02/11/04: "Villanova has made the most recent offer to the 6-foot-8, 225-pound small forward. McCauley also listed pittsburgh, NC State, Penn State, Duquesne, and Western Kentucky as schools that have offered him and he is interested in." - www.RivalsHoops.com

01/25/04: "Ben McCauley scored 52 points to help Yough slip past Southmoreland 75-62 in overtime of a Section 3-AAA boys basketball contest Friday night. McCauley hit 19 field goals, sinking 12 of 16 free throws to lead all scorers." - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review


08/03/03: "McCauley, a 6-7 forward, doesn't have any offers, yet. But numerous Division I schools already are interested, and McCauley is being pegged as a major-college recruit for next year.

McCauley played for the Pittsburgh JOTS 16-and-under team, coached by former Mt. Lebanon coach Hal Kestler, in the AAU national championship tournament in Bloomington, Ind. One-hundred teams around the country played in the June tournament, and the JOTS made it to the round of 16.

01/30/03: "One of the most promising young basketball players in the WPIAL is at, of all places, Yough. Yough? The Westmoreland County school some people pronounce "Yo?" The basketball program that has had only a few players make all-section in the past 20 years?

The player drawing attention to Yough is Ben McCauley, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound sophomore. Friday against Southmoreland, he scored 50 points, the most in the WPIAL this season. He followed that with 34 Tuesday against Uniontown, one of the best teams in Class AAA.

For the season, McCauley is averaging 23 points and 15 rebounds a game and has helped Yough to an 11-9 record. The Cougars are tied for second place in Section 3-AAA with a 7-4 mark. "Our school hasn't been known for basketball, but we've had a lot more fans coming to our games," said Yough Coach Brian Znavor. "A lot of people say they're there to see if Ben's legit. They want to see if he's the real deal."

Uniontown Coach Rob Kezmarsky thinks he is. "For a 6-7 kid, he handles the ball like a guard, and he has such a soft shot," Kezmarsky said. "Against us, he took the ball to the hoop, too. With the way he can shoot, if he gets on the weights and keeps improving, he could be real tough. He could definitely be a Division I college kid." In his 50-point game, McCauley made 19 of 32 shots from the field.

Although McCauley was listed at 6-7 at the start of the season, Znavor said his star player already has grown another inch since then. "He'll probably get even bigger, too," Znavor said. "But he's not like your normal 6-7 high school kid who is unorthodox. He has ability. He's going to have to work on his strength and quickness some, but he could definitely be a Division I college kid in the future." - Pittsburgh Post

01/29/03: "Sophomore Ben McCauley collected a game-high 34 points on Uniontown. . . . McCauley added 13 of Yough's 22 rebounds and three blocked shots. The Cougars also stayed close by hitting 19 of 25 free throws as McCauley went 11 of 13 from the charity stripe. The sophomore played in pain after injuring his tailbone during a collision under the boards during Yough's run in the early third quarter. "Yeah, that slowed him down a bit and forced us to lose the momentum," Znavor said. "At times, he feels like he's got to take over the scoring, but sometimes we forget he's a just sophomore."