| Notre Dame's Dennis Latimore signs with Court Side and declares for NBA draft
6'9, 240-pound junior post man Dennis Latimore , who made national news last month with his decision not to return to the University of Notre Dame (NCAA Big East Conference) for his senior year, has selected Court Side for his exclusive representation. Latimore, who graduated last week from Notre Dame with degrees in English and Afro-American Studies, started 14 of 29 games this season for the Fighting Irish this season, after transferring from the University of Arizona.
Latimore averaged 7.0 points, 4.3 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game this season. "We talked about him only playing one season when he was looking to transfer" said Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey. "We discussed the situation at the end of the season, and I'm fine with his decision. He graduated and wanted to get on with his professional career. I think the world of him. A tremendous young man. He did a good job for us basketballwise, and he was our best student academically". Brey said. "We don't take a transfer unless we expect him to start", he said. "Believe it or not, at times, there was no more talented player in our program. Our best wins this season were when Dennis played fabulous. The guy can score the ball. He's got very good hands, excellent feet, good footwork and he's a scary offensive talent when he's hot." continued Brey. "And, he's a helluva passer!" Dennis is very coachable. He's the type of talent who could go to Europe for 2 to 3 years and if the lightbulb goes on, he could be playing in the NBA. We don't have the type of success we had this season without him." Latimore, who was among America's top 25 high school players in the Class of 2001, was recruited by virtually every major high major college program in the country, before signing with Arizona over Kansas, UCLA and Stanford. He played in the prestigious Sonny Vaccaro Roundball Classic All-Star Game and he also participated in the USA Basketball Men's Youth Basketball Festival in 2000. Latimore is expected to play in the upcoming Court Side Pro Camp (July 1-3) in Frankfurt, Germany.
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