Lafayette Recruits Matt B


Lafayette has posted their list of recruits, so I looked into what I could find about them. Here goes:

First up, Matt Betley. No relation to this Matt B. He chose LC over Cornell, some other Ivys and Navy. Was 25th in his class, and dropped a 1330 on the SAT.

Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ)
April 21, 2004 Wednesday X Edition
Pg. 4G
Betley headed to Lafayette

By PHIL BRETT

Courier-Post Staff

Lenape High School senior Matt Betley, the 2004 Courier-Post Boys' Basketball Player of the Year, announced Tuesday that he will sign a letter of intent to play basketball next fall at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa.

"Matt's very excited about it. And they're very excited about having him,' Lenape head basketball coach Bill Lange said. "Matt already has a good relationship with their coach (Fran O'Hanlan), plus he's familiar with many of the players.'

One of Betley's teammates at Lafayette next fall will be his cousin, junior Pat Betley, a 2002 Courier-Post first-team All-South Jersey selection during his senior season at Haddonfield.

During his senior season at Lenape, Betley averaged 16.6 points, 12 rebounds and four assists per game while leading the Indians to the state Group 4 championship.

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Philadelphia Inquirer
March 28, 2004 Sunday JERSEY EDITION
SOUTH JERSEY SPORTS; Pg. D21
Lenape's Betley a team player and an inspirational force;
He starred without being selfish and helped the Indians to a Group 4 state championship.

By Marc Narducci; Inquirer Staff Writer

In the beginning of the season he wasn't necessarily considered a player to watch, but by the end, basketball purists couldn't take their eyes off Lenape's Matt Betley.

What he lacked in preseason hype, Betley made up for in substance during a senior season of individual and team accomplishment.

There were other South Jersey players who scored more points, grabbed more rebounds and played with a greater flair, but there might not have been a single player who meant more to his team's success.

For Betley, the team always came first, which is ironic, because as the season wore on, it became difficult to ignore his individual brilliance.

A 6-foot-4 senior with a game that befuddled opponents both from the perimeter and inside, Betley was the driving force to a Lenape team that posted a 28-1 record, captured its first state Group 4 title and finished No. 1 in The Inquirer's South Jersey rankings. He is also The Inquirer's South Jersey boys' basketball player of the year.

His statistics may seem pedestrian compared to others, to more high-scoring players, but they help to illustrate Betley's versatility. He averaged 16.6 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists per game. But where he earned the highest marks was in the leadership department.

"He never cared about points, only about winning," Lenape coach Bill Lange said. "When one of your senior leaders is like that, it has such a great effect on everybody else."

Betley also had a knack for stepping up when the lights shined brightest. How else can one explain his best performance coming in the most important game of his career?

In Lenape's 63-46 state Group 4 championship-game win over Plainfield, Betley took control. He scored 32 points, graded 18 rebounds, hit 11 of 13 shots from the field, 4 of 5 from three-point territory and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line.

It was a performance that was only slightly better than his effort in Lenape's 66-51 South Jersey Group 4 title win over Atlantic City. In that game, he scored 29 points on 10-for-17 shooting from the field. He shot 4 for 8 from three-point range.

Big performances in big games was the legacy of Betley's senior season. That in itself is noteworthy, since he started the season with such a low profile.

As a junior, Betley was a second-team all-conference player on a team that won its first Olympic American title. But there wasn't much preseason buildup for Betley, which was fine with him.

"It didn't really bother me," he said. "It motivated me more to play and show what I could do."

He not only showed the opponents, but also demonstrated to his coach that his game was more complete than last season.

"I don't know if I've seen a player improve so much from one year to the next," Lange said. "We could see - especially toward the end of the summer - that he was improved in every facet of his game. That's because he worked so hard to become a better player."

What Betley also brought to Lenape was unmatched toughness.

A calf injury forced Betley to miss two games earlier this season; at the time, Lange said Betley might not be 100 percent for the rest of the year. But by his second game back, Betley had regained his form, scoring 21 points in a 49-40 win over Haddonfield.

In an 80-65 state Group 4 semifinal win over Pennsauken, Betley was hit in the head by an inadvertent elbow from teammate Jason Thompson. Betley was bandaged up, but the bleeding was so profuse, that he went through two sets of bandages for his head. After the game he received nine stitches. He scored 15 points.

"I was just glad that I was able to keep playing," he said.

Betley is ranked 25th in his class of 520 and has scored 1,330 on the SAT. Penn, Cornell and Lafayette are showing recruiting interest. Division I Maine is another school that has made recent contact.

It is unlikely that Betley was on any of the recruiting lists of those schools before the season. In essence, he forced people to notice him with his selfless play, leadership and clutch shooting.

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225 or mnarducci@phillynews.com

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Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ)
March 20, 2004 Saturday X Edition
SECTION: Pg. 8G
Player of the Year Matt Betley, Lenape
By WALT BURROWS

Matt Betley is easy to pick out when the Lenape boys' basketball team goes through its warmups. He's the one with flaming red hair.

Betley is also easy to pick out once the game starts. He's usually in the middle of everything. More so if it's a big game.

"He plays big in big games," Lenape coach Bill Lange said, describing his 6-foot-4 all-purpose senior and Courier-Post Boys' Basketball Player of the Year. "Matt scored 32 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in the State Group 4 championship game against Plainfield.

"He's a perfect example of the cream rising to the top, when it comes to the big games."

Betley shot 11-for-12 from the field that day. He rebounded the one shot he missed and scored.

"Matt is a complete player. An increasing number of colleges are looking at him because he can play so many positions," Lange said. "He shoots, rebounds, passes and is very unselfish.

"His work ethic is incredible. He always tries to deflect the richly deserved praise that comes his way toward his teammates. He's well liked around the school. All the kids are."

Betley scored 106 points in Lenape's first five tournament games, hitting 32 against Plainfield. He scored 29 against Atlantic City in the South Jersey final. He scored 17 in the Indians' 71-58 loss to Bloomfield Tech in the first round of the Tournament of Champions.

He has played through injuries, missing a game against Pleasantville in the Olympic-Cape Challenge with a partially torn calf muscle. Then he missed a part of the Pennsauken game when he was accidently elbowed and had to leave the court twice to have the gash bandaged to cover any bleeding in compliance with state rules.

Betley has averaged 16.6 points, 12 rebounds and four assists per game while lending invaluable leadership when it's needed the most -- with the game on the line.

Betley credits the coaches for his development.

"They (coaches) have helped me so much," he said. "Coach Lange has been very influential. He's taught me a lot about life as well as basketball. The rest of the coaches helped me a lot, too. It's been a great experience -- the last three years."

Betley scored 1,300 on his SAT and his lateemergence as a top prospect has resulted in Lange being besieged with phone calls about Betley.

"Matt has always been ready to accept a challenge and the schools showing interest (Ivy League, plus several others recognized for their academics) will present a huge one, but he has proven he has the mental toughness necessary to succeed."

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There's also an article here.


Here's some stuff on Irish Rose Paul Cummins. More will come later on the other recruits..


Paul Cummins
News and Observer (Raleigh, NC)
December 11, 2002 Wednesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. C6
An Irish gem

Robert Singletary, Correspondent

RALEIGH -- Ravenscroft's boys basketball coach Kevin Billerman
has reason to be pleased with what he has seen so far this
season.

After all, the Ravens, who were state runners-up last year,
sport an 8-0 record and show signs of continued improvement,
especially senior forward Paul Cummins.

Improving his basketball game is one of many reasons why
Cummins is at Ravenscroft.

The 6-foot-4 Cummins was the junior national player of the
year in Ireland.

But Cummins and his parents decided that making the long trip
from Kildaire, Ireland, to Raleigh could be in his best
interests.

Cummins came to Ravenscroft through a contact with the
Richmond Spiders who was familiar with the school.

"After they looked at our Web site, Paul's mom and dad called
me and talked for about 30 minutes," Billerman said. "He wanted
to come to the United States, and he was both academically and
athletically talented.

"He applied to Trish Grubb, our director of admissions, was
admitted and started in the fall of 2001. It has been a great
situation for all of us."

Cummins averaged 17.8 points as a junior and has already had
back-to-back, 20- point games this season, scoring 23 against
Word of God and 24 against Wake Christian.

He also excels in soccer. Cummins scored 24 goals this season
for the Ravens, who lost in overtime in the state championship
game.

Of course, making the adjustment to a foreign country can be
difficult. Cummins overcame the difficulty both athletically and
academically.

Cummins scored a 1290 on his SAT and presently has a
grade-point average of 3.7.

"It was tough at first," Cummins said. "I was a bit nervous
when I started, but I have loved it. I have really enjoyed the
school experience and have made a lot of new friends."

Meanwhile, Cummins believes his basketball skills have
improved with the tougher competition.

"There are definitely so many more athletes here [in the
United States], so I have to work harder," Cummins said. "I think
my shooting and ball-handling have definitely gotten better."

Billerman called him "an integral part of this team and this
school."

"He has fit in with the student body so well and there is not
a kid in the school that is not his friend," Billerman said.

Cummins has not decided where to go to college, but Davidson
and Lehigh are among the schools he is considering.

No matter where he goes to school, he should have little
trouble adapting -- and making a contribution.

GRAPHIC: Paul Cummins has had back-to-back, 20-point games this season for Ravenscroft. Staff Photo by John L. White

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  @ 11:19 AM