Reports say Falcons ink St. John's PG

Brad Fanning of Fox 36 says that BG has inked Joe Jakubowski, a Rossford native who went to Rice, but was released from his scholarship and can play right away. He is a PG, which is exactly what we needed, and not a JUCO, which means if he contributes, we get him for four seasons.

Chatter on AZZ.com is very good. He reportedly had 30 schools contact him, including Wichita State.

Here's what Rice said when he was signed:

As a junior for the Titans of St. John's Jesuit H.S., Jakubowski, a 6' 2" guard, averaged 15 points a game, seven rebounds and 6 assists for coach Ed Heintschel. He is the son of Doug and Kay Jakubowski.

"Joe plays with a passion and has fun on the court," says Wilson. "He's a deft passer with a nice three-point stroke to match."

The biggest thing is that this team needed a PG so freaking bad it hurts. If Joe can contribute right away, it moves this team ahead by a huge amount. This ratchets up the optimism a huge amount.

You can now envision this rotation:

PG: Jakubowski, Hamblet
SG: Hamblet, Moten, Sims
SF: Miller, Knight, Matlock
PF: Marschall, Larson
C: Polk

I just feel like that team can compete this year, and then be even stronger the next year with six seniors. Unless Moten finally develops (a maybe a new coach will help), guard play is still weak. I also still have a lot of hope for Ryan Sims.

UPDATE: Maureen Fulton has the story today in The Blade.

He has 21 scholarship offers from D-1 schools. Coaching turmoil at Rice made him hesitant to stay there. He was all-district/all-city at St. John's. I echo my previous comments.