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Carroll point guard Yacob to play at Binghamton

By Ted Silary, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: September 13, 2012

Yosef Yacob entered the crucial portion of the recruiting process with every intention of making four official visits.

. . . So much for that.

Yacob, a 6-foot, 165-pound senior point guard at Archbishop Carroll High, will play his college basketball at Binghamton. He made his official visit last weekend, then nixed scheduled treks to St. Francis (Pa.), New Hampshire and Rider. Albany also had offered.

"I had a special time up there. A great feeling about everything," Yacob said. "I felt a close bond with the staff and it didn't seem possible that I'd feel better about any other school. The city revolves around that program. Even though they finished last [in America East], they had the best home-game attendance."

Yacob scheduled his visit to Binghamton first, in part, because of a positive vibe.

"Coach Dempsey [Tommy, the new head man, hired May 24] was one of the first guys to recruit me and he always stayed in touch," Yacob said.

The process began, quite unofficially, in the 2009-10 school year, when DJ Irving, now at Boston University, was starring for Carroll. Dempsey at that point was Rider's coach and pursued Irving hard.

"He always said hi to me," Yacob said. "He couldn't talk to me because of the recruiting rules, but just the fact he said hi made me feel important."

Yacob also likes the fact that two Binghamton assistants, Lazarus Sims (Syracuse) and Ben Luber (Council Rock North, Penn State), were star college point guards who played beyond the college level.

"I know I'm going to get good coaching," he said.

Contact Ted Silary at silaryt@phillynews.com. High school coverage online at www.philly.com/rally.