Patriots hire Houston, signing nephew Copes George Mason said Monday that new basketball coach Paul Hewitt had hired Roland Houston as an assistant. What makes the announcement particularly significant is that it comes with a catch.
Houston is the uncle of a highly coveted recruit, Erik Copes of Philadelphia, who has made a verbal commitment to play for the Patriots, according to multiple recruiting services. The NCAA prohibits schools from commenting on recruits until they are signed. Copes is expected to do so this week.
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The 6-foot-8 forward is rated No.?55 in the nation in the class of 2011 by ESPN. He led Imhotep Charter to the Pennsylvania Class AA championship this year.
Copes originally signed to play for George Washington coach Karl Hobbs, who was fired three weeks ago and replaced by Mike Lonergan. Houston was an assistant under Hobbs.
In the CAA, Copes is the highest-rated player among incoming freshmen.
“He’s got big game in the paint, is a wide body and armed with confidence,” ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep wrote.
George Mason also announced it will retain director of basketball operations Scott Lombardi. The first assistant Hewitt added was Chris Kreider, who spent the last two years on staff at Georgia Southern and was a volunteer assistant for two seasons before that under Hewitt at Georgia Tech.
Houston, a former player at Rhode Island, was at GW for seven years.
“I’ve known Roland for over 10 years. He has extensive recruiting experience up and down the I-95 corridor,” Hewitt said in a release.
