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Viktor Dubovitskiy |
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By
Terry Tush
Posted Oct 24, 2006
Division I basketball coaches
are finding out what Oklahoma State discovered a few years ago
when it recruited Mario Boggan out of Chipola junior college in
Marianna, Fla. The Indians have one of the nation’s best junior
college programs. OSU head coach Sean Sutton watched Chipola
play in the Mitchell-Mullen Dallas Blowout a few weekends ago
and came away impressed with one particular player. |
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Viktor Dubovitskiy is a 6-7,
210-pound small forward who joins Chipola after spending his
freshman season at Salkt Lake City Community College.
“He’s a three- or four-type guy,” said Chipola head coach Greg
Heiar. “He can be a face-up four or play the three out on the
wing. He can really shoot the ball, and he continues to develop
on the defensive end.”
Dubovitskiy, a native of
Moscow, Russia, averaged 13.7
points and 4.4 rebounds while starting 26 of 30 games a year ago
at Salt Lake City Community College (22-8). He shot 50 perfect
from the floor (141 of 282) and 43 percent from behind the
three-point arc (34 of 79). He also made 69.6 percent of his
free-throw attempts.
His
best game as a freshman was a 27-point, 12-rebound performance
in a 98-75 victory over Salt Lake Metro. He also led the team in
scoring in four other games, including 23-point efforts against
Montana Tech and
Snow College.
“He’s got a chance to really help a team in the future. He can
really shoot the ball,” Heiar said.
In
addition to
Oklahoma State, Dubovitskiy has
also attracted the attention of Texas A&M, Cincinnati and Iowa
State. He has taken visits to Cincinnati and Texas A&M.
Playing on a Chipola team with first-team preseason
Street & Smith’s
All-American
Jamarcus Ellis, a 6-6 point guard who averaged 13.5 points
and 9.9 rebounds last season, and fourth-team preseason
All-American DeAndre Thomas, a 6-8, 290-pounder in the middle,
Dubovitskiy may not attract the attention of the opponents.
“I’m
expecting Victor to improve every day and develop every day into
the all-around basketball player he’s capable of being. Sure,
he’s going to score a lot for us but he’s also going to be
expected to rebound and play defense,” Heiar said. “I really
want to help him develop his all-around game this season.
“We’ve got three or four guys capable of playing at a high level
– All-American-type players – and he’s one of those guys. He’s a
tremendous worker.”
Heiar said that Dubovitskiy is fine academically and expected to
graduate next May.
“The
thing about Victor is he’s a great kid. He’s one of the hardest
workers I’ve ever coached, and is so disciplined both on and off
the court,” the Chipola coach said. |
