Cezar Guerrero, a 6′ 0″ 175 pound point guard from St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Ca.,  is rated among the top 100 players in the country for the class of 2011.

Cezar was forced to sit out his junior season because of transfer rules and he has also fought through some injuries in the past but he is now healthy and beginning to show everyone his true potential. Guerrero is also one of the top recruiting targets for Hilltopper head coach Ken McDonald.  Cezar talks about WKU and where the Hilltoppers currently stand in the recruiting battle for the California phenom in the following interview.


HH: Tell me a little bit about your background. How long have you been playing organized basketball?
CG: Well, I’ve been playing since I was about four but I started taking it seriously when I was in the eighth grade. My brother just trained me and trained me and trained me, just kept me in a cage .

HH: Did you have any favorite players or teams growing up?
CG: To be honest with you I didn’t really watch that much basketball but Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant….those guys are like my favorite players.

HH: What do feel are the strongest parts of your game? Your ballhandling?
CG: Ballhandling, shooting the ball, getting other people involved….pretty much you can say getting people involved though. That’s kind of like my thing now…making my teammates better.

HH: When did Western first begin to show interest in you?
CG: After the TOC (Tournament of Champions) in North Carolina after I played against Derrick Gordon and he killed us. (Laughs) After he scored his 30 at TOC in the elite eight game. After that they started contacting me. I don’t know if it was because of him or stuff they heard.

HH: Were you very familiar with Western at all before they started contacting you?
CG: Yeah, actually I was because of the NCAA appearances and the upsets that they had. So yeah, I was very familiar with them.
HH: What about Orlando Mendez-Valdez? Did you know much about him and his success here? You both have Hispanic backgrounds and you’re both exciting point guards, did you know much about him?
CG: To be honest with you, no I really didn’t. When I saw him on TV I thought he was like Venezuelan or something. I didn’t know then that he was also Mexican.

HH: What schools are at the top of your list right now and where does Western stand?
CG: Western’s on top of the list along with UNLV, Oklahoma….then all of the local schools in Southern California….UCLA, USC….all of those schools.
HH: If you had to choose today do you think Western be your top choice?
CG: They’re in my top five.
HH: When do you plan on making a decision? Do you want to sign early?
CG: I was planning on signing early but I want to see all of the schools that are interested in me and it will be a great experience for me.

HH: Do you know when you’re planning on visiting Western for your official visit?
CG: I’ll probably make it when Derrick Gordon goes which is for Midnight Madness. So when he goes, that’s probably when I’ll visit also.

HH: What are your thoughts about Derrick and what kind of player he is?
DG: Toughnosed….doesn’t let up. He tries to get in everybody’s face. He went off on us. He’s a real good player.

HH: I know that Derrick said that Coach McDonald told him that if you also came to Western that you two would probably make for one of the top backcourts in college basketball.
CG: I think so too to be honest with you. If I end up at Western Kentucky I think we’ll be one of the best backcourts in the country.

HH: So what is it about Coach McDonald and Coach Harper in their recruiting of you that has stood out to you and really impresed you?
CG: Just all of the interest they have in me. That’s what has caught my eye the most….all of the interest. Calling me and keeping in touch, it’s real good. Everybody from Western Kentucky is real nice but every college coach is supposed to be nice to you when they’re trying to recruit you (Laughs).

>> EXCELLENT ARTICLE ON CEZAR

Find more videos like this on BALL IS LIFE