he University of Massachusetts has added a coveted piece to its men's basketball recruiting class. Junior college power forward Jackie Rogers gave the Minutemen a verbal commitment during his official visit to UMass last weekend.

Rogers said several factors weighed into his decision.

"It's close to home, "said Rogers, who originally hails from Syracuse, N.Y. "My parents can come see me play.

"I like the team and the coaches," he continued. "It's in a real pretty area. I think I can do good there next year."

Rogers added that he had been waiting until coach Bruiser Flint's job status had been resolved.

"That's another reason I came," Rogers said.

On Sunday, Flint learned he will stay on as coach.

Rogers played at Barton County Community College (Kansas) this year. Barton County coach Ryan Wolf thinks the 6-foot-8 Rogers, who as a junior college transfer will be eligible to play right away, will be a solid addition to the Minutemen.

"He'll be good," Wolfe said. "He's a little undersized as a post (player), but he'll be a good scorer in that league."

Rogers said Minutemen coaches compared him to a former star UMass player.

"Coach (Tony) Barbee and coach Geoff (Arnold) told me I play like Lou Roe," Rogers said. "I can play inside and out at the three or the four. I'm a good rebounder."

With this season's starting power forward Chris Kirkland graduating, Rogers likely will split time with Eric Williams at that position. He also could see some time at small forward.

Rogers, who is a native of Syracuse, N.Y., finished high school at The Winchendon School, where he played for UMass alum Mike Byrnes. Rogers was a consensus top 75 pick coming out of high school.

He originally enrolled at West Virginia out of high school, but was unhappy with playing time, averaging just 1.8 points and one rebound. He blossomed at Barton County as the school's leading scorer, with 18.2 points per game, and as the second leading rebounder with 7.5 boards per game. Barton is a perennial junior college power, and was ranked in the top five the national JUCO poll all season.

Rogers received recruiting attention from several schools, including Kentucky and Oklahoma, but chose UMass over finalists Louisville and St. Bonaventure.

After going through the recruiting process once before, Rogers said he took it very seriously this time.

"I had to do some hard thinking," said Rogers, who plans to major in Sports Management. "Everyone in the country has been asking me about my decision."

At UMass, Rogers will join former Mountaineer teammate Jarrett Kearse, who gave the Minutemen a verbal commitment last month.

UMass entered the recruiting year with five scholarships to offer and currently has two players, Jameel Pugh and Raheim Lamb, signed, and three more - Kearse, Anthony Anderson and now Rogers - verbally committed. But the Minutemen still could add more players.

If any of the current players transfers (Ronell Blizzard has been rumored to be thinking of leaving), another scholarship would become available. But both Anderson and Lamb have yet to qualify academically. If either of them were to come to UMass as a non-qualifier, they wouldn't count against the Minutemen's scholarship total until the players became eligible as sophomores.

Also, UMass could pursue other players that are unlikely to be eligible.

he junior college coach of Jackie Rogers says the power forward will attend the University of Massachusetts in the fall.

Ryan Wolf, who guided Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan. to a 32-2 record this season, said last night that Rogers has settled on UMass. The 6-foot-8 player has yet to make a verbal commitment, according to sources, but may do so this week, possibly as early as today.

Rogers also visited St. Bonaventure and Louisville. He played one season at West Virginia before transferring to Barton, where he averaged 18 points and seven rebounds per game this year.

Even a verbal commitment does not lock in a player to a school, but is an accepted procedure in the recruiting process. The formal signing period is in April.

Rogers was waiting for Bruiser Flint's status to be resolved, but that roadblock was removed Sunday night, when UMass officials announced that the coach would be brought back next season. Coaches cannot comment on recruits until a letter of intent has been signed.

hat seemed like a done deal for the University of Massachusetts men's basketball team may be in danger of becoming undone.

Power forward Jackie Rogers of Barton Community College in Great Bend, Kan., a key man in this year's UMass recruiting picture, has been reconsidering the verbal commitment he gave the Minutemen more than two weeks ago, according to Juco Junction, an online recruiting newsletter.

The service, considered one of the more reliable Internet recruiting sources, said Rogers is now considering signing with Louisville, though the report also said Rogers still considered UMass the leader.

Coaches cannot comment on recruits until they are signed, and the official NCAA signing period is not until next week.

But Juco Junction reported that UMass coach Bruiser Flint, who had believed his player was in the fold, has resumed recruiting Rogers after Louisville coach Denny Crum persuaded the player to put the Cardinals back in the picture.

Verbal commitments do not carry any official enforcement weight, but they are common in the recruiting process. They allow players and coaches to be aware of how many scholarships remain available, and which positions may be getting filled at a particular school.

Rogers is one of five recruits, three of them bound only by verbal commitments, expected to attend UMass in the fall.

Compared in style to former UMass star Lou Roe, Rogers is expected to finalize his decision by Wednesday, when the signing period officially gets underway.

A year ago, UMass also lost out in recruiting on a power forward when Shon Coleman, a junior college star, chose Georgia.

Rogers averaged 18.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game at Barton, which at one time was ranked No. 1 nationally among junior colleges, and is viewed similarly to Coleman.