Banks invited to Bulls’ mini-camp

GREAT SEASON IN FRANCE ADDS UP

(6/24/06)

Photo credit: Steve Woltmann/UIC Athletics Former UIC standout Cedrick Banks, who starred in France, could have a shot with the Bulls.

After winning foreign MVP and leading his team to a regular-season championship as a rookie, former UIC star Cedrick Banks has returned stateside in pursuit of his NBA dream.

According to his agent, Chicago-based Mike Naiditch, Banks was invited to a Bulls’ tryout.

“Cedrick has been invited to attend the Bulls’ mini-camp, which is essentially a tryout for summer league,” Naiditch said in an e-mail.

Naiditch is also the agent for Jannero Pargo, who has played for the Bulls the last two seasons.

There will be four days of workouts and practices starting July 5, then Bulls personnel will decide if Banks will get a shot at the team’s summer league roster, which will play games in Orlando this year.

Banks, a 6-foot-2 guard, led the French Pro-B League in scoring at 20.6 points per game for Besancon, which won its division and will move up to Pro-A next season. He also averaged 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists

Banks led Besancon to the Pro-B semifinals before it bowed out.

For a quick look at Besancon in a quarterfinal victory over Angers, click here. Banks is featured several times in the montage. He is No. 4 and is wearing his traditional headband. He can be seen slashing to the basket for some layups and hitting a three-pointer from the left wing. He also has a nifty assist into the post.

2007 RECRUITING TRAIL: Scout.com reports that UIC is one two schools to offer a scholarship to 6-foot, 165-pound combo guard Tyree Graham from powerhouse Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C. He is the cousin of former North Carolina forward David Noel.

Graham has a great shooting stroke, especially from three-point range, and is a natural scorer as shown by his 17.4 points per game at Southern Durham (N.C.) High before transferring to Mt. Zion. Hoop Scoop rated Graham as the No. 121st junior in the nation. Graham also holds a 3.0 grade point average in the classroom.

Graham has also been offered by East Carolina. Other schools in hot pursuit include Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Illinois, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Texas-El Paso, Clemson, UNC-Greensboro and Virginia Commonwealth.

As previously reported, the Flames are also in the hunt for 6-foot-8 Whitney Young power forward Dwight McCombs. Robert Kreps, a 6-foot guard from Downstate Maroa-Forsyth, is already committed to UIC.

ONE STEP CLOSER: Both Aaron Carr and Corry Tibbs survived the cutdown after the Chicago Rockstars’ second tryout earlier this month at Fenwick. Both guards will be invited back for subsequent tryouts, which should be announced in the near future. The Rockstars are coached by former Flames standout guard Kenny Williams.