With the spring signing period beginning next week, it is time to start the list for the Class of 2011 moving on to the next level. I have seen very few verbal commitments announced since the end of the season, but hopefully they will pick up soon, along with actual signings starting next week.
Here is the list of signings / commitments from the fall:
Damien Leonard, JL Mann - South Carolina Corey Littlejohn, Heathwood Hall - UNC Asheville Trevonte Dixon, Christ School / Wilson HS - College of Charleston Kameron Dunnican, Sumter - Goergia Southern Jessie Pernell, North Augusta - Georgia Southern Eric Washington, Keenan - Presbyterian CJ Bray, James Island - Citadel Fred Mattison, Westside - Winthrop Demarcus Harrison, Christ School / Greenwood HS - BYU Cortell Busby, Lewisville - SC State
JUCO to Four Year Travis Wilkins, Missouri St West Plains, Spartanburg - Coastal Carolina
Posted on 4/8 11:21 AM | IP: Logged
Two weeks after visiting University of Louisana's campus, Brunswick (N.C.) Community College shooting guard Alan-Michael Thompson issued a verbal commitment Thursday morning to sign with the Ragin' Cajuns. Thompson, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard known as a strong scorer and slasher with a 40-inch vertical leap, called Cajuns coach Bob Marlin on Thursday afternoon to share the news. Thompson averaged 16 points per game as a sophomore at Brunswick CC and garnered honorable mention All-America and first-team All-Region X honors. He shot 33 percent from 3-point range, made 89 percent of his free throws and averaged 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He played in the same region as Cajun signee Darnell Jackson, a point guard from the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie. The Citadel and Davidson were expected to offer Thompson during his prep days at Wilson High in Florence, S.C., but he waited too long to take the SAT. He fell short of attaining a qualifying score and ended up playing two years at Brunswick CC.
Western Carolina and sixth-year head coach Larry Hunter today announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play for the Catamounts beginning in the 2011-12 season. Current high school seniors Kenny Hall (Dallas, Tex. / South Oak Cliff HS), Rawane Ndiaye (Raleigh, N.C. / Body of Christ Academy) and James Sinclair (Savannah, Ga. / Savannah HS) join junior college transfer Josh Mendenhall (Waycross CC / Berea HS / Greenville, S.C.) in signing NLIs to play at WCU. Mendenhall is a 6-8, 190-lbs., forward who is currently playing for head coach Corey Baldwin at Waycross Community College in Waycross, Ga., after concluding his prep career at Berea HS in Greenville, S.C. As a high school senior, the combo-type player averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots per game. He was twice named All-Region and second team All-County, and was also selected to play in South Carolina's North/South Game.
At Waycross, Mendenhall was named to the list of Top 150 Players in the Southeast in Junior College by the Juco Journal. He finished the 2009-10 season averaging eight points and six rebounds per game, which was second on the team and fourteenth in the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association (GJCAA). He led the Swamp Foxes - and was third in the GJCAA - in field goal percentage, averaging 54 percent per game. Named by the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association (GABCA) as the NAIA/JuCo Freshman of the Year, Mendenhall led the team in blocks, totaling 41 for the season (1.37/game).
It has been a season of firsts for Fox Creek High School boys' basketball player Owen Jacobs.
He became the first player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his career as a four-year starter. He averaged more than 15 points and 11 rebounds per game, led the Predators to the playoffs for the first time and was selected to the Class A All-State team.
On Wednesday, Jacobs became the first Fox Creek basketball player to sign a scholarship to play at the college level. He was surrounded by family, coaches and school administration when he affixed his name to a letter of intent to play basketball at Newberry College next season on a full scholarship.
The full ride was a major factor in Jacobs' decision to select Newberry over other potential destinations, such as Erskine, Berry College, Gilford and Aiken Tech. Another reason the 6-foot-5, 215-pound player chose Newberry was because of its proximity to his home.
This post was edited on 4/14 10:20 AM by jhill_1996
A long, stressful recruiting process came to a close Wednesday when Aiken High School senior point guard Myson Jones inked his name to a letter of intent to play for Anderson University next season in front of a group of family and friends. Jones, who averaged 12.1 points, 5.4 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game last season, had a number of options on the table. They included South Carolina State, Francis Marion and Augusta State as well as three junior colleges. "It came down to the Christian environment and their journalism program," said Jones, who said the process was more difficult than he imagined. "Their basketball program went to the (Division II) Elite Eight last year, so all three of those things came into play.
Travis Smith Gulf Coast CC (Porter-Guard HS) signs with Mercer...
Link: Travis Smith Posted on 4/14 11:37 AM | IP: Logged
Stacy Wilson is used to winning. Playing at Mullins High School, he won more than 40 games in his final two years and helped the Aucs to the 2009 Class 2A state championship game. At Coffeyville Community College, he helped the Jayhawks to a 33-win season and a fifth-place finish at this year’s National Junior College Athletic Association tournament. Now Wilson hopes the winning will continue at Murray State, where he signed a national letter of intent Thursday to play basketball. Wilson, a 6-foot-3 guard, picked Murray State over Illinois State. Wilson averaged 14.4 ppg, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season for the Jayhawks. He also hit 48 percent of his field-goal attempts and was an 84 percent free-throw shooter.
The dreams of David Henderson came true as he has signed a letter of intent to Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, N.C., to play junior college basketball. It's always been a dream (to play college basketball),"said Henderson, who was the leading scorer for Sumter High School's varsity boys team this past season.
Brandon Givens, Colleton County HS / Jones County CC - Alcorn State
Alcorn State head basketball coach Luther Riley had to start recruiting athletes to become players immediately after bring named new head coach and is proud of his first recruited class. Riley announces the signing of five and one who will perform via an academic scholarship. Those signed on Wednesday to attend Alcorn State are Leantwan Luckett of Madison County, Brandon Givens of Ellisville... Givens, a 6'7 220 pounder from Jones Junior College averaged 25.4 points and 9.2 rebounds the past season. Coached by Bubba Skelton, he was the MVP of the Junior College All Star Game, on the MS Junior College All Star team and a first team Mississippi Jr. College All American.
Newberry College head men's basketball coach Dave Davis has announced the signing of two South Carolina high school players. Quayshun Hawkins of Dreher High School in Columbia and Owen Jacobs of Fox Creek High School in North Augusta will join the Wolves for the 2011-12 season. Hawkins, a 6-foot-1 guard, can play the point or shooting guard positions and was named All-State as both a sophomore and senior. Quayshun scored over 1,000 points in his career at Dreher but does much more than just score. He once had 17 rebounds in a game, 11 assists in another and had 11 double-doubles over the past two seasons. Hawkins also had a triple-double vs Fairfield his junior year scoring 18 points, grabbing 17 rebounds and handing out 10 assists. Quayshun was also selected to play in the prestigious North-South All-Star game in Myrtle Beach.
Anderson University signs: CJ Gleaton - Spartanburg Methodist / Pendleton HS 2009 Myson Jones - Aiken HS Chandler Hash - USC Upstate / Greer HS 2010 Myles Daniel - Wade Hampton HS (G)
Fresh from an appearance in the Elite Eight, the Anderson Trojans men’s basketball team is bringing four more players into the fold. Coach Jason Taylor announced on Friday that Pendleton product C.J. Gleaton, along with Myson Jones, Chandler Hash, and Myles Daniel, will be part of the squad for the 2011-12 campaign. Gleaton, two-time Skyline Region Player of the Year at Pendleton, spent the past two seasons at Spartanburg Methodist College. The 6-4, 190-pound wing averaged 8.5 points and four rebounds per game for SMC in 2010-11. Jones, a 5-foot-11 guard, averaged 12.1 points and 5.4 assists per game last year at Aiken High School; Hash, a 6-foot, 170-pound guard, averaged 2.8 points per game as a freshman at USC Upstate in 2010-11; and Daniel helped Wade Hampton to an undefeated season (29-0) and AAA state championship last season as starting point guard. He averaged 10 points and six assists per game last season.
ETSU men’s basketball head coach Murry Bartow announced Thursday that the program has received a national letter of intent from Marcus Dubose, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard out of Mendocino Community College in Ukiah, Calif. Dubose, who is originally from Hartsville, S.C., will be expected to provide some offensive punch... A year ago, Dubose led the Bay Valley Conference with an average of 23.8 points per game, while shooting an impressive 47 percent from the field. In addition, he hit on 44 percent of his 3-point attempts, and was a reliable 86 percent from the foul line. For his efforts, Dubose was an all-state selection last season.
Posted on 4/25 2:57 PM | IP: Logged
Sumter High School boys basketball standout D.J. Coleman has dealt with his fair share of adversity.
After three seasons of going through several injuries, Coleman's mental toughness and talent was still evident. The SHS point guard signed to play with South Carolina State on Friday.
Austin Davis, a multi-sport athlete at North Augusta High School, is heading for some familiar territory in a few months. On Wednesday, Davis confirmed his plans to attend Olivet Nazarene University (NAIA) on a basketball scholarship. Austin Davis was a three-year starter for North Augusta, playing guard and racking up an assortment of regional and state-level honors in the process. During his senior year, he averaged 18 points and four assists per game. Among schools that were looking to get Austin on board over the past few months, aside from Olivet Nazarene, have been Anderson University, Francis Marion University, Guilford College and Randolph-Macon College.
Roane State forward Brad Reid has signed to play at Missouri-Kansas City while teammate Yavario Smith, a guard, has signed with Central Missouri (NCAA D-II).
Newberry College head men’s basketball coach Dave Davis announces the signing of 6-1 Clinton Junior College guard EJ Mills. The First Team All-Region X performer was the leading scorer in the league, averaging 15.7 points per game. Mills made 44 three-point shots and ranked in the top 10 nationally from the free throw line at 86 percent. Mills played his high school basketball at Dutch Fork where he averaged 18.5 points per game as a senior and was named both all-region and all-area teams.
New Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak has announced the signing of junior college transfers Javon Dawson and Dijon Farr. Farr, a versatile 6-foot-6, 213-pound forward from Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, earned first-team All-Region 11 accolades last season. The junior-to-be averaged 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds while leading the team in steals and blocked shots. As a freshman, Farr netted second-team all-conference honors. The South Carolina native graduated from Broome High School in 2009. He also excelled in football as a wide receiver and defensive back.
Clinton High School's Blake Frazier has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Erskine in 2011-2012. The 6'5, 215 lbs Frazier led Clinton in scoring and rebounding this past season averaging 13.8 points and 7.8 rebounds while being named to the 3A All-Region Team. Frazier also played on the Clinton football team where in in 2009 the Red Raiders captured the 3A State Title.
Walhalla's (SC) Isaac Williamson signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Erskine College on Tuesday afternoon at a ceremony at the high school. The 6'2 Williamson became one of Walhalla's greatest players during his career being named to the all-state team the past two seasons. As a junior Williamson was the 2A Region Player of the Year and this season was named the Western 3A Co-Player of the Year after averaging over 20 points and 8 rebounds a game for the Razorbacks. Williamson also broke school records this season at wide receiver as a member of the Walhall football team. He also started in centerfield for the Razorbacks in baseball.
James Island basketball player Austin Bennett signed with Allen University. He was a two-year starter at point guard and helped the Trojans finish 18-7. Coach Stan Wilkins described him as a "pass-first" guard who averaged 5.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals.
Posted on 5/6 1:08 PM | IP: Logged
The two brightest stars on the hardwood shined at the same time at Pendleton and made their college decisions within a week of each other.
Last Friday, Kennedy Eubanks signed a National Letter of Intent to play at (NCAA) Division II Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn. Eubanks, an All-Independent Mail first-teamer, scored 16.3 points and grabbed 6.5 rebounds a night in his senior season en route to all-state honors.
St. James guard Jamal Allston has signed a national letter of intent to continue his basketball career at Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Okla.
Allston helped lead the Sharks to a first-round victory over Dreher in the Class AAA state playoffs as a senior. He averaged 13.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this past season.
Carl Albert, a junior college, has a reputation for sending players on to four-year schools. In the past five years, 16 players have moved on to continue their careers at various four-year programs, some at the NCAA Division I level.
St. Joseph’s Catholic senior Kelly Assinesi has committed to continue his basketball career Liberty University, an NCAA Division I program in Lynchburg, Va.
“He had two letters of intent to sign with Division II, but that wasn't for him. He wanted to play Division I,” said Paul Assinesi, Kelly’s father and the Knights’ coach. “They scholarshiped him this summer so he can go to France and Belgium with them. … (They) gave him a great financial aid package, and he gets treated just like a regular scholarship player.”
Kelly Assinesi, a 6-foot-1 point guard who played his first two years of high school ball in California, surpassed the 1,000-point mark in two seasons at St. Joseph’s.
As a senior, Assinesi averaged 24 points, 7.0 assists, 6.4 steals and 5.8 rebounds and was chosen to play in the North-South all-star game.
Wilson senior forward Justin Kelly has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Carl Alberts State Junior College in Oklahoma.
Kelly averaged 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Tigers, who won the Region 8-3A title and advanced to the Class 3A lower state semifinals. He also was a Morning News all Pee Dee selection and played in the North-South All-Star game.
Kelly also was an all-state selection and MVP in the Carolina Classic.
Devin Joint hopes his injuries are behind him. That’s what South Carolina State is counting on, too. On Thursday, Joint signed a letter of intent to play basketball at South Carolina State. Joint, the Morning News Preseason Player of the Year, was riddled with injuries the past two seasons. In 2009, he broke his collarbone and missed part of the season. Joint tore his meniscus in the fall during the second game of the season and never was at 100 percent during basketball season. Still, Joint put together a solid season for the Falcons and helped them to their first state title game. The senior averaged 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals, despite missing seven games with injuries.
Six South Florence athletes signed letters of intent to play in college next year... Stephen Wells will join his brother Ben, at Hope (College), a (NCAA) Division III school in Holland, Mich. Hope led Division III schools in attendance with 2,818 per game and went 23-7 this season.
Stephen averaged 16 points a game this season and was one of the team’s top 3-point shooters.
North Greenville University men's basketball coach Chad Lister announced that Kristopher Timmons, Jamal Watson, Vincent Lewis, Gabe Shaw and Thomas Motes have signed to play for the Crusaders. Shaw and Motes have accepted walk-on positions on the NGU roster. Shaw was team captain and scholar athlete at (Myrtle Beach) Christian Academy (SC). Motes was a starter for Wade Hampton (SC) and helped his team to the 3A State Championship with a 29-0 record.
Most high school senior athletes often dream about making into to college level ball. This year several players have been able to make that dream a reality. Some notable student-athletes at Chapin HS that have committed to playing collegiate sports include Michael Weimer (Wofford, football), Connor Cunningham and Michael Ragsdale (Spartanburg Methodist, soccer), Brian Kidd (Spartanburg Methodist, basketball),... You work hard all through high school to try to get to this point. Playing basketball in college was one of my goals ever since I started high school, and now my opportunity is finally here,” said senior Brian Kidd.
USC Salkehatchie basketball coach Travis Garrett announced the signing of Donald Sims (Chester HS) to West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX. The Buffalo's compete in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference.
Carolina Forest boys’ basketball is already looking for Jordan Simbeck’s replacement. Simbeck, the school’s all-time scoring leader with 1,290 points, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play basketball at (NCAA) Division II Erskine College located in Due West, SC about 45 miles south of Greenville.
Wingate University (NCAA II) head men’s basketball coach Brian Good has announced the signing of four student-athletes to study and play basketball at Wingate University. Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.), Josh Simmons (Irmo, S.C.), Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Michael Tyson (Kinston, N.C.) will join the Bulldog roster in the fall. Simmons joins the Wingate family as the second-highest scorer in Glenforest School (West Columbia, S.C.) history, amassing 2,780 points during his career. The three-time South Carolina Independent School Association Region 3A Player of the Year averaged 28.9 points, 14 rebounds and five assists per game as a senior. A 6-5, 205-pound guard, Simmons was named to the all-state team on three occasions. In addition, he was selected as the 2011 All-Area Player of the Year by The State newspaper. Simmons won five varsity letters while playing for coach William Knopf at Glenforest.
2011 J.L. Mann point guard David Brown has come to a decision about where he'll continue his basketball career. SCPrepNation.com got word from his proud father about where the Greenville County standout will play next season. David has decided to walk on at Furman," Brown's father told us. "It's a good opportunity for him. He wanted to play D1 basketball and we feel good about the situation with the program."
Lewisville's Cortell Busby, The Herald Boys Basketball Player of the Year, has accepted a scholarship from Fishburne Military Prep.
Busby was asked to attend a private workout at Fishburne for a spot on its Post Graduate Basketball Program/School in Waynesboro, Va., and subsequently was offered a scholarship to play in the fall for the 2011-2012 year.
With the spring signing period complete and school ending, what about the next destination for some of the players listed below. Hopefully, there will be more signings, especially in NCAA D-II, NAIA, and JUCO.
Dajohn Rowland, Chesnee Joseph Neely, Greer Jericho Jackson, Abbeville Jerry Holmes, York Jalen Nesbitt, Chapman Lorenzo Mechiz, Military Magnet Jaron Denmark, Hanahan Ronnell Crockett, TL Hanna Dershawn Dawkins, Gaffney Jonathan Rumph, Brookland Cayce Ron Trapps, Lancaster Naji Pasha, Wando Shane Heyward, West Ashley Jon Jackson, Brashier Middle Jacob Carsob, Goose Creek Jamaal Jackson, McBee Tevin Lytes, Brookland Cayce Matt Smith, Liberty Kelden Moore, Blue Ridge Dominique Miller, Lower Richland Jeremy Clinkscales, Irmo Rod Drummond, Wade Hampton
Posted on 5/31 2:54 PM | IP: Logged
Ron Trapps- Lancaster: signed with Fork Union Military(VA)two weeks ago.
Posted on 5/31 4:33 PM | IP: Logged
Just over two months from guiding his team to a Class 2A state runner up finish in basketball, Mullins High School shooting guard Trevor Dantzler announced his future plans this past week, signing a letter of intent to play at USC Sumter. Dantzler was a lights out shooter in his two seasons on coach Mark Gerald’s varsity squad, leading the team with 50 three pointers made and averaging 10.6 points per game. He led a deep Auctioneers team to 25 wins and a Class 2A lower state championship. Dantzler produced with 69 assists and 37 steals on the season. “He’s the type of player that every coach looks for,” Gerald said. “Good grades, good personality, good student and works extremely hard. You don’t have to worry about him being in any type of trouble.” Gerald said Dantlzer has the grades and qualifies to play college basketball and using his time at USC Sumter to build up his offers. Dantzler looks forward to getting his career going on the next level and will be playing with a few familiar athletes. His teammate at center Kenny Wayne Jackson is expected to sign with the school at a later date and former Aucs star and Class 2A state Player of the Year Andrew Crawford will be enrolling in the fall.
A few SC kids signing with Region 10 JUCOs includes Malik Sellers Cheraw and Trevor Dantzler Mullins (USC-Sumter), Andrew Smith B-Hilda, Pat Jenkins Loris & others with USC-Salk and many more...
This post was edited on 6/2 3:11 PM by HoopNupe #3
Clinkscales - Im USC-Sumter Rumph - Holmes CC (MS) - Football Denmark - Visiting Panola (TX) early next week Heyward - Middle Georgia College - Still trying to verify this one
Posted on 6/2 6:43 PM | IP: Logged
Farael Walker and Andrew Smith both signed today with USC-Salkehatchie of Walterboro. USC-Salkehatchie is a D1 Junior College program that plays in Region 10 of the NJCAA.
Walker 6-foot-3 from CE Murray High School in Greeleyville really stuffed the stat sheet this season for the 23-4 War Eagles. Walker averaged 14.5 ppg, 10.6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3.4 steals this season. Walker a left-handed wing player also played quarterback on the gridiron in the fall for the War Eagles. Smith played his high school career at Blackville-Hilda High School. Smith averaged 14 ppg and 10 rebounds this season.
St Joseph's Alex Winebarger has committed to continue his basketball career at the University of Dallas, an NCAA Division III school. Winebarger had an outstanding career for the Knights, leading the team in rebounding the past two seasons and scoring over 900 points during his three years on the varsity squad.
In addition to the WPDE Zone Cup presentation on Wednesday, Saint James honored 10 more student athletes who signed national letters of intent to compete in college athletics.
Marshall McClary ? Basketball Spartanburg Methodist College Spartanburg, SC
After 1,124 career points, Johnsonville High School’s E.J. Davis will be taking his game to the next level in Hartsville with the Coker College Cobras (NCAA D-II). Although he’s made a name for himself through putting up great scoring numbers, Davis will transition to the role of facilitator as he moves to point guard at Coker ? whom he chose over Methodist College in North Carolina, Francis Marion University, North Greenville University as well as Claflin University. During his senior season, Davis scored his 1,000 point earlier this year, along with a total of 330 points over the entire season as well as averaging 14.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals a game.
Conway's Chad Sessions to play for Brunswick Community College. Former Conway High School basketball standout confirmed to me that he will be playing collegiately at Brunswick (N.C.) Community College. And his official signing is Thursday.
Former Marion High School basketball star Maurice Grant led one of the school’s greatest teams ever assembled in 2007. Now he gets the opportunity to return home and help guide the Francis Marion University Patriots. After a stint at Sound Doctrine Prep School in Georgia, Grant found a home in Lynchburg, Tenn., playing for Motlow State College from 2009-11.
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