« Download today's sports cover | Main | A good day for Grzebien and Adamonis »

November 29, 2007

Rams bringing in five

Jim Baron made official tonight what has been unofficial for more than a month now: His URI basketball team is bringing in one of the school's biggest _ and most highly rated _ recruiting classes ever.

Five players, all of whom had verballed to URI earlier, have formally returned their national letters of intent, Baron reported.

The school, through the office of assistant athletic director Mike Laprey, just issued a release that follows. We will have more in the Journal tomorrow.

KINGSTON, R.I. -- Head coach Jim Baron announced that five student-athletes – Ryan Brooks, Randy Dezouvre, Stevie Mejia, Orion Outerbridge and Jamal Wilson - signed their National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic endeavors at the University of Rhode Island for the 2008-09 academic year.

Rhody’s incoming five-man class was ranked as the 37th-best nationally, according to HoopScoop Online, while Scout.com picked it as it’s “sleeper” from around the country.

Brooks, a 6-8, 210 lb. forward, is finishing up his final prep season at Holy Spirit H.S. in Abescon, N.J. The Mays Landing, N.J. native averaged 22.0 points and 11 rebounds for head coach Jamie Gillespie last season as a junior. Brooks was an all-star at the Eastern Invitational and plays for the South Jersey Select AAU program. He is ranked among the top seniors in the Garden State, according to EKB Recruiting Service.

Dezouvre, a 6-4, 205 lb. guard, hails from Montreal, Quebec. In his final season at Champlain-St. Lambert, the athletic guard averaged a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.2 rebounds this past season for head coach John D’angelas. His efforts helped to lead the Cavaliers to the bronze medal at the 2007 Provincial Championship. He was also selected to play in the Nike Skills Academy Canada, held this past August.

Meija, a 5-8, 170 lb. guard, hails from Lawrence, Mass. and is completing his prep career at Lawrence Academy. Last season, the point guard averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals, helping Lawrence to a 28-3 overall record and the Class C New England Championship. He ranks ninth according to the New England Recruiting Report top players list. He was named the 2007 Independent School League Player of the Year by the Boston Globe. He was among the top 120 players in the country invited to the Reebok All-American Camp, held this past Summer in Philadelphia.

Outerbridge, a 6-9, 210 lb. forward, is a native of Boston and plays for head coach Peter Hutchins at New Hampton School in New Hampshire. A long, athletic post player, he averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season, helping lead his squad to a 17-12 record. The New England Recruiting Report ranked Outerbridge ranked him 11th, while HoopScoop rated him as the 19th best fifth-year prep player nationally.

Wilson is a 6-5, 195 lb. shooting guard who plays for head coach Lonnie Lowry at Neumann-Goretti H.S. in Philadelphia, Pa. A strong outside shooter, Wilson averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists, while helping guide his high school squad to the finals of the Philadelphia Catholic League championship. He attended the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia and is a standout for the Team Philly AAU program.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 6:24 PM to URI Basketball | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)