ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Head coach Mark Schmidt announced the addition of combo guards Jordan Gathers and Chris Johnson to the men’s basketball team for the 2011-12 season on Friday.
“Both Jordan and Chris are terrific additions to our basketball family,” said Schmidt, who will enter his fifth season at St. Bonaventure in 2011-12. “They fit our style of play and we’re excited about having them join our program.”
The 6-foot-3 Gathers was rated at an 85 overall by ESPNU College Basketball Recruiting and ranked among the top 120 combo guards in his class. He will have four years of eligibility with the Bonnies.
Johnson, a 6-foot-5 wing from North Preston, Nova Scotia, will have two seasons in the Brown and White after suiting up for Kilgore College (Texas) during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
Gathers currently attends Rise Academy in Philadelphia for a prep year, where he was recently named MVP after Rise defeated Lawrence Academy. Prior to enrolling at Rise, Jordan spent his senior year at William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif, where he helped guide Taft to a 26-6 overall record. As a junior at Loyola High School in Los Angeles, he posted season averages of 10.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game in 2008-09 in leading the team to a 26-7 overall mark.
“Jordan has terrific skill off the bounce, and can create for himself or his teammates” commented Schmidt on Gathers, who is the nephew of the late Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers.
Johnson played in 11 games for Kilgore in his final season, despite a left foot injury that forced him to miss parts of the 2009-10 season. He averaged 18.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 52 percent (74-of-143) from the floor. Prior to his time at Kilgore, Johnson was also a member of the 2007 Canadian Junior National team.
Johnson committed to Liberty University in the spring 2010 signing period before deciding to take a year to focus on academics.
“He’s an athletic wing scorer with great feel for the game,” adds Schmidt. “He’s a high-caliber guy that loves to play and someone we have been recruiting for some time.”
The Bonnies return all but one letterwinner from last year’s squad that earned a berth in the College Basketball Invitational and the school’s first winning season since 2001-02. All-America candidate Andrew Nicholson earned All-Conference and NABC All-District First Team honors as a junior after ranking 15th nationally in scoring (20.8), and enters his final season tied with Bob Lanier atop the school’s career field percentage list (.576, 589-1022).
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