Counting down to tipoff and previewing the incoming freshmen of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with a look at the Canisius Golden Griffins.
During his first year at the helm Jim Baron directed Canisius to a 20-14 (11 MAAC victories) mark. Coach Baron welcomes five freshmen and two transfers to campus: Jermaine Crumpton, Lou Dunbar, Zach Lewis, Kassius Robertson, Adam Weir and transfers Chris Perez and Dominique Raney.
Jermaine Crumpton F 6-6, 220 Niagara Falls, N.Y./ Niagara Falls
Earned three varsity letters as a member of the Niagara Falls High School boy’s basketball program. Averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game in his senior season.
• Was named to the All-WNY First Team by The Buffalo News after his senior campaign.
• Along with Canisius teammate Adam Weir, he is the first All-WNY First-Team honoree to join the Griffs’ program since Hodari Mallory in 1998-99.
• Was a finalist for the New York State Mr. Basketball award in 2012-13 after he helped lead his high school team to a 17-4 overall record.
• Averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game in his junior season.
• Honored as a All-WNY Second Team choice by The Buffalo News in 2011-12.
What they’re saying about Jermaine Crumpton – Jon Boon/ Bishop Kearney: “He’s a tweener. He got a lot better from his junior to his senior year. He’s a kid I expect to contribute as a sophomore. He’s progressing. He’s got to keep working on his perimeter skills to be a regular contributor for Canisius and in that league.”
Lou Dunbar G Seabrook, TX/ Clear Falls
Won three varsity letters as a member of the boy’s basketball team at Clear Falls High School.
• Averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in his senior season.
• Was named the 2012-13 Texas District 24 5A Most Valuable Player.
• Was also chosen as the Galveston County (Texas) Player of the Year.
• Posted double-figures in the scoring column 29 times in his season year.
• Scored 34 points in each of the Clear Falls’ games against league rival Clear Lake.
• Shot 57 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point land and 84 percent from the free-throw line in his final two seasons of scholastic basketball.
Zach Lewis G 6-3, 175 Windsor, CT/ Fishburne Military Academy
Played basketball for one season at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va.
• Was one of seven postgrad players on the 2012-13 Fishburne roster to sign an NLI to play at the Division I level.
• Helped lead Fishburne to the National Prep Championship tournament.
• Played two seasons at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford, Conn.
• Averaged 22.2 points per game in his senior season at Northwest Catholic.
• Was a four-time honor roll student at Northwest Catholic.
What they’re saying about Zach Lewis – Steve Keller/ National Recruiting Report: “He’s a physical kid that can get up and down and score.”
Kassius Robertson G 6-3, 169 Toronto, ONT/ Thornlea Secondary School
Played one season (2012-13) at Thornlea Secondary School.
• Averaged 22 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game for Thornlea.
• Was named all-league.
• His head coach at Thornlea was Shane James, a former player at Loyola (Md.).
• Played two seasons at Vaughn Secondary School in Vaughn, Ontario.
• Helped lead Vaughn to two league titles and two OFSAA Provincial championships.
Adam Weir G 6-4, 185 Tonawanda, N.Y./ Canisius
• Earned four varsity letters as a member of the Canisius High School boy’s basketball program.
• Finished his scholastic career with 1,339 career points and 409 career rebounds.
• Averaged 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals per game in his senior season.
• Honored as the 2012-13 Allen Wilson Player of the Year by The Buffalo News.
• He is the second Canisius High player to be named the local player of the year, joining former Canisius High and Canisius College graduate Dareen Fenn.
• Weir is the fourth Griff in program history to be named The Buffalo News Player of the Year, joining Fenn (1997), Jeff Taggart (1985) and Ray Hall (1981).
• Was a two-time All-WNY First Team selection by The Buffalo News.
• Along with Canisius teammate Jermaine Crumpton, he is the first All-WNY First-Team honoree to join the Griffs’ program since Hodari Mallory in 1998-99.
• Was a finalist for the New York State Mr. Basketball award in 2012-13 after he helped lead his high school team to a 31-2 overall record and a third-straight Manhattan Cup in 2012-13.
• Served as a team captain in 2012-13.
What they’re saying about Adam Weir – Jon Boon/ Bishop Kearney: “He is a gym rat in every sense of the term. We played against him three straight years. He is a kid you can build a program around. He has a great work ethic. He’s very skilled. He won’t stop until the final horn blows. He could be a great player for them. He’s not a kid who can create a ton for himself, but he works so hard to get open. You can’t give him an inch. He reminds me a lot of Kyle Downey, yet he’s a little bigger and stronger than Kyle was coming out of high school.”
Chris Perez (transfer) G 6-3, 210 Santiago, Dominican Republic/ Stetson
• Was a two-year starter for Stetson in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
• Earned his undergraduate degree from Stetson in May 2013 and has one year of eligibility for the Griffs.
• Averaged 15.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 31 contests for the Hatters during the 2012-13 season.
• Was named All-Atlantic Sun Second Team after the 2012-13 campaign.
• Scored a career-high 32 points in Stetson’s loss to Jacksonville Jan. 31, 2013.
• Scored in double-figures 24 times in 2012-13, highlighted by a string of three-straight games where he was good for 20-plus points.
• Honored as the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week Jan. 8, 2013 – the first Stetson player to recieve that honor since 2010.
• Hit a game-winning buzzer beater, and finished with a team-high 16 points at FAU Dec. 18, 2012.
• Knocked down a career-high five 3-pointers at Lipscomb Jan. 16, 2012.
• Averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Hatters during the 2011-12 season.
• Sat out the 2010-11 campaign after transferring from Liberty.
• Played in 31 games as a freshman for Liberty, where he averaged 5.5 points per game, while shooting 51.6 percent (66-for-128) from the field.
• Graduated from Oldsmar Christian School in Oldsmar, Fla.
• Earned four varisty letters as a member of the Oldsmar basketball team.
• Finished his high school career as the all-time leading scorer in Pinellas County (Fla.).
• Averaged 24.0 points per game in his senior season.
• Helped lead Oldsmar Christian to the No. 1 ranking in the Tampa, Fla., area in theSt. Petersburg Times independent school rankings.
• Also averaged 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in his senior campaign.
• Led Pinellas County in scoring in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Dominique Raney (transfer) G 6-4, 180 Oklahoma City, OK/ Navarro College
• Played one season at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
• Averaged 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
• Played in 17 games and shot 60 percent from the free-throw line.
• Helped the Bulldogs go 25-11 overall and earn a Region XIV Tournament championship.
• That championship allowed Navarro to earn a berth into the 2012 NJCAA National Tournament.
• Averaged 17.5 points per game in his senior season at Putnam City High School.
• Helped lead Putnam City to back-to-back Oklahoma State 6A state championships.
• Was named the 2011 Tulsa World Metro Player of the Year.
• A two-time all-state honoree, he scored 1,300 career points in high school.
• Averaged 6.0 rebounds per game and shot 50 percent from the field for his scholastic career.
• Was a McDonald’s All-American nominee in 2011.
What they’re saying about Dominique Raney – Steve Keller/ National Recruiting Report: “He was recruited at a pretty good level for a while before he ending up going JUCO. He’s a good size guard. He’s athletic and physical. He’s got a chance to bring some toughness to Canisius.”
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