Counting down to tipoff and previewing the incoming freshmen of the Atlantic 10 with a look at the first-year players of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
After claiming the 2012 A-10 Championship, St. Bonaventure fell to 14-15 (seven A-10 wins) in 2012-13. Mark Schmidt welcomes three freshmen and two transfers to campus: Jalen Adams, Denzel Gregg, Xavier Smith, Andell Cumberbatch and Chris Dees.
Jalen Adams G 6-4, 175 Saginaw, MI/ Arthur Hill
Averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and two blocks per game as a senior playing in Michigan’s highest level … chose the Bonnies over USC and DePaul, and was drawing interest from Villanova, Iowa and Nebraska, among others … Arthur Hill High School, located in Saginaw, Mich. just outside Detroit, finished the year 19-4 and Adams was named to the Associated Press Class A All-State Team … was also named The Saginaw News Boys Basketball Player of the Year in leading the Lumberjacks to the Saginaw Valley League title in 2012-13.
What they’re saying about Jalen Adams – Steve Schwanda/All Eyes on Hoops: “Great athlete, who finishes well at the rim. Not a bad jump shooter either and shoots from the outside with confidence. Had some big time scoring games as a Senior last year at Arthur Hill, where he was helped by playing with 2015 Eric Davis. Pretty good build, and if he improves his ball handling he should be able to get some minutes.”
Denzel Gregg G/F 6-7, 210 Syracuse, N.Y./ St. Thomas More
Originally from Syracuse, N.Y., Gregg played the last two years at prestigious prep school St. Thomas More in Connecticut … following a standout career at his hometown Bishop Grimes High School, Gregg transitioned to St. Thomas More and helped guide the Chancellors to a 24-8 record and a spot in the National Prep School Tournament semifinals in 2012-13 … on a team with multiple Division-I commitments and 10 total players who received scholarships to play basketball, Gregg averaged 12 points and 6 rebounds per game … ESPN College Basketball analysts graded Gregg as one the top-125 class of 2013 forwards in the nation, and the New England Basketball Recruiting Report ranked him as the No. 22 overall prospect in his class … scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds in St. Thomas More’s win over defending National Prep School champions Brewster Academy in December.
What they’re saying about Denzel Gregg – Erik Saroney/Henninger High: “He’ll make his biggest contributions on the defensive end. He’s long and athletic, can get in passing lanes and disrupt an opponent’s offense.”
Xavier Smith F 6-8, 205 Plano, TX/ Plano East
Averaged 6.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a senior in 2012-13 for Plano East High School … long, skilled forward whose rebound total led the Panthers, who sent six other players to Division-I schools in 2012-13 … Plano East, one of the largest high schools in the nation located just outside Dallas, went 30-6 in 2012-13 … Smith was ranked as the 66th-best prospect in the state of Texas entering his senior season in which he helped guide the Panthers to a spot in the Dallas 5A Elite Eight … District 5A Honorable Mention member as a senior … at the McDonald’s High School Basketball Classic, a postseason showcase for 10 teams in state’s top-two divisions, Smith scored 22 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked five shots in the event’s marquee matchup against Dallas Lincoln.
Andell Cumberbatch G 6-4, 195 East Orange, N.J./Barton Community College (transfer)
Spent the past two years at Barton (Kansas) Community College .. a dual threat from inside and outside, he was Barton’s Most Improved Player from his freshman to sophomore season as he averaged 14.2 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per game in 2012-13 for the Cougars … more than doubled his scoring average and increased his rebound average by more than five per contest from 2011-12 to 2012-13 … his 279 rebounds in 2012-13 were the 28th-most in the nation … shot an impressive 49.7 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from 3-point range this past year – an improvement by 8 percent from the floor and an incredible 12 percent from beyond the arc … posted double-double performances in nine of Barton’s 16 conference games, and missed three others by just a single point or rebound … finished with 11 total double-doubles on the year, by far the most on the team … 2013 First Team All-Jayhawk Conference West Division member … rated as a top-70 JUCO prospect in the nation … also named to the All-Region 6 Division I First Team last season after increasing his free-throw percentage by more than 20 percent from his freshman year … Barton was ranked in the top-10 in the nation during the 2012-13 season and played in the Region 6 Championship before finishing the campaign with a 28-6 record.
What they’re saying about Andell Cumberbatch – Jay Gomes/NJHoops.com: “JC sleeper was a small college recruit coming out of high school. Had the athleticism. Was an athletic slasher without a Division 1 level position. The skill level must have caught up with him the last two years as he was rated as one of the top juco players in the country.”
Chris Dees F/C 6-8, 260 Sylmar, CA/ New Mexico Junior College (transfer)
Spent his first two seasons at New Mexico Junior College … averaged 4.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 12 minutes per game in 2012-13 for a guard-oriented New Mexico Junior College team … no player on the team averaged more than 17 minutes per game, and only three averaged more than six points per game for the substitution-heavy squad … led the team in blocked shots with 28, anchoring a Thunderbirds’ backline which led its conference (NJCAA Region 5 – New Mexico/Texas) in scoring defense, holding its opponents to just 58.9 points per outing … started 30 of 34 games for the Thunderbirds, who captured the school’s first Region 5 Championship since 1996, were ranked in the top-10 in the nation at the end of the year and finished the campaign with a 27-7 overall record.
Biographical information courtesy of GoBonnies.com
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