Courtesy of FordhamSports.com
Bronx, NY (June 5, 2014) – Fordham University men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora announced the signing of forward Dekeba Battee-Aston (Cairns, Queensland, Australia/Northfield-Mt. Hermon) and Zaire Thompson (Leverkusen, Germany/Urspring Academy) to a National Letter of Intent for the 2014-2015 season.
Thompson, a 5’ 11”, 180-pound, point guard, is currently a member of the Urspring team in Schelklingen, Germany, where he plays for head coach Michael Sproecker and is a teammate of Fordham signee Sengfelder. He is averaged 10.4 ppg and dished out 4.5 assists/game while also recording 1.7 steals/game this past season. Thompson and Sengefelder led Urspring to another Top 4 appearance, the eighth straight Top 4 appearance for the school, where the team fell in the championship game with Thompson scoring 15 points and adding five assists in the contest.
“We are very happy to have Zaire join our basketball family,” said Pecora. “Zaire is a true point guard with a wealth of international basketball experience. He has exceptional speed and the ability to run a team. He will provide great depth to our backcourt.”
Thompson also led Urspring to the 2011 JBBL title and the 2012 Arby’s Classic championship in Bristol, Tennessee, as the school became the first foreign team to win the Arby’s Classic title. He scored seven points and added five assists in the championship game and had ten points and three assists in the semifinal win over defending champs Christ School (N.C.).
“What Fordham is getting in Zaire is firstly a wonderful person,” said Sproecker. “On the floor he is a real competitor and a great floor general. As a point guard he possesses the ability to really see the game and make his teammates better. We’re also very happy that he will be joining Christian at Fordham.”
“I’m very happy to have signed with Fordham University and I’m very excited to go to school there,” said Thompson. “This is one of the greatest achievements of my life and I’m very proud to soon be a part of the Fordham family.”
Battee-Aston, a 6’9”, 255-pound, forward, was born and spent his early years in Australia before moving to Texas to start high school at Richland High School. He finished his high school career at Northfield Mount Hermon.
Battee-Aston’s father, Don Battee, who was born in New York City, played high school basketball in Dallas and college basketball at Wichita State. After playing professionally overseas, he started an international acting career.
“We are excited about Dekeba bringing his rare combination of great size and skill to Fordham,” said Pecora. “He will provide great depth to our frontcourt and will be competing for minutes from day one.”
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