Compiled by PAUL GOTHAM
Counting down to tipoff and previewing the incoming players of the Atlantic 10 with a look at the new faces in the Fordham Rams lineup.
Fordham finished 17-14 (8-10 in A-10 play) last season and fell to Boston University in the first round of the CIT tournament.
Jeff Neubauer and his staff will add Javontae Hawkins, Cavit Havsa, Perris Hicks, Chuba Ohams, Sinan Saglam, Prokop Slanina and Will Tavares to the lineup.
Javontae Hawkins G 6-5, 211 Flint, MI/Huntington Prep (Eastern Kentucky GS)
As a junior at Eastern Kentucky (2015-2016)
• Earned Second Team All-OVC honors.
• Ranked fifth in the league in scoring (17.0 points/game), tenth in field goal percentage (50.1) and 13th in free throw percentage (76.5).
• Also averaged 4.8 rebounds/game, 2.1 assists/game and 1.0 steals/game.
• Named the national Mid-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness on Nov. 23 after averaging 20.3 points/game, 4.3 rebounds/game and 3.0 assists/game in three Colonel wins at the @EKUHoops Classic at McBrayer Arena.
• Earned OVC Player of the Week honors after averaging 30.0 points/game over EKU’s historic road swing through Nashville in early February.
• Scored a career-high 36 points in a 97-81 win at Tennessee State on Feb. 4 and, two nights later, scored a team-best 24 points to help the Colonels hand Belmont their first-ever OVC home loss, 88-78.
• Against nationally-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 9, led EKU with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
• Notched first-career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 91-88 win over conference foe Jacksonville State on Jan. 21.
• Scored in double figures in all but three games in which he appeared.
As a Sophomore at South Florida (2013-2014)
• Played in 29 games.
• Averaged 3.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest.
• Scored a career-best 15 points against Cincinnati on Jan. 18, 2014.
As a Freshman at South Florida (2012-2013)
• Played in 26 games and started 10 times as a freshman.
• Averaged 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds.
• Shot 42.9 percent from the field.
• Posted a season-high 11 points against No. 24/23 Notre Dame.
High School
• A Four-star prospect, No. 89 overall, in the 2012 class.
• Ranked 16th at his position by ESPN and No. 96 overall by CBSCollegeSports.com
• Spent two years at Huntington Prep in West Virginia, where he averaged 17.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
• Earned First Team all-state honors as a junior in Michigan while playing at Flint Powers Catholic High School.
What they’re saying about Javonte Hawkins – Steve Schwanda/All Eyes On U Hoops: “Grad school transfer originally from Flint Powers before going to Huntington Prep and then Eastern Kentucky. Was a very big fan of his game all those years ago. Athlete, strong and skilled. Can shoot the ball a little but I feel he is at his best when he is attacking the paint.”
Cavit Havsa G 6-4, 160 Istanbul, Turkey/Esenyurt Okyanus
Before Fordham
• A graduate of Esenyurt Okyanus High School in Turkey.
• Played club basketball with the Pertevniyal Basketball Club.
• Team captain and MVP.
• Grew up playing for the Anadolu Efes grassroots program, the same program that developed Hidayet Turkoglu.
• Named the best point guard in the U18 Turkish Championships in May of 2016 while playing for the Pertevniyal Basketball Club.
• Named Best Guard at the U18 Turkish Championships.
• Played at the U16 European Championship with the Turkish National Team.
• U16 Turkish Championship assists leader.
Perris Hicks G 6-1, 180 Los Angeles CA/Pasadena (San Bernadino Valley College)
Before Fordham
• Attended San Bernardino Valley College in San Bernardino, California, from 2014-2016.
• Averaged 17.1 points, five assists and 3.3 rebounds per game in 2015-2016 to lead the Wolverines to a share of the Foothill Conference title.
• Earned conference Co-MVP honors.
• Ranked second in the conference with 151 assists and 43 steals.
• Scored in double figures in 28 of the 30 games he appeared in, including a 41-point effort at Victor Valley when he shot 16-for-24 from the field.
• Shot 48.4 percent from the field, including 40.3 from behind the arc (73-181), and 82.6 percent from the free throw stripe (109-132).
• A graduate of Pasadena High School in Pasadena, California.
• Named Second Team All-Area by the Pasadena Star-News as a senior in 2012-2013.
• Had offers from Middle Tennessee State, UTEP, Colorado State and Loyola-Chicago.
Chuba Ohams F 6-7, 180 Bronx, N.Y./Wadleigh
Before Fordham
• A product of Wadleigh High School in Harlem.
• Averaged 21.7 ppg as a senior in 2014-2015.
• School’s all-time scorer.
• An All-State and All-League selection.
• Named co-MVP of the 2015 Nate Blue Showcase as he sparked his White Team to an 100-76 victory with a game-high 22 points for the winners.
• Played at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut in 2015-2016 before transferring to Coastal Academy in New Jersey.
• Had offers from VCU, DePaul, Rutgers and Providence.
What they’re saying about Chuba Ohams – Steve Keller/National Recruiting Report: “He’s a wing who can really shoot. He can handle and shoot. He likes to stay out on the wing and shoot jumpers. He’s got talent, he’s going to have to get tough in the Atlantic 10.”
Sinan Saglam G 6-6, 195 Istanbul, Turkey/Istanbul Avcilar Doga
Before Fordham
• A graduate of Istanbul Avcilar Doga High School.
• Team’s leading scorer and served as a team captain.
• Ranked third for players born in 1998 in Turkey.
• A long and athletic player who played for the Darussafaka Sports Club that won the Turkish U18 Championship in 2015.
• Also a member of the U18 Turkish National Team that participated in the 2016 Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Manheim.
Prokop Slanina F 6-10, 225 Brno, Czech Republic/ASA
Before Fordham
• A graduate of Gymnazium Matyase Lercha in the Czech Republic.
• Named MVP in national championship of high schools in Czech Republic.
• Competed in the U18 European All-Star game.
• Competed at the All-Stars 5 in World Championship of High Schools in China.
• Member of the second place team U16 team at the European Championships.
• Member of the second place team U18 team at the European Championships.
• Attended ASA in Brooklyn in 2015-2016.
Will Tavares G 6-6, 205 Providence, R.I./Bishop Hendricken (Monroe College)
Before Fordham
• Attended Monroe College from 2014-2016.
• Only player in the program’s history to be named Player of the Year and All-American twice.
• 21st on the Monroe all-time scoring list with 639 points.
• A key player who led the Mustangs to a 21-9 record in 2015-2016.
• Was Monroe’s leading scorer, with a 12.2 ppg average in 27 games.
• Named the 2016 Region XV Player of the Year for the second straight year, as well as Third Team All-American.
• Averaged 10.0 ppg and 4.1 rpg for the Mustangs in 2014-2015, shooting 42.9% from behind the arc to earn JUCO Region XV Player of the Year and First Team All-District honors as well as Honorable Mention All-America accolades.
• A graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, R.I.
• Earned First Team All-League and All-Division accolades as a senior as well as being named the 2013 Player of the Year.
Leave a Reply