Kaspar Adds Four in Early Signing Period
11/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 10, 2006
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack basketball head coach Danny Kaspar announced Friday the addition of four student-athletes who have signed national letters of intent to play for SFA. Jereal Scott, Nick Shaw, Dean Pele and Preston Davis all signed with the Lumberjacks this week during the basketball early signing period. This year's class is the largest early signing group Kaspar has recruited in his seven years in charge of the program.
"I am very excited about this recruiting class," the coach said. "We signed some people who can help us immediately, and I feel like they are a good fit not only for our program, but also for our university. This is not only an excellent group of basketball players, it's also an excellent group of people."
The class includes three prep recruits and a junior college transfer. Scott, Pele and Davis will join the Lumberjacks following the completion of their high school careers, while Shaw comes to Nacogdoches by way of Collin County Community College.
All four players have received glowing endorsements from Mike Kunstadt's Texas Hoops, an online recruiting service that is part of the Rivals.com network.
"Though you can't always put a lot of stock in preseason rankings of high school players," Kaspar said, "we signed some young men who are ranked pretty highly in their class."
Scott is a 6-7, 225-pound forward from La Porte, Texas. Last year, as a junior, he averaged 11 points per game and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game for La Porte High. Scott helped lead his team to a 26-10 record and was named first-team all-district. Texashoops.com called Scott "a blue-collar pain player who competes hard at both ends of the floor."
Shaw is currently in his sophomore year at Collin County Community College. Through two games there he has averaged 15 points and 9.5 rebounds. The 6-6, 215-pound forward is a native of Arlington, Texas, and a graduate of Bowie High School. As a senior at Bowie, he averaged 12 points per game and led the team in rebounding with eight boards per contest. He was also a first-team all-district selection. A versatile player, Shaw "can play on the wing, but will body up to bigger players," according to Texashoops.com.
Pele, an Austin, Texas, native, is one of the bigger guards Kaspar has signed in his tenure. He measures in at 6-3 and 180 pounds. Pele will graduate from Lake Travis High School in the spring, but he played last season at Hyde Park, a private school. There he was the district MVP as a junior and was selected to the Austin American-Statesman's All-Cen-Tex Team as an honorable mention. Pele was also named to a pair of private school all-state squads as a junior. He was First-Team All-State in TAPPS balloting and earned a spot on the TABC Private School All-State team. A solid all-around player, Texashoops.com analysts have lauded Pele for his court awareness, shooting touch, defensive effort and willingness to work hard away from the ball.
Davis is a point guard from Summit High School in Mansfield, Texas. The 6-1, 170-pounder led his team to a 25-8 record and a district title in his junior year. He was a first-team all-district selection, averaging 11.9 points 3.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Davis shot 52 percent from the floor and hit 40 percent from 3-point range. Davis "makes good decisions with the ball," and "is a strong defender on the ball," according to Texashoops.com.
While this fall's class is the largest Kaspar has ever inked in the early signing period, the coach expects to expand his roster again in the spring, after using the 2006-07 campagin to evaluate the program's needs.
"We do plan on signing one or two more players in the spring," Kaspar said. "We will use this season to determine where those scholarships are most needed."
-- SFA --
