SFA Adds Five More Signees
5/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 9, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin basketball coach Danny Kaspar announced Monday the completion of his team's 2011-12 signing class with five additions during the spring signing period. Junior college transfers Kevin Broussard, Joe Bright, Jonathan King and Hal Bateman, along with prep recruit Micah Delph, have all signed national letters of intent with SFA.
This group of five joins the four players Kaspar added during the early signing period last fall, giving the Lumberjacks a nine-player signing class, the largest group signed in 11 years with Kaspar as head coach.
"Overall I think this class is one of the tougher groups we've signed here," the coach said. "Most of these kids come from highly successful programs where they've been challenged and coached. I hope that carries over for them with our program."
Broussard is a 6-0 shooting guard from Coffeyville Community College. In two years with the Ravens, he shot better than 41 percent from 3-point range. The Lafayette, La., native averaged 13.5 points per game as a freshman and 14.1 points per contest this season, when he helped lead Coffeyville to a fifth-place finish in the NJCAA National Tournament.
The Ravens finished with a 33-5 record in 2010-11. Broussard took All-Jayhawk Conference and All-Region 6 honors and was named the MVP of the Region 6 Tournament after leading his team to the tourney title. He was also an all-conference, all-region and all-Region 6 Tournament choice as a freshman.
"Kevin is an outstanding outside shooter," Kaspar said. "He comes from a great program at Coffeyville Community College. They finished fifth this year and are historically a presence in the national tournament. Kevin is very athletic and will make a great defender for us in addition to being a great shooter. We had to beat out a lot of other schools to get Kevin and I think he'll help us immediately."
Bright is a 6-4, 205-pound forward from Howard College. He averaged 10 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore, a year after helping his team win the NJCAA national championship. Bright, a Minneapolis, Minn., native, was named to the All-WJCAC team following the 2010-11 season. He is the third Howard College product signed by SFA in the last four years, joining former Lumberjacks and fellow Howard alums Benson Akpan and Denzel Barnes.
"Joe played on a national championship team his freshman year," Kaspar said. "He's very tough and competitive and has the type of leadership skills we're looking for in a player. He was known as one of the best defenders in the Western Texas league and should give us a lot of minutes at both the small and power forward positions. Joe played in an outstanding program that wins very consistently."
Delph is the lone high school player in the spring group. The 5-11 combo guard played his prep ball at Conway High in Conway, Ark. He helped lead his team to the Class 7A state title as a junior in 2009-10 and was an all-state honoree each of the last two years. Delph earned all-state tournament honors as a senior and was one of seven finalists for the Full Court Award, the high school player of the year honor in Arkansas.
Delph's father, Marvin, played basketball at Arkansas where he helped lead the Razorbacks to the Final Four in 1978.
"Micah is an athletic combo guard," Kaspar said. "He played on a state championship team as a junior. He shoots the ball well and can also play the point, as he did for his team this year. He played the off-guard his sophomore and junior year, so he has versatility at the guard spot."
King is a 6-5, 215-pound power forward from East Mississippi Community College. He averaged a double-double as a sophomore with 13.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest. King's rebounding average ranked among the top 15 nationally. In both his seasons at East Mississippi, the team reached the NJCAA National Tournament and finished the campaign ranked No. 12 in the country. King was selected to the MACJC All-Star game and was named to both the All-Region 23 and All-Region 23 Tournament teams. He was also a second-team honoree on the All-North Mississippi squad.
"Jonathan is an energy player who goes hard all the time," Kaspar said. "He played for a very successful program. They've been to the national tournament the last two years, and he was very instrumental in their success. He's a power forward who can really rebound. He can also put it on the floor and get to the basket."
Bateman is a 5-11 point guard from Des Moines Area Community College. As a sophomore he averaged 10.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists. His 159 rebounds led the team, as did his 170 assists. The Bears went 22-8 on the year. Bateman was named to the All-Region 11 team following the season.
"Hal is a quick, athletic point guard," Kaspar said. "He can penetrate and create for himself and others. He is an excellent on-the-ball defender. He played football in high school, which tells me he's got a toughness to him that I like."
The five spring signees come following a fall that saw the Lumberjacks sign three prep recruits and one junior college transfer. Jacob Parker (Bixby, Okla.), Thomas Walkup (Pasadena, Texas), Nick Cates (Kennedale, Texas) and Taylor Smith (McLennan CC) all signed early with SFA.
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