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More OSU Basketball Coverage

Oregon State Recruiting Update

By Kyle Harris

cbeav3512@hotmail.com

May 28th

Recruiting: Beavers Leave Spring Signing Period Alone   

The spring signing period came and went without any new additions for Oregon State basketball.

That was of course by design.

The Beavers, who finished last season 12-16, played without any seniors on the roster. They were one of the youngest teams competing in D-1 basketball.

With the roster already complete for next season, coach Jay John is spending the spring recruiting for the 2005-06 season.

But just because the Beavers didn’t sign anyone doesn’t mean they didn’t get any commitments. OSU received an early oral commitment from high school freshman Emeka Iweka. Iweka orally committed to the Beavers in late April. The 6-6 forward averaged 9 points per game for Rainer Beach High School in Washington. 

Iweka is an intriguing catch for Jay John. Already 6-6 as a high school freshman, Iweka still has some growing to do. Growth is also something we can look forward to seeing in his scoring average too. It will be interesting to see if Iweka sticks by his commitment, he is not scheduled to graduate until 2007.

Although they didn’t sign anyone in the spring signing period, Beaver fans aren’t going to have to wait until 2007 for new contributors. The Beavers will still have four newcomers in the 2004-05 season. This includes two transfers becoming eligible, 7-2 center Liam Hughes coming off his redshirt season, and the addition fall signee, 6-7 forward Marcel Jones.    

New Mexico State transfer Jason Fontenet should start the season backing up Lamar Hurd at the point, and he very well may find himself eventually starting. Fontenet started 27 games for New Mexico St. his sophomore year and averaged 12.2 points per game along with a team-leading 4.1 assists. Coach Jay John recruited Fontenet out of high school when John was an assistant coach at Arizona. Fontenet was named the Arizona Republic’s 5A player of the year.

The other transfer is ex-Iowa Hawkeye Nick DeWitz, a 6-8 forward. DeWitz is said to have a good outside shot for a player his size. He was forced to transfer from Iowa when he was placed on academic probation. He won’t be available to play until January.

7-2 center Liam Hughes will be an interesting question mark for the Beavers. A raw talent that will take up plenty of space in the middle, it will be interesting to see how much he’ll be able to contribute offensively.

Marcel Jones probably won’t redshirt next year as he has the size and athletic ability to contribute in a position where the Beavers are thin.