CHICAGO – Chicago State University (CSU) men's basketball head coach Tracy Dildy announced recently the addition of seven student-athletes to the program beginning with the upcoming 2011-12 season.
The seven newcomers arriving on campus in August are junior college transfers Chris Key (Decatur, Ala.), Jonathan Mills (Chicago, Ill.), Jeremy Robinson (Decatur, Ill.), Matt Samuels (Washington, D.C.), Demerius Smith (Alexandria, La.) and Aaron Williams (Chicago, Ill.), and freshman Clarke Rosenberg (Evanston, Ill.).
“We're just really excited about this class and this is one of the best classes I've ever been involved with recruiting-wise. We are bringing in student-athletes that truly live up to that moniker and three of our junior college transfers were actually NCAA qualifiers out of high school,” said Dildy. “These guys are experienced, athletic, have a high basketball IQ and come from winning programs, and that is a good mix for developing something special.”
Listed below is information on all seven newcomers for the Green and White:
Chris Key
6-7, 195, Forward
(Decatur, Ala./Bevill State CC)
Produced averages of eight points and seven rebounds per game this past season… scored 21 points and 10 rebounds against Lawson State CC… recorded 16 points against Enterprise State CC and New Horizon Prep… tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds versus Marion Military Institute… posted 12 points, 11 boards and three blocked shots against Gadson State CC… grabbed 12 rebounds versus Gadson State in the NJCAA Region 22 tournament.
Jonathan Mills
6-6, 210, Forward
(Chicago, Ill./College of Eastern Utah)
Rated the 49th-best junior college player by Rivals' JucoJunction.com in 2010-11… captured first team all-NJCAA Region 18 and Scenic West Athletic Conference honors… tallied averages of 15 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in addition to posting 15 double-digit rebounding games and 13 point-rebound double-doubles… posted 34 points with 13 rebounds against Central Wyoming College… recorded 25 points and 17 rebounds versus Salt Lake CC… rated 11th among the NJCAA Division I rebounding leaders.
Jeremy Robinson
6-8, 210, Forward
(Decatur, Ill./Iowa Western CC)
Named the 51st-best player on Rivals' JucoJunction.com for 2010-11… posted averages of 19 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots a game while shooting 50 percent from the field… earned First Team All-Iowa Community College Athletic Conference and NJCAA Region 11 accolades… ranked 48th among the NJCAA Division I scoring leaders… produced 35 points and 20 rebounds against Mid-South CC… scored 31 points versus Missouri State – West Plains CC… recorded 29 points versus Central CC-Columbus… notched 27 points and 13 boards against Simpson College JV.
Clarke Rosenberg
6-3, 170, Guard
(Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township)
Tallied a scoring average of 15 points per game in his final prep season… helped Evanston finish with an 18-11 record, the Central Suburban League South Division title and an appearance in the CSL championship game… scored 23 points versus CSL foe New Trier… produced 17 points against Taft in the Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament… posted 15 points versus St. Ignatius in the “War on the Shore” Shootout… notched 14 points and five rebounds against Waukegan.
Matt Samuels
6-0, 185, Guard
(Washington, D.C./South Suburban College)
Did not play at South Suburban College after transferring from Oakland University of the Summit League… recorded averages of 2.3 points and one assist per game in addition to shooting 46 percent from the field as a freshman at OU… graduated from Patterson Prep School in Lenoir, N.C., where he played basketball there for a year.
Demerius Smith
6-2, 185, Guard
(Alexandria, La./Kennedy-King College)
Earned First Team All-NJCAA Region Four honors following his sophomore year at Kennedy-King… ranked ninth in three-point shooting percentage (48%) and 50th in scoring on the NJCAA Division I statistical leaderboard… averaged 18 points, four rebounds and four assists a game… recorded 35 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 8-of-9 from three-point range, against nationally-ranked Kankakee CC… tallied 28 points and nine rebounds versus Malcolm X College… posted 27 points and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line against Kankakee in the NJCAA Region Four tournament en route to capturing all-tournament team honors.
Aaron Williams
6-6, 215, Forward
(Chicago, Ill./Dodge City CC)
Recorded averages of 10 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game as a freshman at Dodge City… tallied 22 points and 10 boards against Garden City CC… posted 17 points and 11 rebounds versus Cloud County CC… produced a 12-point, 10-rebounds performance against York College JV… dished out three assists twice against Barton CC and Colby CC… notched six steals versus Butler CC.
All seven seniors from the 2010-11 squad will receive their degrees this year, while two former players graduated in December 2010 and two more former Cougars will earn their college degrees at Thursday's commencement.
~CSU~
