| Illinois All-State Point Guard Vance Cooksey Signs With YSU |
| Wednesday, April 26 2006 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown – Youngstown State men's basketball coach Jerry Slocum announced the signing to a National Letter of Intent by third-team Illinois Class AA all-state selection Vance Cooksey on Wednesday. Cooksey, a 5-11, 160-pound point guard had a stellar career at Marian Catholic High School in Chicago, Ill. As a senior, he averaged 20.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game while earning third-team all-state honors by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. He was also an honorable-mention all-state pick by The Associated Press. Cooksey was tabbed the 38th-best prospect for the Illinois class of 2006 by ChicagoHoops.com. Slocum said Cooksey is an individual whose quickness and court awareness will be a major benefit to the program. “Since I have taken this job one of my desires has been to have a point guard that can change the tempo of a game," Slocum said. "He is a student-athlete who can play all 94 feet on the offensive and defensive ends and can change the games speed with his abilities. We are excited to have him join our program and he is a great signing for us coming out of the Chicago area.” During the 2005-06 campaign, Cooksey helped lead Marian Catholic to one of its best seasons in the programs history. The Spartans finished the year with a school-record 22 victories and advanced to the sectional semifinals before losing to Hillcrest by four points despite a team-high 20 points by Cooksey. The contest was Marian Catholic's first in the sectionals since 1991. Cooksey said the Youngstown State players and coaching staff helped make his choice easy with the way he was treated during his visit last week. “I really liked the players and the coaches because they treated me like I was a player on the Youngstown team already," Cooksey said. "I really liked what I saw of the campus. I just liked the way the whole visit went. It’s the right place for me. It’s pretty close to home and we play some games in Chicago so I'll be able to get back a couple of times during the year. I liked the coaches a lot. They gave me a lot of confidence that I could come in and play right away." For the Spartans, he was a three-year starter and scored more than 1,250 points to rank third in the school's history. Playing for coach Mike Taylor, he was a two-time East Suburban Catholic Conference selection and as a senior was named all-area by The Daily Southtown and The Star Newspaper. As a junior, he averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds. 4.2 assists and 3.9 steals per game. Cooksey said he has a lot to offer the Youngstown State program. "I can shoot the ball well from pretty much anywhere," he said. "I would say a real strength is with my handing of the basketball. I play good tough defense. One area I think is a key is that I can read the court very well and that will help me as a point guard one the next level. I can see the entire court well and have good court awareness.” But there is always work to be done before returning to campus in August he said. “I’ve been hitting the weights hard because I know I need to improve physically before I get to Youngstown, but I’d like to think that I am strong mentally to play on any level.” Cooksey picked the Penguins after receiving interest from Marist, UW-Green Bay, Illinois State, South Dakota State and Niagara. BIO: Vance Cooksey Point Guard 5-11, 160 Chicago, Ill. Marian Catholic High School High School: Was a third-team Class AA All-State selection by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association...also an honorable-mention The Associated Press all-state selection as a senior…tabbed as the 38th-best basketball prospect in Illinois for the Class of 2006 by ChicagoHoops.com…was a two-time East Suburban Catholic Conference selection…named all-area by The Daily Southtown and The Star Newspaper…averaged 20.1 points, 4.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals as a senior…was team leader in points, assists and steals…scored a game-high 20 points, including making five 3-pointers in Class AA Sectional semifinal loss to Hillcrest (57-53)…was the Spartans’ first appearance in sectionals since 1991…also had 22 against Rich East in the postseason…team finished the year 22-7…the number of victories was a school record…named to the Chicago Heights Classic and Big Dipper All-Tournament teams…scored a season-high 35 points against St. Rita in a four-overtime contest…also had 31 against Bloom Township…school was 13-15 his junior year…averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.9 steals per game as a junior…shot 84 percent from the free-throw line…named to the CHC All-Tournament as a junior after scoring 30 points in fifth-place game…also had another 30-point game…team’s MVP as a junior and a senior…averaged 8.5 points per game as a sophomore as team finished year 9-17…three-year starter and four-year letterwinner…was a team captain as a senior…ranked as the third-leading scorer in school history with more than 1,250 career points…played in the Chicago City/Suburban All-Star Game in April…game featured the top suburban players against top city players…coach was Mike Taylor…played AAU basketball for the Chicago Jaguars who finished second at the National AAU Under-17 Championship. |
| Wisconsin Player of the Year Devron Bostick Signs With Penguins |
| Thursday, April 13 2006 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown – Youngstown State men's basketball coach Jerry Slocum announced the signing to a National Letter of Intent by Division 3 and first-team All-Wisconsin forward Devron Bostick on Thursday. Bostick, a 6-6, 210-pound forward had an impressive two-year run at St. Catherine's High School in Racine, Wis. He helped the Angels to a Division 3 state championship in 2005-06 after winning a state Division 2 title in 2004-05. During his tenure with the school, St. Catherine's won 52 of 53 games losing the one contest by one point and winning his final 44 consecutive games. Slocum said the program picked up a talented individual who has a tremendous potential. "“We are very excited to be able to sign such a fine student-athlete as Devron,” Slocum said. “He fills an immediate need for our program. To have someone who was a player of the year in Wisconsin and who has won two consecutive state titles is very exciting for our basketball program.” Bostick, who visited the Youngstown State campus last week, said he loved everything about his stay and the decision was easy. “Youngstown State was the only place I visited," Bostick said. "I liked it so much that I cancelled all my other visits. I know this is the place for me. “I really liked and enjoyed the campus. I liked the coaches, I liked the players and the overall environment. I was really impressed with what the school had to offer on an overall scale. I thought it was a clean and very nice campus.” During his senior year, Bostick averaged 17.2 points and 6.4 rebounds while being named to The Associated Press' all-division first-team all-state squad. He was a first-team All-Wisconsin selection by Wishoops.net and was the service's Division 3 Player of the Year. His team capped off a perfect 27-0 season with an impressive win in the state championship game. The Angels beat Westby 68-29 in a contest where the school set Wisconsin Division 3 tournament marks for victory margin in championship game and tournament contest. Bostick said the two-year run at St. Catherine's is something he will never forget and hopes to bring that success with him to YSU. “It’s been a challenge believe it or not," he said. "It was incredible winning 44 games in a row, but with that came a lot of pressure and expectations. To be able to live up to all those expectations was exciting. Everyone was out to get us and we always got their best shot. It was a great experience. Coach (Bob) Letsch taught us how to be leaders and I learned a lot about the game from him.” Because of his abilities, he also picked up numerous other individual accolades. He was a second-team all-state selection by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, an honorable-mention all-state pick by BadgerStatePreps.com, was named first-team all-area by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, selected as a first-team All-Lakeshore Conference pick and Conference’s Athlete of the Year, was a unanimous choice by the coaches for Racine County Player of the Year and was ranked as the ninth-best player in the state by hoopmasters.com. Bostick said his overall game is strong, but there is always improvement to be made. “Defense and scoring are two of my strengths," he said. "I had a lot of success shooting the ball. I’m a good shooter and a defender. Coach said I was the best tipper he had ever coached before in regards to put-back rebounds. Some of things I need to work on before I come to Youngstown are making the transition to the three position. Work on facing up more to the basket and run the court more fluidly.” As a junior, St. Catherine’s went 25-1 winning the Division 2 State Championship Game 52-50 over Seymour. Bostick played a key role in the contest breaking a 50-all tie with 11.1 seconds by calmly sinking two free throws. It was the school's first state championship since 1993. In the end, Bostick said attending Youngstown State gave him a chance for a total-package college experience. “It’s a very good program and one where I thought I could grow as a player and as a student-athlete. I thought that was the most important thing when I was making my decision. I thought if I went there it would be a great opportunity for myself.” |
| Humphrey Named MVP at Annual Awards Banquet |
| Wednesday, April 12 2006 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown – Quin Humphrey was named the men’s basketball program’s Dom Rosselli Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive year, Head Coach Jerry Slocum announced at the team’s end-of-the-year banquet on Sunday. Humphrey, who was the team’s MVP during the 2004-05 campaign as well, becomes the fourth individual to be named the Penguins’ top performer in consecutive years for the fourth time in school history. He joins Adam Baumann, Anthony Hunt and Andre Smith as individuals who won MVP honors in back-to-back years. During the 2005-06 campaign, Humphrey became just the second player in the Horizon’s League’s history to finish as the leader in points per game and rebounds per contest average for an entire season. He averaged 19.2 points and 8.3 boards per game. He finished with 10 double-doubles and scored in double figures in 27 of 28 games on the year. He also led the conference during the league season in scoring and rebounding. For his team-high averages in both categories, he was also the recipient of the Jeff Covington Leading Scorer Award and the Leo Mogus Leading Rebounder Award. Senior guard Derrick Harris was also a multi-award recipient at the event. Harris earned the Coach Bill Dailey Leadership Award from the coaching staff for his efforts throughout his senior campaign. By virtue of his league-best 5.3 assists per contest he earned the Assist Leader Award and garnered the free-throw percentage honor converting 87 percent from the charity stripe. Harris led the conference in assists during the league season as well. Senior guard Domonique Crawford was named the Penguin Club Most Improved Player. Crawford scored a total of 32 points playing in just 20 games as a junior. This past season, Crawford eclipsed his point production in one game by scoring a league-season-high 37 points in the final home contest versus Loyola. For the season, Crawford had 291 points in 27 games and was one of three Penguins to average double figures in points (10.8). Freshman Mikko Niemi was the recipient of the Tony Vivo Hustle Award. Niemi improved throughout the season and was in the starting lineup for the Horizon League Tournament contest at Loyola – the first start of his career. Sophomore forward Colin LaForme earned the Four Square Club Scholar-Athlete Award for having the highest cumulative grade-point average on the squad. |