| Penguins Land Outside Threat in Juco Guard Tom Parks |
| Thursday, May 29 2008 |
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| Youngstown State Head Basketball Coach Jerry Slocum announced Wednesday that Sheridan College guard Tom Parks has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the program. Prior to signing with YSU, Parks (6-foot-6, 210 pounds) played last year at Sheridan College in Sherdian, Wyo. He attended Air Force Prep School after graduating from Cheyenne Central High School. He will have three years of eligibility remaining for the Penguins. Slocum said Parks has similar skills to current Penguin guard Vytas Sulskis, who was named the Horizon League's All-Newcomer team last year. Both players are similar in size and Parks averaged 2.3 3-point field goals made per contest in 30 games. "Tom will allow us to have more of an outside presence and his range should only help with the extension of the 3-point line," Slocum said. "He has good size and a tremendous work ethic both on the court and in the classroom." To keep his three seasons of eligibility, Parks is trying to earn his associates degree from Sheridan in just one year. In his lone season with the Generals, he averaged 14.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He shot 41.5 percent from the field making 137-of-330 field-goal attempts. He drained a team-high 70 3-pointers while attempting a team best 184. From the free-throw line Parks was solid making 81-of-101 attempts (80.2 percent). For the year he scored 425 points, grabbed 137 rebounds, had 43 assists and 23 steals. Parks said making the choice to leave Wyoming for Youngstown was not difficult. "The coaches seem like good people and I really liked the campus a lot," he said. "I had a good feeling when I visited. My parents talked to the coaches on the phone and we felt like it was a great place for me to spend the next three years." Parks said he spent nine years in Maine and coming back east was a motivating factor as well. He picked the Penguins after receiving interest from Wyoming and Cal Poly. After getting an opportunity to sign with a Division I school, Parks said he is not going to rest on his laurels. "My strength I would say is my shooting ability," Parks said, "I have to keep working at that because you can always become better. I need to work on my foot speed and my on-the-ball defense especially playing the three position." The Cheyenne, Wyo., native averaged 20 points and six rebounds per game as a senior at Central High School. He was a first-team all-state (Class 4A) and all-conference selection. Parks joins a group of signees that includes junior college players Sirlester Martin, Dallas Blocker, Kelvin Bright and DeAndre Mays along with freshmen Ashen Ward and Eddie D'Haiti. |
| Penguins Sign Orlando Area All-State Product Eddie D'Haiti |
| Thursday, May 15 2008 |
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| Head Coach Jerry Slocum announced Thursday that Eddie D'Haiti, an honorable-mention Class 6A selection from Orlando, Fla., has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Youngstown State men's basketball program. D'Haiti, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Fla., was an honorable-mention all-state selection in Florida's biggest class. He earned first-team All-Metro and All-Orange County honors and was named second-team All-Central Florida by the Orlando Sentinel. He was also ranked as one of the top 40 seniors in the state by various websites and services. Slocum said D'Haiti brings a lot to the table at the forward postion. "We are very excited to get a player with Ed's size and ability," Slocum said. "He has a chance to be an important contributor at our level. He comes from a successful program at Oak Ridge and he played at the highest level in the state of Florida. He fits the quality of person that we have filled this recruiting class with." D'Haiti helped lead Oak Ridge to a 21-8 record last season as the Pioneers reached the regional quarterfinals of the state tournament. For the season he averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds per game for Coach Matt Turner's squad. He said he was impressed with the overall atmosphere of the program and the university during his visit last week. "I like Youngstown State a lot and the program that Coach Slocum and his staff have going there," he said. "I think they will have a winning team next year and I want to be a part of that." "I liked the people a lot and the campus was beautiful. I met some people who I will love to be around." The move to Youngstown from Orlando will not be a challenge, D'Haiti said. "It would be a big issue if I was going to a place that had some negative people," D'Haiti said. "But I am going to be around positive people at Youngstown State and I will feel right at home." He said he plans on adding some weight and working on his strength before coming to campus this fall. "I'm gifted with my scoring ability so hopefully that will be an asset for the program," D'Haiti said. "I have pretty good range and can play both in and out." D'Haiti joins a group of signees that includes junior college players Sirlester Martin, Dallas Blocker, Kelvin Bright and DeAndre Mays along with fellow freshman Ashen Ward. |
| Sirlester Martin Signs Letter to Join Program |
| Thursday, May 1 2008 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown -- Youngstown State men's basketball coach Jerry Slocum announced on Wednesday that junior college forward Sirlester Martin has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the program. Martin, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward from Walters State College was a solid all-around player the past two years for the Senators. In his two seasons, he scored nearly 800 points while grabbing 500 rebounds. He is a native of Memphis, Tenn., having attended Carver High School prior to attending WSC. Slocum said Martin will be a key addition because of his size and athletic ability. "He will bring some needed strength to our forward positions," Slocum said. "Sirlester shoots, defends and rebounds well and has a solid overall game. We are excited to have him become part of our program and look forward to him making a contribution and being an impact player." Last year, Walters State posted a 32-3 mark reaching the Division I NJCAA National Tournament. The Senators won their first 28 games of the season before losing their regular-season finale. After posting three wins at the TJCCAA Region VII Tournament, Walters advanced to the National Tournament. In the three Regional Tournament games, Martin grabbed 36 rebounds, including an 11-point, 14-rebound effort against Motlow State in the Regional Final. For his efforts, he was named to the all-tournament team. In the National Tournament, Walters posted a 1-2 mark with its lone win coming over Eastern Wyoming. Martin said he enjoyed his visit to Youngstown and wanted to make sure it was the right fit since he will be far from home. "I felt comfortable with the environment there and the coaching staff was cool and took time to make me feel comfortable," he said. "This is the first time I will be far away from home and I really enjoyed the coaches and the player's personalities." As a sophomore, Martin played in 34 games scoring over 400 points while grabbing just under 300 rebounds. He had 11 double-doubles, scoring in double figures 22 times and grabbed double digits in rebounds on 14 occasions. As a freshman, he played in 31 games, starting 12. He scored 366 points (11.8 per game) while grabbing 202 rebounds (6.5 per contest). Martin said he planned to work on his mid-range game before coming to campus this fall. "I played a lot of positions in high school and junior college so I have played both inside and outside," he said. "Coming out of high school I wasn't as basketball smart as I am know and it really helped me learn the game more." Martin joins Ashen Ward, Dallas Blocker, Kelvin Bright and DeAndre Mays who have already signed national letters of intent to become part of the program next season. |