GREENSBORO, North Carolina -- North Carolina A&T men’s basketball coach announced the completion of his recruiting class Tuesday. Aggie fans will be introduced to four new players next season including two Division I graduate transfers, a junior college transfer and one true freshman.The Aggies class includes Ede Egharevba (6-6, 210, Queens, N.Y., Albany University), Joshea Singleton (6-4, 211, Kinston, N.C., Bucknell University), Mike Owona (6-9, 250, Bel Air, Md., Northwest Kansas Technical College) and Deion James (6-8, 205, Tucson, Ariz., Empire).
Fourth-year head coach Cy Alexander also had two players sitting out last year in Division I transfer and Greensboro Dudley High School graduate Sam Hunt (6-2, 175, Greensboro, N.C., Jacksonville University) and Jamin Lackey (6-8, 200, Los Angeles, Calif., California Community College), who missed the 2014-15 season because of a shoulder injury.
“I don’t think we ever fully recovered from losing seven seniors at one time,” said Alexander referring to the 2013 MEAC championship team that featured seven seniors.
“Two guys from the class we signed transferred, and then (Richaud) Pack transferred before last season. He was a guy we felt could score close to 20 per game for us. During our (men’s basketball) staff meetings we expressed the need to bring in guys that can help us right away because of some of the setbacks we’ve had. I think my staff did an excellent job of doing that.”
The Aggies lost Pack to the graduate transfer rule. Pack, an A&T graduate, transferred to the University of Maryland to complete his eligibility. By rule, he was allowed to play the 2014-15 season with the Terrapins after playing the 2013-14 season with the Aggies because he already had his undergraduate degree.
Instead of getting upset, Alexander decided to utilize the rule himself. The Aggies signed Egharevba and Singleton with the intention of the two graduate students starting the 2015-16 season as starters.
“Ede is a highly-intelligent young man who graduated college in three years,” said Alexander.
“We’re looking for him to be a double-digit scorer and a fierce defender because of his length on the wings. He brings a lot to the table including maturity in the locker room.”
Over a two-year period, Egharevba played in 18 games with one start for the Great Danes. He initially singed with Wichita State out of Evelyn Mack Academy (N.C.). He took a redshirt season before transferring to Midland where he averaged 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds before transferring to Albany. He was a 2010 All-New York City performer out of Edison High School, and was the leading scorer at Mack Academy in 2011.
Singleton will team with fellow Kinstonian Denzel Keyes in 2015-16 after graduating from Bucknell. Singleton played in 46 games with 24 starts over a four-year period at Bucknell. He was the 2011 valedictorian at Kestrel Heights School in Durham, N.C. He averaged 14.6 points as a junior and 16.0 points as a senior at Kestrel Heights.
“He is a high intense and high character guy,” said Alexander. “He is going to bring a lot of energy to our team. He played in the Princeton offense, so he is also going to bring some offensive discipline with him as well.”
A&T’s lack of success over the past two seasons is due in part to a lack of physicality, according to Alexander. He hopes to solve that problem with the addition of Owona. Owona played one year each at Farleigh Dickinson and NW Kansas Tech. He played in 30 games as a freshman at FDU where he averaged 1.2 points and 2.3 rebounds as a reserve. He played in 28 games with 26 starts at NW Kansas Tech and posted 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
“He is a bruiser and banger with a big body,” said Alexander. “He is not a fine-tuned offensive player but an excellent rebounder. He gives us a presence and toughness in the paint, which is something we need.”
The only true freshman in the class is James. But he is talented enough to come in and play major minutes immediately. He had numerous offers from mid to high mid-majors before choosing A&T and its engineering program.
He can play small forward, power forward and shooting guard. He will likely play shooting guard to start the season. He played in 103 games for Empire and averaged 16.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. James averaged better than 20 points and averaged a double-double in each of his final two seasons in high school.
“Once he learns how hard you have to work on the collegiate level, I think he has the potential to be an outstanding player for us,” said Alexander. “He certainly has the speed and the intensity to play on this level. And when you look at the schools who were pursuing him, it tells me we signed a pretty good player.”
With the addition of three veteran players and a talented true freshman along with Hunt and Lackey entering the fold, the Aggies will have a new look in 2015-16. But not all is brand new. The Aggies also have 12 returning players, which makes them one of the deepest teams in the MEAC.
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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