Advertisement
basketball Edit

Basketball Eagles announce roster additions

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss men's basketball program has announced the addition of five transfers and a freshman for the 2016-17 season.

"We are excited about the new group," head coach Doc Sadler said. "I think we brought in a combination of versatile players, and the one area that I think that's really going to help is that it's an older group."

The list includes Tyree Griffin (Oklahoma State), Dominic Magee (Grand Canyon), Bilal Abdur-Rahim (Colby CC), Anfernee Hampton (Miss. Gulf Coast CC) and D'Angelo Richardson (Holmes CC) who join freshman Clay Weatherspoon.

"I now have some guys who have been in other programs and will realize how hard we have to work," Sadler said. "Even though some of them won't be eligible to play this year, they can still bring leadership and that really excites me."

Griffin started 15 games for the Cowboys as a sophomore (2015-16). He had four double-figure scoring games, with three of them coming against Kansas State. His best performance was his first against the Wildcats, scoring 18 points on 5-of-9 field goal shooting and a 7-for-8 mark at the line. He also had 10 assists in the Big 12 Championships opener.

As a freshman, the 5-foot-10 Griffin was fifth on the squad with 34 assists. He was a decorated recruit in high school, including being named the Large Schools Player of the Year by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. His older brother, Bo, played at New Orleans and was the 2007 Sun Belt Player of the Year.

Magee was a four-star recruit out of Helen Cox High School in Harvey, La., and rated as the No. 2 prospect in Louisiana his senior year. He redshirted at Memphis as a freshman in 2014-15 before moving on to Phoenix. Magee then exploded for a career-high 29 points in his collegiate debut on Dec. 13, 2015. He helped Grand Canyon to a 27-7 record, the program's most wins since 1988. The 6-foot-4, guard averaged 22.3 points and seven rebounds per game as a high school senior.

Griffin and Magee will sit out the 2016-17 season per NCAA transfer rules.

Abdur-Rahim is welcomed to Hattiesburg by way of Colby Community College (Kan.). He stands at 6-foot-6 and averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game en route to making the 2016 Region VI All-Tournament Team. His Wheeler High School team in Marietta, Ga., was a consensus top-five program nationwide. Abdur-Rahim's brother, Shareef, played at California and in the NBA for 13 years before embarking on a basketball administration career path.

Hampton comes from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he made it to the MS/AL All-Star Game. He averaged 15.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game that enabled him to earn All-Region and State honors. The 6-foot-5, 170-pound Hampton was previously at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, where he averaged 16.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per outing.

Richardson is a Vicksburg native who began his collegiate career at Holmes Community College in Goodman, Miss. He averaged 12.8 ppg and shot 72 percent from the charity stripe. The 5-foot-9 guard was also successful off the court, earning MACJC and NJCAA academic honors for holding a 3.6 GPA or better.

Weatherspoon was a four-year letterwinner and All-Academic team member. He averaged 12 points and nine rebounds per game as a senior while earning first-team all-district honors at Ridgeland High School north of Jackson.

His father, Clarence, on Tuesday was hired as an assistant coach. He played 13 years in the NBA following a legendary Golden Eagle career and also served as a volunteer coach for Clay's high school team.

There will be a reception Thursday night from 5 to 6:30 p.m. inside the Duff Athletic Center to allow Eagle and Hardwood Club members to meet the new coaching staff.

Advertisement