Men's Basketball Unveils Highest Rated Class In School History
11/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – Third-year head men's basketball coach Nate Oats has announced his signing class for the 2018-19 season, which includes three highly touted recruits. National scouting services have the Buffalo class amongst the top 60 nationally, making it the highest rated class in school history.
Jeenathan Williams is a 6-7 small forward from Rochester, NY, that is currently attending Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, CA. Williams is a four-star recruit by ESPN.com and is listed as the third best player in the state of New York. Williams, who played his first three years at University Prep Charter School in Rochester, is also ranked as the 27th best small forward nationally. Last season, UPrep reached the Section V Class AA Tournament final, losing to Fairport, the eventual runner-up in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association state tournament. Williams led the Griffins, averaging 22 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Section V coaches named Williams to a second consecutive Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Boys Basketball Team. Williams held offers from over 30 schools, including Syracuse, Maryland, NC State, and Virginia.
"Jeenathan is an extremely athletic, versatile, skilled wing player that we have built a relationship with over the last three years," said Oats. "I am extremely excited to not only get a player of Jeenathan's caliber here at UB, but also thrilled that he decided to play close to home right here in Western New York."
Ronaldo "Rondo" Segu is a 6-0 point guard from Orlando, FL and he is also a four-star recruit by ESPN.com. Segu is ranked as the 14th best player in the state of Florida and the 38th best point guard nationally. He plays for Orlando Christian Prep High School, which went 27-4 overall and a perfect 11-0 in their district winning the 3A State Championship last season. He averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 assists per game. Segu competed on the Adidas circuit for his AAU ball, competing for 1 Family Adidas.
"We targeted a high school point guard all summer and Rondo was our number one target at that position," said Oats. "We are elated to get someone with his skill set. His tenacity on defense, his basketball IQ and his passion for the game are something you look for in a player and Rondo displays all of those characteristics. His high school has produced some big time players and that tradition continues this year with Rondo."
Javion Hamlet is a 6-3 point guard out of Memphis, TN that is currently playing junior college basketball at Motlow State College in Lynchburg, TN. Hamlet led the nation last year, averaging 8.4 assists per game for Motlow. In addition, he averaged 15.6 points per contest, shooting over 55% from the field. He had two 30-point performances during his freshman year, including 34 points against Missouri State-West Plains and 14 times he reached double figures in assists, including a stretch of four straight games. Hamlet's highest assist total for a single game was 14 against Cumberland University. As a team, Motlow State qualified for the NJCAA National Tournament as they went 30-6 last season, including 14-4 in conference play. Following the year, Hamlet was named a second-team All-American and first-team All-Conference by the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.
"It was important for us to get an experienced combo guard that could score and handle the ball well and we definitely found that in Javion," said Oats. "He led the country in assists and scored nearly 16 points per game and that just speaks volumes about his ability to score and distribute. He comes from a great pedigree of guards out of the Memphis area."
As a whole, the recruiting class has been ranked 56th nationally, by Rivals.com, above several high major programs.
"I think our recruiting coordinator Bryan Hodgson and our entire staff did an outstanding job identifying the best possible talent and recruiting them into our program," said Oats. "All of these guys are high-character individuals that we have spent time building relationships with. They are big time gym rats that all want to be a part of this program and I know they will complement the pieces that we currently have to take this program to new heights and I can't wait for them to get on campus."
