Men's Basketball Adds Inside Trio For 2006-2007
August 05, 2006 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb announced Thursday that
center Samba Fall and forwards Matthew
French and Auryn McMillan had signed
National Letters of Intent to play for the Runnin' Bulldogs next
season.
The trio is expected to bolster a GWU frontline that lost two of
its starters - All-Conference center Simon Conn and All-Conference
forward Brian Bender - to graduation. Gardner-Webb has now signed
eight student-athletes in men's basketball for next season.
"Obviously it is a difficult task replacing the six seniors we had,
but we are excited about the character and ability of these
student-athletes," said GWU head coach Rick Scruggs. "We will
certainly be young and inexperienced for the next couple of years,
but we feel that this class will pay off down the road, similarly
to the most recent group of seniors."
Fall, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound center, is expected to make the most
immediate impact. The Dakar, Senegal, native will have three
seasons of eligibility remaining after transferring from Daytona
Beach (Fla.) Community College. Fall signed with Pepperdine prior
to his freshman season and redshirted with the Division I Waves
before heading to DBCC for the 2005-2006 season.
Blessed with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, Fall is an athletic shot blocker
who helped Daytona Beach to a solid 25-5 record this past season
and a 12-3 conference mark. He made 51.1 percent of his field goal
chances and came on strong late in the season - after being
hampered early by injury. Fall had 10 points, eight rebounds and
four blocks in a late season win over Santa Fe (Fla.) Community
College.
Also an excellent student, Fall was named men's basketball
Scholar-Athlete of the Year at Daytona Beach CC, and attended Jean
Delafontaine School in Senegal prior to his arrival in the United
States. He was rated the best all-around player on the Senegalese
national student team, and was a member of the Federation of
Senegal Basketball juniors team from 1999-2001 - and for the
Senegalese senior team from 2001-2004.
"Samba is a long, athletic center who should step in and play right
away," said Scruggs. "He's an accomplished shot blocker and plays
above the rim on offense. His ability to change shots and finish at
the rim will be fun to watch. As he gains strength, we feel like he
can make an impact for us."
French is a natural power forward at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds and hails
from Melbourne, Australia - the same hometown as former Bulldog
Simon Conn. French plays for the same Dandenong club that nurtured
Conn's development on the court, and is already an accomplished
scorer and rebounder.
A good outside shooter, French averaged 20.9 points and 11.2
rebounds per game for Dandenong this past season, and is currently
averaging 14 points and seven boards for Dandenong in the Big V
Youth Tournament through seven games. He netted a tournament-best
26 points, and has scored in double figures five times in seven
contests.
"Matthew is a young man who can play the 'four' spot for us, but
can step out and hit shots on the perimeter, which fits well into
what we want to do," Scruggs said. "He's a strong rebounder who is
comfortable playing in the post, and could come in and play very
early as a freshman. He's advanced for an incoming player."
Another native of Melbourne, Australia, McMillan is a talented
forward/center who has Division I size (6-foot-8, 230 pounds) and
athleticism. He averaged 14 points and eight rebounds per game for
the Kilsyth Club Team, drawing recruiting interest from several
Division I programs in the United States as a result.
"Auryn has tremendous upside, and should be a good player for us in
the post," said Scruggs. "His athletic ability, and the way he runs
the floor are impressive. He'll need to add strength once he gets
here, but we think he's a very solid find for our program and
expect him to play early next season."
Gardner-Webb is set to begin the 2006-2007 season at the NABC
Guardian's Classic, and has games tentatively scheduled at NC State
(Nov. 24), Wake Forest (Dec. 19), Georgia (Dec. 5) and Wisconsin
(Dec. 27) next season. GWU is also set to host UNC Greensboro (Nov.
21) and Western Carolina (Dec. 9) prior to a challenging 20-game
Atlantic Sun Conference schedule.
Gardner-Webb Men's Basketball Recruits
Selden Edwards (6-2, 190, Fr.-HS, G) Huntington, WVa. / Massanuttin
(Va.) Military
Samba Fall (6-9, 215, So.-JC C) Dakar, Senegal / Pepperdine /
DBCC
Matthew French (6-6, 210, Fr.-HS, F) Melbourne, Australia /
Dandenong Rangers
* Brandon Jackson (6-0, 171, Fr.-HS, PG) Orlando, Fla. / Pine
Castle Christian HS
Auryn McMillian (6-8, 230, Fr.-HS, F/C) Melbourne, Australia /
Kilsyth Club
Matt Maden 6-10, 265, Fr.-HS, C) Roth Well, Australia / Northside
Wizards
Wes Mincey (5-9, 175, Fr.-HS, PG) Dunwoody, Ga. / Dunwoody HS
Jake Sims (6-5, 210, Jr.-JC, W) Augusta, Kan. / Augusta HS / Dodge
City JC
Jesse Wheeler (6-5, 200, Fr.-HS, F) Duluth, Ga. / Duluth HS
* Signed football NLI on February 1, 2006
