Southern Utah
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Southern Utah interim head women's basketball coach Tony Giannotti announced Wednesday the signing of Utah prep star Aubrey Mackintosh to a national letter of intent to play for the Thunderbirds next season. Mackintosh, a 5-foot-10 guard from Brighton High, was a first-team all-state selection this year after averaging 14.0 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals a game.
BOYS BASKETBALL--The Oakland Press
Country Day’s Benson signs with OU
So does star point guard Jonathon Jones of Okemos
By DAVID BIRKETT Of The Oakland Press
A year after making its fi rst NCAA appearance, Oakland signed its most high-profile recruiting class ever, and coach Greg Kampe doesn’t believe it’s a coincidence.
The Grizzlies received letters of intent Thursday from in-state products Jonathon Jones of Okemos and Keith Benson of Birmingham Detroit Country Day.
Both players fill voids for a team that finished this season a disappointing 11-18. Benson is a 6-foot-10 forward with perimeter skills, while Jones starred at point guard during Okemos’ run to the Class A fi nals, averaging 31.5 points in two games at the Breslin Center.
Jones chose Oakland over Mid-American Conference schools such as Eastern Michigan, Toledo and Akron in a recruiting battle that intensified after his strong tournament. He scored 25 points in a semifinal win over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, and had 38 in a doubleovertime championship game loss to Saginaw Arthur Hill.
“We went head to head with some schools in a little higher-profile conferences (for Jones),” Kampe said. “This wasn’t one where those schools were hanging around thinking about recruiting him, they were recruiting him. They went after him, they offered him and we went head to head with them and we won.
“We were in there for a long time, and there were some good reasons he came to Oakland. But when push came to shove, when the big boys came in, the fact that we’ve been to the tournament and that we can go again and that we have a guy (Rawle Marshall) in the pros, those are the things that kept us in it.
“In my opinion, it’s the highestprofile recruit we’ve ever gotten. And I think its the dividends of having been to the tournament.”
By most estimates, Jones was considered one of the top two senior point guards in the state along with Saginaw Buena Vista’s Tory Jackson, who signed with Notre Dame. Jones averaged 21 points, six assists and three steals a game and led Okemos to a 25-2 record.
Benson helped Country Day (20-5) to the Class B quarterfinals this year, averaging 7.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks a game. He grew several inches last summer after playing on the wing his first three seasons at Country Day.
“He’s long, he’s athletic, he’s thin,” Kampe said. “He’s somebody that two years from now, people could be like, ‘Jeez, what he’s doing at Oakland?’ His whole career is ahead of him.”
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Kindell Becomes Newest Golden Eagle--Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles
Crusaders Add 7'1" Calum MacLeod--www.valpo.edu
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