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USF MBB 2017 Signing Class


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June 08, 2017
 
USF first year head men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff added nine student-athletes to the program in the class of 2017.

The newest Bulls this upcoming season will be Payton Banks, Justin Brown, David Collins, Stephan Jiggetts, T.J. Lang, Laquincy Rideau, Terrence Samuel, Nikola Scekic, and Alexis Yetna.

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A 6-foot-6 wing from Orange, Calif., Banks is a graduate transfer from Penn State, having made 44 starts over three years for the Nittany Lions. He averaged 10 points per game last season, sinking 36 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. In 2016-17, Banks converted 73 three-pointers and made 82 percent of his free throw attempts. He redshirted his initial season at Penn State in 2013-14 before appearing in 29 games the following year. Banks made 31 starts as a sophomore during the 2014-15 campaign, averaging nine points and four rebounds per game.

Coach Gregory on Banks: “Payton impacts our program in such a positive way due to his versatility on the perimeter. Obviously, he is an exceptional three-point shooter, but his versatility and scoring acumen will also be of benefit in our system.”

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A 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Birmingham, Ala., Brown played his postgraduate year at Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) in 2016-17, where he guided the Tigers to a 43-2 record. The soon-to-be freshman averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals per game last year. He shot nearly 60 percent from the floor and converted on 39 percent of three-pointers. Prior to Hargrave, Brown attended Spain Park High School in Birmingham, where he was an All-State honoree three times and a four-time All-Birmingham Metro selection.

Coach Gregory on Brown: “We are very pleased with the addition of Justin Brown to our USF men's basketball program. His size, versatility, skill package and athleticism will put him in a position to make an immediate impact in our program. Justin is also a perfect fit when it comes to character and academic excellence, components that we emphasize greatly in the recruiting process. It is important that we recruit from high-caliber, winning programs and Justin has come from two such programs at Hargrave and Spain Park."

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A 6-foot-3 guard from Youngstown, Ohio, Collins joins USF from First Love Christian Academy (Pa.), where he posted an 18 point per game average for the 24-win Knights. The incoming freshman is ranked as the 46th guard prospect in the country, according to 247 Sports.

Coach Gregory on Collins: “David brings the versatility from the guard spot that is really important in our program. His athleticism and physicality on the perimeter is going to be an asset both offensively and defensively. He fits our mold of a highly talented, high character, hard-working, tough student-athlete.”

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A 6-foot-1 guard from Forestville, Md., Jiggetts is a graduate transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson. He was named All-Northeast Conference in 2016-17, when he averaged 13 points, four assists and three rebounds per game. Jiggetts posted a team-high 125 assists, shot 31 percent from beyond the arc and tallied a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a win over Lipscomb (11/19). He averaged 11 points per game in his sophomore season at FDU and notched another 98 assists, helping guide the Knights to the 2016 Northeast Conference Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Gregory on Jiggetts: “Stephan brings the guard skills that were so important for us in this recruiting class. His tremendous physical and mental toughness, along with his skill package allows him to influence the game in transition, half-court sets, and by both scoring and creating scoring opportunities.”

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A 6-foot-7 guard from Mobile, Ala., Lang is a transfer from Auburn, where he played his first three seasons. Lang averaged five points per game and was regarded as a lockdown defender for the Tigers. He will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Coach Gregory on Lang: “We are very pleased to have T.J. join the program at the University of South Florida. His experience and success at the highest level of college basketball will be a great asset to this program over the next two years. As we continue to build our talent-base, a multi-position player like T.J. will give us a lot of flexibility both offensively and defensively. He comes from a great basketball family, and because of that, brings the characteristics we look for in our student-athletes.”

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A 6-foot-1 guard from West Palm Beach, Fla., Rideau is a transfer from Gardner-Webb, where he was the first player in Big South Conference history to post at least 150 rebounds, 150 assists and 100 steals in a single season. Rideau led the Runnin' Bulldogs with a team-best 14.2 points per game and 171 assists. He was recognized on the All-Big South Conference Second Team and the conference all-tournament team. Rideau will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Coach Gregory on Rideau: “Laquincy signifies a very important recruit for our program. To recruit and sign players from the state of Florida is a top priority for us. Laquincy represents USF, as we provide a great opportunity for in-state players to reach their goals and objectives. He is a high level guard that can create scoring opportunities for himself and teammates, and also has a firm command of the game. Laquincy will use his redshirt year to continue his impressive development and will make a tremendous impact for us for two seasons.”

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A 6-foot-3 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., Samuel is a graduate transfer from Penn State where he averaged four points and three rebounds per game last season. Samuel netted a career-high 16 points against Colgate (11/23) and appeared in 28 of the team's 33 games. He shot 44 percent in Big Ten conference action. Samuel sat out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He began his collegiate career at UConn, where Samuel was a part of the Huskies' program during his freshman and sophomore seasons. He appeared in 56 games, making seven starts. Samuel was a member of the 2013-14 NCAA champion UConn men's basketball team, scoring 11 points in the semifinal game over Villanova (3/22).

Coach Gregory on Samuel: “Terrence is a highly competitive and versatile guard who has proven his ability to impact a game on both ends of the court. He has the size, strength and toughness to be very effective at both guard spots, creating scoring opportunities for himself and others.”

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A 7-foot-2 center from Belgrade, Serbia, Scekic won a JuCo National Championship with Hutchinson Community College (Kan.) in 2016-17. He played his freshman season at New Mexico, appearing in 10 games, before transferring. Scekic returns to Florida, where he previously played for MMG Academy in Orlando. He also played for Zemun in his native country of Serbia before arriving in the United States.

Coach Gregory on Scekic: “Nik provides us with very important pieces to build our program at USF. His size, skill package, and versatility can impact a game in many different ways. He can score in the post, step out on the perimeter, is an excellent passer, has a high basketball IQ, and will be tremendous in anchoring our defense. What really drove me to Nik was his unbelievable passion for improvement and daily work habits.”

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A 6-foot-8 forward born in France, Yetna is completing his postgraduate year at Putnam Science Academy (Conn.), where he guided the team to a 34-win season. Yetna played in the Adidas Gauntlet in April, posting double-double averages of 16 points and 11 rebounds per game. A native of Baltimore, Md., Yetna also represented Team USA in the Adidas Euro Camp in India during the summer of 2016. He will be a freshman with USF in 2017-18.

Coach Gregory on Yetna: “We are very happy to welcome Alexis Yetna to the Bulls' basketball family. He brings the entire package of what we are looking for from the forward position – athleticism, size, length, explosiveness, and toughness. As an international player, he has been educated at one of the best schools at Putnam Science Academy, and his maturity will allow for an important impact on the program.”

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Great on paper, and some pretty solid out-of-state recruiting to get something going for his first year. Hopefully the next couple of seasons will see more talent coming from FL, but this looks like a pretty decent start.

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I'm still astounded the amount of guys he was able to get to CHOOSE USF. Especially those that have one year remaining and could've picked ANYWHERE ELSE. Obviously we don't know how they will play together but we could look at this First Class as the class that turned it around.

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I'm excited to see what this new team can do. Just a few weeks ago I was scared we wouldn't have a full roster. I'm shocked the quick turn around for CBG. 

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All I hope is that they stay healthy, stay out of trouble, and do well in classroom. I really don't care how many games they win next season as long as we see improvement with the program. 

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Hope they do well by USF standards. 

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13 hours ago, Bull Daly said:

All I hope is that they stay healthy, stay out of trouble, and do well in classroom. I really don't care how many games they win next season as long as we see improvement with the program. 

:blink:

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On 6/10/2017 at 10:31 AM, Bull Daly said:

I really don't care how many games they win next season as long as we see improvement with the program.

Having a full roster the whole season is all the improvement I need this season ..

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1 hour ago, Triple B said:

Having a full roster the whole season is all the improvement I need this season ..

Amen, having no deserters would be a great start.

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On 6/11/2017 at 0:46 PM, Triple B said:

Having a full roster the whole season is all the improvement I need this season ..

I heartily agree, Trips. 

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