Seawolves add Utah JC, international big men
ANCHORAGE (Aug. 28) – Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball coach Rusty Osborne made three sizeable additions to his team’s 2013-14 roster on Thursday, announcing that post players Jackson McTier, Brad Mears and Kalidou Diouf have joined the team after signing National Letters of Intent this summer.
Mears, a 6-9, 225-pounder forward/center, and McTier, a 6-8, 215-pound forward, will play immediately, while Diouf, a 6-8, 260-pound forward/center, will redshirt this year and premiere in 2014-15.
Mears, from South Jordan, Utah, comes to the Seawolves as a junior after playing his first two seasons at Snow College. As a sophomore in 2012-13, he averaged 4.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, shooting 53 percent from the field for a Badgers team that went 20-11. As a freshman, Mears also played on the same Snow squad that featured current Seawolf teammate Teancum Stafford. Prior to serving a two-year church mission, he was a Class 5A honorable mention all-state selection by the Deseret News as a senior at Bingham High School.
“We expect Brad to have an immediate impact in our frontcourt,” said Osborne, who enters his 10th season in 2013-14 with a 175-93 record. “He brings good size and strength to not only defend, but score as well. His numbers in junior college do not reflect his talent as he played behind a very good ‘mid-major’ post player. He will be a great complement to our perimeter players.”
McTier, from Rockhampton, Australia, joins the Seawolves as a 17-year-old freshman, having earned multiple honors at the club/high school level. In 2012, he led The Southport School to a 15-1 record, plus league and Queensland Secondary Schools titles, averaging 17.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. An honors student, McTier served as captain for the Queensland North men’s team and was the Rockhampton club team’s MVP for four straight years.
“We are excited about Jackson and his potential,” Osborne said. “He comes to us after a very successful high school career, but he is very young. We expect that as he continues to mature physically, his ability will improve also. At this point he is capable of helping us at both frontcourt positions.”
Meanwhile, Diouf joins the Seawolf program after playing at Urspring Basketball Academy in Ulm, Germany. A team captain for Urspring in 2012-13, Diouf helped his school to a fourth straight German national high school title and a sixth straight ‘state’ title. Last winter he also made the all-tournament team at the Bristol (Tenn.) Arby’s Classic, helping Urpspring become the first foreign team to win the prestigious event in its 30th anniversary edition.
“Kalidou is a very big and skilled post player who will redshirt this season as he transitions to the American college system,” Osborne said. “He played in a very successful high school program and is used to winning. At his size, we expect him to blossom into a dominating post player in the future. He will not only improve himself this year, but push our other posts as well.”
UAA – which features one of the top backcourts in NCAA Div. II with veterans Kyle Fossman, Travis Thompson, Stafford and Colton Lauwers, plus redshirt sophomore Brian McGill – begins the 2013-14 campaign with road exhibitions against Div. I Brigham Young on Nov. 2 and NAIA program The Master’s (Calif.) on Nov. 4.
“We’re excited about all of the new additions to our program, including the debut of Brian McGill, who I expect to be a major contributor and one of the better guards in the GNAC.”
The Seawolves were 18-9 overall and placed third in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an 11-7 mark last year.
--GoSeawolves.com--
Nate Sagan
Sports Information Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK 9508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com
