ANCHORAGE (May 6) – Alaska Anchorage head coach Rusty Osborne added another international standout to his 2014-15 roster Tuesday, announcing that Norway’s Sjur Berg has signed a National Letter of Intent with the Seawolves.
The 6-7, 225-pound forward played last season at Southern California high school power Santa Margarita Catholic High School, earning Second Team All-SCIBCA honors and helping the Eagles to a 26-9 record and the Southern Section Div. III-AA championship.
“We are excited to add Sjur to our program,” said Osborne, who has accumulated a program-record 192 victories in 10 years on the Seawolf bench. “He is a young man we have followed in both Europe and California. We expect him to have an immediate impact. This past year at Santa Margarita he made a seamless transition to the American style of basketball, playing in the Trinity League, which is one of the nation’s top high school leagues, with the likes of St. John Bosco and this year’s national champion, Mater Dei.”
Berg, from Nesoddtangen, Norway, also brings extensive international experience, having played on his country’s Under-16 and -18 teams at the 2012 and 2013 FIBA European Championships. Last summer, he was the leading rebounder on the U-18 squad, averaging 9.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, boosted by a 16-point, 16-rebound effort in a win over Romania. Berg put up 13.7 ppg and 11.1 rpg at the 2012 U-16 tourney and was the leading scorer and rebounder at the 2012 Nordic Championships.
“Sjur has the ability to rebound at a very high level and brings tremendous strength and physical presence,” Osborne added. “He has averaged virtually a double-double in both the FIBA Championships and the Norwegian Basketball League, where he played as an amateur high school student against pros, including (former Seawolf) Peter Bullock.”
During the regular season in 2012-13, Berg played as an amateur for the Asker Aliens in Norway’s top league, the BLNO, averaging 8.2 ppg and 8.5 rpg – with five double-doubles and a pair of 18-rebound performances – in 25 games.
“Although an incoming true freshman, Sjur has high-level experience and has been very well coached in both Europe and the U.S.,” Osborne added. “His Santa Margarita coach, Jeff Reinert, has been a very successful JC head coach and high-major assistant at Oregon State, Fresno State, BYU and Nebraska.”
Osborne said Berg also received recruiting interest and/or offers from Div. I programs Providence, San Diego, Utah State, Washington State and North Dakota State this spring.
Berg becomes the fourth member of UAA’s 2014 recruiting class, joining junior college transfer Dom Hunter (G, 6-0/180, Tacoma, Wash./Decatur HS/Eastern Arizona) and fellow incoming freshmen Damien Fulp (G, 6-1/160, Palmer/Colony HS) and Brian Pearson (F, 6-9/225, Elko, Nev.). He also joins fellow post players Kalidou Diouf (Heidelberg, Germany) and Jackson McTier (Rockhampton, Australia) as the third international student-athlete on the Seawolves’ current roster.
---GoSeawolves.com---
Nate Sagan
Media Relations Director
University of Alaska Anchorage
3211 Providence Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99508
(907) 786-1295 / nate@uaa.alaska.edu
GoSeawolves.com
No comments:
Post a Comment