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LMU BASKETBALL NEWS |
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LINCOLN MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF SPORTS INFORMATION Sports Release April 29, 2008 LMU Men’s Basketball Continues To Reload HARROGATE, TN – Thursday and Friday were both great days for the Lincoln Memorial University men’s basketball program. After signing Justin Allen (Lithonia, GA), Brandon O’Brien (Stone Mountain, GA), Josh Stanley (Spartanburg, SC) and Tony Martin (West Chester, OH) a week ago, on Thursday and Friday LMU Head Men’s Basketball Coach Josh Schertz added three more signees to the 2008-09 roster. Schertz second group of signees for the 2008-09 season began late Thursday when Brandon Armstrong (Atlanta, GA) signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Railsplitters next season. A 6’2” 185 lb. point-guard, Armstrong averaged 17 points, five assists and six rebounds per game last season while hitting 40% of his three point shots from the field. Armstrong’s efforts helped him earn Honorable Mention Georgia All-State, All-Dekalb County, All-Region and All-Metro Atlanta honors. “He is a delight to coach and a fantastic kid who plays with great enthusiasm,” said high school Head Coach Cesar Burgess. “His charisma and personality rubs off on everyone else on the team from players to coaches.” Schertz says, “Brandon is a pure point guard with great size and athleticism. He is a tremendous on ball defender and most importantly for a point guard he is a winner” Signing on Friday were University of Louisville transfer Stuart Miller (Harrogate, TN) and Cumberland High School standout Desmond Johnson (Cumberland, KY). Miller, a 5’10 170 lb. local product, played his freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Louisville under current Head Coach Rick Pitino. Before attending Louisville, Miller was one of the most prolific scorers in the state of Kentucky, averaging 29.4 points a game as a high school senior at Middlesboro High School. In his final year at the prep level, Miller buried 173 three-pointers to lead the state and ranked fifth best nationally. In addition, Miller hit 42 percent of his three-point attempts and 84.7 percent of his free throws that year. For his efforts, he was selected a Second Team Associated Press All-State selection as a senior and scored 2.519 career points while playing for the Yellowjackets, including 475 career three-pointers to rank fourth best nationally. “The signing of Stuart Miller is a great coup for our program,” says Schertz. “He is a tremendous shooter who brings two years of Big East experience to the program and his decision to come back home to LMU will generate significant excitement within the community.” Desmond Johnson, a 6’5” 205 lb. forward from Cumberland, Kentucky could be one of Schertz biggest signees yet. An incoming freshman, Johnson averaged 14.5 points and 13.3 rebounds per game as a high school senior at Cumberland High School. Johnson scored over 1,000 points and grabbed over 1,000 rebounds in three seasons at Cumberland and was a two-time Conference Player of the Year and two-time First Team All-Region selection. “Desmond’s worth ethic and intensity set him apart from any other players I have coached,” said Cumberland Assistant Coach Derrick Akal. “He had a tremendous amount of colleges interested, but we are glad that he decided to stay close to home and to be a part of a terrific new era at Lincoln Memorial University.” “Desmond was a guy we identified very early here at LMU as a must have recruit,” said Schertz. “He is a combo forward who plays as hard as anyone I have seen. He is exactly the kind of player you want in your program in every facet and I am excited about the opportunity to coach him.” With seven new faces already signed for next year, Schertz and his coaching staff aren’t ready to relax. In the coming weeks, the Railsplitters have several more visits set up and could add as many as four or five more players to next year’s roster. -LMU- For additional
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