PSU inks pair for basketball By Staff reports The Morning Sun Posted Jun 16, 2009
PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball program has added a pair of recruits to its 2009-10 class.
Brandon Coleman will come to Pitt State after two seasons Highland Community College, while Clarence "CJ" Masters joins the Gorillas after single seasons at Texas Christian University and Southern University-Shreveport. Both players will have junior eligibility next season.
Coleman (6-2, 185) earned first-team NJCAA All-Region VI honors as a sophomore guard for the Scotties this past winter, averaging 16.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He also hit 58 3-pointers in 31 games, helping HCC to a 13-18 record. The Kansas City, Mo., native averaged 24 points and five rebounds per game as a senior at North Kansas City High School in 2006.
"Brandon is a good 3-point shooting guard who can come in and help us," said PSU head men’s basketball coach Gene Iba. "He has a positive team attitude to come in our program and learn how to get better every day."
Masters (6-5, 200) averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a sophomore forward at Southern-Shreveport as a sophomore during the 2006-07 season. The Cedar Hill, Texas, native contributed 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 10 minutes of action as a freshman at NCAA Division I TCU in 2005-06.
"Clarence can shoot the ball well from the 3-point line to mid-range jumpers," Iba said. "He will bring offensive production and rebounding to the small forward position, and he should bring maturity to our group of incoming new players."
Coleman and Masters are the fifth and sixth players to sign with Pitt State for the 2009-10 season. A trio of high school prospects -- JaVon McGee (Grandview, Mo., H.S.), Ian Ponds (Booker T. Washington H.S., Tulsa, Okla.) and James Robinson-Walker (Oak Park H.S., Kansas City, Mo.) -- signed with the Gorillas earlier this spring, while Quincy Owens (Hill College, Cleburne, Texas) inked with Pitt State in the early period last November.