MSU coach Brad Huse added athleticism and scoring punch on Tuesday
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats Add Scoring Punch
4/26/2011 5:11:32 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU lands junior college guard
Brad Huse added a dynamic perimeter player to the Bobcat program Friday, signing Second Team National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America Xavier Johnson-Blount of Cochise College to a National Letter-of-Intent to play at Montana State.
“Xavier is a very important addition to our roster for a number of reasons, but first and foremost he is a tremendous scorer,” Huse said. “He is physical and gets to the basket but also has very good shooting touch as he proved from the 3 point line. We'll be expecting a lot from Xavier from a leadership standpoint as well. He is a proven winner and he has high expectations for his two years at MSU. ”
Johnson-Blount capped one of the top junior college seasons in the nation in 2010-11 by earning first team all-conference and all-region honors and Second Team NJCAA honors. The 6-4, 205 lb Virginia Beach, Va., product averaged 21.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, leading Cochise to a league title. He also nabbed 1.4 steals a game, with 1.2 assists, while shooting 45% from the field and 39% from three-point range.
“Xavier is a very effective scorer and a very good, big-bodied shooter,” said Jerry Carillo, Johnson-Blount's coach at Cochise. “He has great range, can catch-and-shoot, and has good size to shoot over people. He can get to the foul line and score in the paint, as well.”
Johnson-Blount also earned second team all-conference and all-state honors as a freshman at Cochise, averaging 17.3 points per game, after an outstanding prep career at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach. He is MSU's first signing of the spring period.
Johnson-Blount joins fall signees Jamie Stewart, a 6-4 wing who was named Second Team NJCAA All-America this spring, and 6-9, 240 lb center Mohammed Fall, an all-conference choice in the prestigious Jayhawk League in spite of an injury that slowed him late in the season, as highly-decorated players Huse sees enhancing the Bobcat program as soon as they arrive at MSU.
“Xavier will bring a great deal to this program immediately,” Huse said. “All three of the players we've signed thus far will be counted on to be significant contributors immediately.”
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