LSSU men's basketball team expands recruiting class to six players
SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State men's basketball coach Steve Hettinga signed two incoming freshmen and picked up two junior college transfers to expand his 2009-10 recruiting class to six players.
The Lakers signed Nicholas Jobe (Temperance, Mich.), a 6-4, 220-pound forward, and Derek Kinney (Romulus, Mich.), a 6-5, 210-pound forward to National Letters of Intent. Transfer Andrew Charlesworth (6-4, 225) of Flushing, Mich., played forward at nationally-ranked Mott Community College, while Justin Williams (6-7, 230) of Benton Harbor, Mich., was a standout post player at Lake Michigan Community College. LSSU's recruiting class also includes Marquette's Joe Simon and Tyler Geary, who signed their NLIs in the fall of 2008.
Jobe earned 12 varsity letters at Ida High School and broke the Bluestreaks' 42-year-old career scoring record by totaling 1,387 points. He is a four-time unanimous All-Lenawee County Athletic Association player, and a two-time Class B all-state selection and Monroe County Player of the Year in basketball. The McDonald's All-America nominee averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds, 6.2 assists and three steals per game last season.
"Nic brings a lot of versatility, and at his size he will be one of our better passers," Hettinga said. "He has a great feel for the game and is good at getting other guys involved. He must make that transition from high school to college as far as the intensity level he needs, but he has all of the tools necessary to be a great player."
Kinney averaged 10.0 points and 13.1 rebounds per game for Romulus High School (21-6), and earned All-Detroit Metro and All-Metro Conference honors. He totaled 19 points and 15 rebounds in a 74-73 loss to state champion Detroit Pershing in the 2009 Class A semifinals.
"Derek comes from a great basketball program," Hettinga said. "He's a blue-collar type worker and definitely loves to mix it up inside. He was a factor in his team's great streak to the state tournament. He went up against Mr. Basketball and had a 19 point, 21-rebound game, and averaged over 18 rebounds a game in the state tournament. He works hard and gets the most out of his ability."
Charlesworth averaged five points, 3.5 rebounds and one assist per game last season for MCC, which finished the 2008-09 season ranked No. 8 in the NJCAA II Poll. He was also a member of Mott's national championship team in 2007-08.
"Charlesworth is an absolute winner," Hettinga said. "Every program he has come from has won. He won a national title at Mott, which lost maybe four or five games in two years. He worked his way into the starting lineup as a freshman there. He's a guy who will be hard to keep out of the lineup because of his work ethic, intensity and love of the game."
Williams averaged 10.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game for LMCC. He was ranked 24th nationally in rebounding and 39th in field-goal percentage at .582.
"Williams has a ton of potential," Hettinga said. "His size, strength and athletic ability will be a definite factor for us once he figures out what he needs to do to be successful. If he can stay healthy and do the necessary things he should be a contributor to our team."
