Jordan Hamm
Benedictine University men’s basketball made history Friday, hosting the team’s inaugural Signing and Media Day. Head coach Steve Schafer introduced seven players who signed, and here is what he had to say about each of them:
Nathan Worley, G
“He can score as much as anyone out there. We are expecting him to put the ball in the hole for us a little bit. He does some very special things and we are excited to have him in our family.”
Kyle Tomlinson, F
“I was actually done recruiting when Kyle became available. Coach (Sam Ballard) at (Mesa Community College) called me and said, ‘Kyle’s coming home, and he has a year left.’ And my eyes got really big. He can play inside, he can just play. Defensively, he is always in the right spots…he will lead the us in charges at the (California Pacific Conference). I guarantee that.”
Charles Wardell, G
“I like to label Charles as that player that you hate playing against…but you love having him on your team, and that’s why he is here. He is a bulldog and makes practices wars. He is going to come in every day with 1000% energy.”
Jalen Jenkins, G
“I think Jalen is, if not one of the best, the best guard in the city this year. He is a guy that was on my radar that I wanted to build around for four years.”
Melvin Orji, F
“He runs like a deer, jumps out of the gym. He is long, rangy, blocks, rebounds. He will be a very effective tool for us defensively. Offensively, we expect him to…be a garbage man around the basket.”
Monnard Brown, F
“I can’t say enough about Monnard. He is going to be a big one for us. He is a Charles Barkley kind of guy. He is just a banger, a space-eater, and he is a double-double guy.”
Troy Conley, G
“Troy was at Phoenix College the last two years, where he won a national championship as a freshman. Number 1 thing that Troy brings to our team is he is a winner. He wins a ton at the college level. He knows what it takes and how to win…He shoots the crap out of the basketball, I can’t say it any other way.”
Jashawn Brown, G
“He has a chance to be really, really special. He has a ton of untapped potential and doesn’t even have a clue as to how good he can be. He has to get stronger and fine-tune some things, but he could be extremely, extremely special at this level.”
The Redhawks begin their preseason works over the next few weeks and will play in their inaugural season this fall.
