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FIVE PLAYERS SIGN WITH SMU IN DOHERTY’S INAUGURAL CLASS

Class Ranked 25th By Hoop Scoop

DALLAS (SMU) --- SMU Head Coach Matt Doherty announced that five players have signed National Letters-of-Intent to play for the Mustangs beginning with the 2007-08 season. Doherty’s inaugural recruiting class at SMU is ranked 25th by Hoop Scoop and includes teammates Mike Walker and Papa Dia from South Kent School in Connecticut along with Texas natives Ryan Harp of Abilene, Robert Nyakundi of Arlington, and Alex Malone of Mansfield.

“This is a great day for SMU basketball,” states Doherty. “The future looks very bright as we have signed a terrific class of student-athletes.”

The Mustangs have 10 student-athletes on scholarship for the 2006-07 season. That includes seniors Brian Epps, Ike Ofoegbu, Devon Pearson, and Donatas Rackauskas.

“This had to be a big class for us, both in numbers and in its ability to make an impact,” Doherty said. “Next year, we will have four seniors, one junior, one sophomore, and five freshmen, so there is a big gap in there. This incoming class is going to have to step up over the next couple of years.”

Papa Dia F 6-9 250 St. Louis, Senegal (South Kent [Conn.])

Ryan Harp G 6-4 180 Abilene, Texas (Abilene Cooper HS)

Alex Malone G/F 6-8 185 Mansfield, Texas (Mansfield Timberview HS)

Robert Nyakundi F 6-8 200 Arlington, Texas (Arlington Bowie HS)

Mike Walker G 6-0 190 Iowa City, Iowa (South Kent [Conn.])



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Papa Dia (6-9, 250) is a power-forward from South Kent School in Connecticut, where he is a teammate of Mike Walker, who will also play at SMU. He is a native of St. Louis, Senegal, the same hometown as current Mustang sophomore center Bamba Fall. He is ranked 56th nationally by Hoop Scoop and played AAU basketball for coach Rob Brown and Team Final. He also played for team Africa in the 2006 Global Games held at Moody Coliseum. Last season at South Kent, he averaged 7.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks per game for coach Raphael Chillious on a team that had eight Division I signees.

“We got a terrific prospect in Papa Dia,” emphasized Doherty. “Papa is from Saint Louis, Senegal, the same hometown as Bamba Fall. He has played in Dallas before, so he is familiar with Dallas and Moody Coliseum. He took official visits and was offered scholarships from Louisville and Oklahoma. He is a high-level prospect for us that I think really solidifies our class, especially since we need the size because we are losing seniors Ike Ofoegbu and Donatas Rackauskas.”

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Harp (6-4, 180) is a guard for coach Marc Case at Abilene Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas. He averaged 22.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists to earn District MVP honors as a junior. Harp is ranked 14th in Texas by Texas Hoops. During his sophomore season, he scored 32 points in a televised game at Moody Coliseum as his team defeated rival Abilene High School 40-39. He finished that season averaging 14.8 points and 7.0 boards per contest and was first-team all-district. He also plays AAU basketball for Texas Top Prospects, which is coached by Kenneth Willingham, the father of current Mustang junior guard Dez Willingham. His dad, Dennis, was a college coach at Hardin-Simmons.

“Ryan Harp is a 6-4 guard from Abilene-Cooper High School,” Doherty said. “He is a left-hander that can pass, handle and shoot the ball with speed and quickness. He can do a lot of things with the basketball. Ryan is an extremely hard worker and a bright student. One of the things that drove him to our institution was the Cox School of Business. He is tough and has savvy.”

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Malone (6-8, 185) is a swingman for Mansfield Timberview High School and coach Eric McDade in Mansfield, Texas. He also plays for the DFW Select AAU team and coaches Vonzell Thomas and Craig Roberts. He is ranked as the 22nd prospect in the state by Texas Hoops. Malone was named all-district as he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds to help his team advance to the second-round of the 4A playoffs during his junior year. His sophomore season included averages of 12 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks as he was named district sophomore of the year.

“Alex Malone is about 6-8 and can play multiple positions,” stated Doherty. “I look for guys that can pass, handle and shoot the ball with speed and quickness. I think Alex has all those attributes to go with toughness and savvy. In addition, Alex is a local player so, we are very excited about his commitment to SMU.”

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Nyakundi (6-8, 200) is a senior power-forward for coach Allen Gratts at Arlington Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas. As a junior, he earned second-team all-district honors while averaging 8.4 points and 4.9 rebounds and leading Bowie to the 5A Region I quarterfinals. Nyakundi is ranked No. 76 by TexasHoops.com. He played AAU basketball for the Dallas Mustangs and coaches Grady Dale and Tony Johnson.

“Robert Nyakundi is from Arlington and is our third player from the state of Texas,” Doherty said. “He is a three-four man who can pass, handle and shoot the ball. He has a good feel for the game and is a terrific kid. I think he and his teammates will make a big impact on the program.”

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Walker (6-0, 190) is a guard from Iowa City, Iowa that plays alongside Papa Dia at South Kent School. He is a native of Iowa City, Iowa. Last season at South Kent, he was a team captain and averaged 5.2 points and 4.0 assists per game for coach Raphael Chillious on a team that had eight Division I signees. His dad, Rich, coached at the University of Iowa, and played at Bowling Green State University.

“I went up to see Papa Dia play at South Kent and I kept watching this guard,” said Doherty. “I asked coach Raphael Chillious about him and started recruiting him. He is a strong guard that can really defend the basketball and can run the team. He is athletic, can get to the paint, and is a good shooter. I think Mike is going to be terrific for us.”

This is good news. The entire conference needs to step up in the next couple of years in order to put ourselves back at the top of the list of non-big 6 conferences. I think the big name coaching hires are a step in the right direction, and hopefully more of our conference mates will have strong recruiting classes.

the top of this class is pretty darn good especially with the limited time that Doherty had but just so we get some perspective isn't this the rating system that gives extra points for the schools signing more recruits. I believe many of the people who have followed recruiting over the years have yearly question their method of rating classes. For example didn't they have Texas A&M-CC in their top 15 classes a few years ago because they signed about 9 kids. I don't see how its possible to claim this is a Top 25 class as it is well behind even UT, A&M, Baylor and Tech even in Texas.

Here is a link from rivals which has our conference breakdown on recruiting this year. I must say even though we may not be top 25 in the country, I am very, very pleased with our class. If we can consistently finish with a top 3 recruiting class in CUSA(although they do think we still have Eddie), Doherty will have us being a post season bound team season in and season out.

1. Memphis
2. UTEP
3. SMU
4. East Carolina
5. UAB
6. Tulane
7. Houston
8. Rice
9. Tulsa
10. Southern Miss
11. Marshall
12. Central Florida

Pass out the Goody's headache powder. Derrick Rose is coming to Conference USA. Memphis inked the nation's top point guard, placing the Tigers in the top 15 nationally. The Chicago prep star could arguably be the best player in the conference as a freshman next year. That means there are 11 schools already secretly trying to figure out a way to stop him.
Former Memphis ace recruiter Tony Barbee is doing a fine job at his new post. He's collecting talent at UTEP like he did under John Calipari. The Miners have speed and athleticism coming to West Texas in Manuel Cass, Randy Culpepper and Malcolm Kirkland.

SMU has a new shot in the arm with Matt Doherty running the show. The Mustangs have a class built on homegrown talent (Alex Malone, Ryan Harp) and point guard William Eddie. Big man Papa Dia picked the Conference USA school over Louisville and Oklahoma.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=605210

Any time a ranking is done by a media outlet, it does have to be taken with a grain of salt. There are several out there that do rankings based largely on reputation, rather than merely on a team's performance or based on genuine observation of recruits. With that said, I have heard that the Hoop Scoop rankings are fairly well respected, and to receive a national ranking is nothing to be dismissed. Congratulations to Coach Doherty and his staff.

their individual evaluation of prospects is without question well respected. The way they rank recruiting classes has spawned giggles on almost every board I follow.

Stallion wrote:the top of this class is pretty darn good especially with the limited time that Doherty had

Stallion, on this one you should have stopped here. This is a great job given the circumstances no matter where Better Homes and Gardens rates this class. I appreciate perspective as much as anybody, but for a first class, this is about as good as can be hoped for.

Call me jtsunshine.

read my first post-I said the same thing you did. The rating system that rates this class No. 25 is not accurate in my opinion.

I am fairly pleased. He did a good job with the lack of time he had. Once he gets a full year to recruit, I think we'll be in good shape.

How does this rate with Dement's first/second year?.... just for comparison.

MustangIcon wrote:Here is a link from rivals which has our conference breakdown on recruiting this year. I must say even though we may not be top 25 in the country, I am very, very pleased with our class. If we can consistently finish with a top 3 recruiting class in CUSA(although they do think we still have Eddie), Doherty will have us being a post season bound team season in and season out.

1. Memphis
2. UTEP
3. SMU
4. East Carolina
5. UAB
6. Tulane
7. Houston
8. Rice
9. Tulsa
10. Southern Miss
11. Marshall
12. Central Florida

Pass out the Goody's headache powder. Derrick Rose is coming to Conference USA. Memphis inked the nation's top point guard, placing the Tigers in the top 15 nationally. The Chicago prep star could arguably be the best player in the conference as a freshman next year. That means there are 11 schools already secretly trying to figure out a way to stop him.
Former Memphis ace recruiter Tony Barbee is doing a fine job at his new post. He's collecting talent at UTEP like he did under John Calipari. The Miners have speed and athleticism coming to West Texas in Manuel Cass, Randy Culpepper and Malcolm Kirkland.

SMU has a new shot in the arm with Matt Doherty running the show. The Mustangs have a class built on homegrown talent (Alex Malone, Ryan Harp) and point guard William Eddie. Big man Papa Dia picked the Conference USA school over Louisville and Oklahoma.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=605210

I figured Eustachy would've down a better job recruiting at USM.

Big day for the Stangs!!!

If you see the schools from 1-24, that tells one this is pretty darn impressive. Now if the rating is based on 7-8 recruits, I'd give it less weight. Five recruits is pretty common. The key after all is to get lots of talent onto the roster. And unlike several sites Hoop Scoop factors in JUCOS and prep school kids

How they rate them:
"On our rating 1-10 rating scale a top five player nationally is worth 10 points, a top 10 player nationally is worth nine points, a player in the 11-40 range nationally is worth eight points, a player in the 41-70 range nationally is worth six points, a player in the 71-100 range nationally is worth four points, a player in the 101-300 range nationally is worth three points, a player in the 301-1000 range nationally is worth two points, and anybody not ranked among the top 1000 gets one point. Junior college and prep school are factored in as if they were the equivalent of a high school senior.
"

Hey given the circumstances of NCAA investigation, previous coach fired, short recruiting season, Doherty gets an "A" for this class. We need to outrecruit CUSA teams, then we can worry about outrecruiting Big XII teams.

We needed a big class and we got it. Some highly rated players. Stallion should be ecstatic but no, he has to gripe about the top 25 rating we received.

The PonyGrad wrote:We needed a big class and we got it. Some highly rated players. Stallion should be ecstatic but no, he has to gripe about the top 25 rating we received.

I agree with you in regard to Stallion. I have only been on the site a short time, but every entry from Stallion seems to range from neutral to negative. I am definitely not rah rah type, but what Doh has done in the short time he has been here is nothing short of amazing. The fact that Hoop Scoop isn't his favorite rating service should be a non factor. Try to look on the bright side occassionally Stallion. It might do your heart some good.