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thanks kate.

http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com ... class.html

SMU continues to be a very international program. Here's the release:

SMU coach Matt Doherty announced that three players have signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play for the Mustangs beginning with the 2010-11 season. Leslee Smith is a forward at Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, Texas; Ricmonds Vilde is a forward from Latvia now attending Lee Academy in Maine; and Aliaksei Patsevich is a guard from Belarus playing at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas.

"I think this recruiting class gives us a group of skilled players with some toughness and basketball savvy," says Doherty. "They are all tremendous people and should help us in our quest to become a Top-25 program once again. I am excited to coach each of these young men."

All three members of the class have international experience. Smith helped his British Virgin Islands National Team to a silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships. Patsevich and Vidle have played in European Championships. Patsevich is a freshman at Collin County and will have three years to play at SMU.
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2010-11 SMU Men's Basketball Signees
Leslee Smith F 6-7 245 Humble, Texas (Christian Life Center Academy)
Aliaksei Patsevich G 6-4 180 Minsk, Belarus (Collin County CC [Texas])
Ricmonds Vilde F 6-9 230 Riga, Latvia (Lee Academy [Maine])
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Leslee Smith (6-7, 245) is a forward for coach Carlos Wilson at Christian Life Center Academy in Humble, Texas. Smith is originally from the British Virgin Islands and helped the BVI National Team to a silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships held on Tortola, BVI.
"Leslee is a very versatile player. He can defend several positions and can really rebound the basketball. When I saw him play this summer, I knew immediately that he would fit in with our style of play. He is currently playing for one of the best prep teams in the nation and I expect him to continue to have a great year."
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Aliaksei Patsevich (6-4, 180) is a freshman guard for coach Jim Sigona at Collin County Community College in Plano, Texas. He will have three years at SMU. The native of Minsk, Belarus, played in the North European Youth Basketball League (NEYBL) where he made the 2004 and 2005 all-star teams. His teams also won the Belarus youth championship in 2002, 2004 and 2005.
"Aliaksei is a basketball player first and foremost. He can really pass, handle and shoot the basketball. Thus far, he has performed well at Collin County and we expect him to be a major contributor in our backcourt for years to come."
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Ricmonds Vilde (6-9, 230) is a forward for coach James Graffam at Lee Academy in Maine. The native of Latvia helped his high school to two Riga city championships and two national runner-up finishes. He was second in scoring and first in rebounds for his high school squad. Vilde had personal game-highs in high school of 34 points and 18 rebounds. Vilde also played in the U16 and U18 European Championships and was a member of the Latvian Youth Basketball all-star team.
"Ricmonds is a big-bodied post man that can really run the floor and who will be able to extend the defense with his versatility. He has the ability to knock down the three as well as score in the post. Ricmonds is not afraid of contact and is a very good rebounder. He will fit in well with the way we would like to continue to play."

Did I miss the "surprise"?

All three of these guys have been discussed before on this board.

Guessing the surprise is that one was supposed to be a 2011 signee. Not sure, but maybe somehow he is now allowed to play next year.....? Don't know.

I wonder how Coach Doh got the 2011 guy to get in the 2010 class under NCAA rules?

Again guys, I think he can play whenever he wants to as long as he qualified out of high school. You don't have to graduate from JC if you qualified. Look at Clinkscales. He came after his 1st year at a Kansas JC.

This is why I challenged this discussion on the board last month. If you didn't qualify, you must graduate from JC.

I really didn't see this kid sitting around for TWO YEARS on his commitment to us. This makes more sense now.

I thought the word on the net was that he hadn't qualified and thats why he was listed as a 2011 recruit per rivals. And I'm pretty sure everything on the internet is true.

the kid is qualified and has been. High majors don't tend to recruit JUCO frosh very hard, especially in the Fall. Great stash by the staff.

It's a very good class. I hope to see 1 more in the Spring. Would like to avoid a 5 man class in '11.

PonyDoh wrote:It's a very good class. I hope to see 1 more in the Spring. Would like to avoid a 5 man class in '11.

PonyDoh,

A team comprised of Smith / Vilde / Patsevich type players does what in C-USA?

Are they NIT worthy??? NCAA-tourney worthy???

Txs

SoCal_Pony wrote:

PonyDoh wrote:It's a very good class. I hope to see 1 more in the Spring. Would like to avoid a 5 man class in '11.

PonyDoh,

A team comprised of Smith / Vilde / Patsevich type players does what in C-USA?

Are they NIT worthy??? NCAA-tourney worthy???

Txs

These kids are quite good, but what excites me most, is the way they project positionally. On the current roster, we have a bunch of similar players, both in position and skill set. Combo's galore & tweeners. Classes that develop chemistry tend to have defined positions. Until they prove otherwise, Pats is a versatile PG, Smith is a versatile PF, and Vilde a versatile 5. All can play multiple positions, but their roles are apparent going in.

I tend to think we add another player this Spring, just based on previous years. Attrition tends to happen, so this class may not be done. If we add another profile kid this Spring, we only need 4 in '11, and get some class balance back. Grab 5 more players in '10 & '11, like the 3 we just added in '10, and we can dance w/breaks.

Other CUSA schools had quality classes as well, see Memphis and UTEP, among others. Our kids can hang, though. Put it this way, many CUSA classes will get better press and rankings, but a few of those classes will have kids that wanted SMU, were rumored to have tried to commit, and we turned them away b/c we think we have better.

ponydoh ,how good is pats

he's very good. one of the best shooters in the JUCO ranks, and makes good decisions. He's almost exactly what we need on this years team. Right now, our two best players are shoot first lead guards. Pats will help the team function better in the half court, and get better looks for everyone within the offense. If people lay off him, he'll can the jumper etc.