DMN blurb sys we signed...

[Smubrotha']

some guy named Epps from Georgia. He 6'5 225 and is a juco. Anyone have any more info?

[2112]

Boy.......... you sure can tell it's caused tonnzzzzz of excitement over that signing!!!Yeeeeee Haaaaaaaa!

[Stallion]

I got him with 11.9 ppg although it appeared down the stretch he was scoring in the 15-18 point range on several occassions. I believe he actually was recruited to be a 3 pointb specialist as he was 42-75 56% (3rd best in country)from 3-point line. BTW I checked those numbers at several sites because first of all that's a very high percentage and second I can't believe there were two guys that shot better than 56%. Interesting he shot .01% higher from 2-point range(57-100 57%) than from 3 point range. he shot 45 for 62 from the free throw line 72.6%.BTW in case you are trying to look up info on the guy he went to Franklin High School in Milwaukee Wisconson and Georgia Perimeter for Junior College.

COACH's COMMENTS----Epps is an extremely versatile player -he has the ability to shoot the three and post up. Although he was INJURED most of last season, he will be a mahor contributor.

[Hoop Fan]

we need shooters as badly as we need rebounders, so this guy might be a fit. I would guess he is somewhat athletic too, because I dont think its Tubbs M.O. to recruit non athletes for his system.

I wonder if we are still recruiting Walker too. He still lists us at the moment. If we are, that would seem to mean BHop or somebody else is expected to leave.

[Webmaster]

From the SMU athletic department:


BRIAN EPPS SIGNS WITH SMU MEN'S BASKETBALL

DALLAS (SMU) --- Brian Epps has signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at SMU beginning in the fall of 2005, announced Mustangs' head coach Jimmy Tubbs.

Epps (6-5, 225) is a swingman from Georgia Perimeter JC in Clarkston, Georgia. Epps averaged 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 assists per game during his two seasons at Perimeter. He also shot 57.0 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range. Epps previously played at Franklin High School near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"Brian is a good small forward who will bring maturity and experience to our basketball team," stated Tubbs. "He can score from outside or with dribble penetration. It's also evident by his three-point percentage that he is an excellent threat from the outside."

Epps joins four other newcomers for the 2005-06 season: Matt Williams (G, 6-2, 180) from Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Brian Morris (F, 6-8, 260) from Jefferson High School (Ore.), Bamba Fall (C, 7-1, 200) of Oak Hill Academy (Va.), and Dez Willingham (G, 6-0, 180). Willingham is attending Mountain View JC. He played at De Soto High School and played his freshman season at Kansas State.

[jtstang]

Hopefully he can become the player Justin Isham was supposed to become but fell short of.

[Dooby]

Having just come out of nowhere, it would be interesting to see how he qualified to transfer to SMU from Junior College. Maybe he is a smart guy or a chemistry major or something, but most of the junior college players signed by SMU in football were well-known commodities and the staff told the kids what classes to take to qualify.

Just find it interesting.

[jtstang]

That's a good question about how he could transfer. Has Tubbs found a way to beat the system?

[Dooby]

I searched google. I couldn’t find anything on his academics. Kid maybe a genius. Or Tubbs may have been working with him for a long time. Or like you said, maybe Tubbs found a way around the system. Or, for that matter, the system has changed. This is the first signing period post-announcement of the College of Education and Human Development (or whatever it is called). Anything is possible, though to keep Stallion from jumping on me, I concede that the latter is the least likely.

[Hal]

All I could find was a clip from some newspaper article that described him as a "dangerous long-range shooter" -- if that's true, this could be a suddenly important signing. How many legit perimeter shooters do we have? Pearson, we know. Hopkins -- if his wrist is healthy (and if he comes back), but that wrist is obviously vital. Willingham is supposed to be able to shoot, and Williams is called a shooter, but we've got to see it. This kid might turn out to be invaluable.
And since he's a JUCO: no freshman jitters allowed.

[Charleston Pony]

was he a 1 or 2 year JC player? Will he have 2 or 3 years eligibility at SMU? I like the comments about his long range shooting and Coach Tubbs comment that he can penetrate off the dribble. Sounds like he might have some quickness. Was anyone else recruiting him?

Having a little reading comprehension problem today. I see the article says he played 2 seasons at Georgia Perimeter. Answers that question. Would still like to know if anyone else was after him.

[Stampede]

Epps had options... low to mid levels Div I. Good signing ...understand he plays and prcatices hard which will fit Coach Tubbs' style well.

[mavsrage311]

we have just now signed a complete starting five

Dez at the 1
Williams at the 2
Epps? at the 3
Morris at the 4
Falla t the 5

[PonyPower]

Nice class balance. If only we could do that every year.

[LA_Mustang]

We need at least three of these guys to contribute next season. I'm very confident that two can- Dez and Morris. Hopefully, the other guys will be ready too. BTW, people are going to be very surprised by how good of a player Dez really is. He's the second most heralded recruit we've landed in over ten years.