2015-16 men's basketball signees throughout the Horizon League.
Cleveland State
Evan Clayborne
- Height: 6-7
- Position: Forward
- Hometown: Dayton, Ohio
- High School: Thurgood Marshall
- Started for two years at Dayton Dunbar
- Averaged just under a double-double in helping Dayton Dunbar to the state semifinals and a 22-6 overall record
- Waters on Clayborne: Evan really had a breakout summer on the AAU circuit and has continually showed great improvment. He has the ability to rebound the basketball, run the floor and score inside and will be a important piece for the future of Cleveland State basketball."
Andy Lucien
- Height: 6-6
- Position: Wing
- Hometown: North Olmsted, Ohio
- High School: North Olmsted
- Averaged 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds as a junior
- Second team all-district selection last year
- Gained national attention for a slam dunk in January that was the No. 1 play on SportsCenter's Top-10.
- Waters on Lucien: "Andy has the ability to play on the perimeter and inside. He can really shoot the ball from the outside and that is something we were trying to identify. We are looking to Andy to help this program in the future after he comes in and learns our style of play."
Green Bay
Trevor Anderson
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 180
- Position: Combo Guard
- Hometown: Stevens Point, Wisconsin
- High School: Stevens Point Area Senior High
- AAU Team: Wisconsin Academy
- Averaged 23 points, 5 assists, 63 percent shooting (FG), 89 percent shooting (FT) as a junior
- Helped lead SPASH to the WIAA Division I State Championship (currently owns a 72-6 record at SPASH all-time)
- AP First Team All-State (Junior) and AP Second Team All-State (Sophomore)
- WBCA First Team All-State (Junior and Sophomore)
- Darner on Anderson: "Trevor was a major priority from day one. One of the first things I did when I got to campus was go and watch him play. Coach Herbst watched him at the WIAA State Tournament and I went to watch him work out; it didn’t take long for us to realize, we really wanted him to be a part of program. We made a concerted effort to have one our coaches at every one of his AAU games and we did just that, with sometimes having three or four coaches in attendance. He was an individual we could build our program around and he comes from a great basketball family with his dad and grandfather being highly successful coaches.
"To come in right away and land a player of his caliber was a huge get for us. We’re excited to have an in-state quality individual like Trevor becoming part of the Green Bay Basketball family. He’ll bring a leadership quality to our program, along with a strong will to win. His success at both the high school and AAU levels speak for themselves."
Kameron Hankerson
- Height: 6-5
- Weight: 180
- Position: Guard
- Hometown: Novi, Michigan
- High School: Novi High School
- AAU Team: Power Stroke
- Averaged 9 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and shot 53 percent from three-point range last year
- Helped lead Novi to a second-place finish in the Kensington Conference
- Named All-Conference as a junior
- Darner on Hankerson: "We’re very excited Kameron has decided to join our program. He’s going to be a very versatile player for us, as he brings in great size at the guard position. He’s going to continue to improve his skill set as a player and we look forward to watching him grow.
"His upside has him just scratching the surface of the type of player he can be. We expect big things from his high school team this year and he will be a huge part of their success. Kam will only get better and we are excited for his potential and future."
Milwaukee
Bryce Nze
- Height: 6-7
- Position: Wing
- Hometown: Waukesha, Wisconsin
- High School: Arrowhead High School
- Two-time First-Team Classic 8 All-Conference honoree
- First-Team Lake Country All-Area selection
- Averaged 14.7 points and almost nine rebounds per game as a junior
- Shoting 50 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three-point range
- Jeter on Nze: "At 6-foot-7, we like Bryce's ability to play multiple positions. His size and strength allow him to guard multiple positions on the defensive end and play in multiple positions on the offensive end. Physically, he is ready to come in and play right away."
Max Curran
- Height: 6-8
- Hometown: Hooksett, New Hampshire
- High School: Pembroke Academy/Notre Dame (Mass.) Preparatory
- Led Pembroke Academy to a 27-1 record and the Division II state title
- Named New Hampshire Basketball Coaches Organization Honorable Mention All-State as a senior
- Averaged 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game
- New England Top 100 selection by HoopGroup.com
- Jeter on Curran: "It's the same thing with Max at 6-foot-8, with his athleticism and his ball skills. Being able to shoot it and handle the ball will allow him to do the same thing on the perimeter for us. And as he gains some strength and size, he will be able to play multiple positions for us over the years."
Northern Kentucky
Mason Faulkner
- Height: 6-3
- Position: Combo guard
- Hometown: Glasgow, Kentucky
- High School: Caverna
- An accomplished scorer who raised his scoring average from 18 points per game as a freshman to 23.8 his sophomore season and 30.3 last year as a junior.
- Hauled in nearly 600 rebounds in his first three seasons at Caverna.
- Consecutive all-state honors -- all-state second team honoree as a junior and all-state honorable mention recipient his sophomore campaign
- Listed as a 3-star recruit from both Scout.com and Rivals.
- Brannen on Faulkner: “Mason is a young man that can score in a variety of ways. He can shoot the three, knock down mid-range jumpers and get to the rim. He also does a good job of making those around him better.”
Blake Spellman
- Height: 6-1
- Position: Point guard
- Hometown: Lee's Summit, Missouri
- High School: Lee's Summit
- Helped LSHS has reached the 20-win plateau in each of the last two seasons
- Averaged 10.3 points and 3.7 assists during his sophomore season and upped both averages to 17 points and five assists as a junior
- Consecutive first-team all-district and first-team all-conference honors
- VerbalCommits.com lists Spellman as a 2-star recruit
- Brannen on Spellman: "The fans at NKU are going to love Blake’s game. He’s a true point guard who really makes the game easier for others, which is the best compliment for a point guard. He’s got a little bit of flare to his game that the fans will enjoy.”
Jalen Tate
- Height: 6-5
- Position: Small forward
- Hometown: Pickerington, Ohio
- High School: Pickerington Central
- 2015 all-conference honoree for Pickerington Central
- Averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as a game during his junior campaign
- A 2-star recruit by VerbalCommits.com
- Father Jermaine Tate played for Ohio State and Cincinnati prior to a 13-year professional career overseas; brother Jae’Sean Tate is currently a sophomore forward at Ohio State
- Brannen on Tate: “When we first watched Jalen, it was very obvious that he as a good fit for this style of play. He’s really long and plays extremely hard. He’s the right fit at the right time."
Dantez Walton
- Height: 6-5
- Position: Small forward
- Hometown: Lima, Ohio
- High School: Lima Central Catholic
- Scout.com has ranked Walton a 3-star recruit
- As a junior, Walton tallied 16 points and 8 boards per game
- Lima Central has gone 72-8 during Walton’s career
- All-district performer last season
- Led LCC to back-to-back state finals appearances
- Brannen on Walton: “Dantez is a young man that affects winning, whether it is defensively, offensively or rebounding the basketball. He brings a lot to the game of basketball.”
Carson Williams
- Height: 6-7
- Position: Wing
- Hometown: Owenton, Kentucky
- High School: Owen Country H.S.
- ESPN 3-star recruit
- Averaged 22.5 points and 15.1 rebounds per game as a junior
- Averages of 24.1 points and 13.8 boards during his sophomore campaign
- 2014 Courier Journal third-team all-state
- 2015 Courier Journal second-team all-state
- 2015 Lexington Herald second-team all-state
- Received multiple academic first-team all-state honors
- Brannen on Williams: “Carson brings versatility in being able to play both forward positions and the athleticism and physicality that we need in the Horizon League. Our fans are going to enjoy watching him."
Oakland
Brailen Neely
- Height: 5-8
- Position: Point guard
- Hometown: Detroit, Mich.
- High School: Detroit Western International
- Led the Cowboys to their first PSL title since 1922 and its first-ever state championship en route to a 26-0 season
- Led the team with 15.1 points and added 4.5 assists per game
- Named to the Detroit Free Press All-Metro Third Team
- Named to the MLive.com Detroit Dream Team Second Team
Chris Palombizio
- Height: 6-5
- Position: Shooting guard
- Hometown: Chesterfield, Ind.
- High School: Don Bosco (Ind.) Prep
- Named to the 2015 IBCA/Subway Senior All-State Supreme 15, given to the top players in the state of Indiana regardless of school size
- Averaged 23 points and 8.3 rebounds per game
- Named Duneland Conference Most Valuable Player last season
- Father, Dan, was named Mr. Basketball in Indiana in 1981 and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013
UIC
Tarkus Ferguson
- Height: 6-4
- Position: Wing
- Hometown: Belleville, Ill.
- High School: Belleville Althoff
- Helped the Crusaders finish as runners-up in the Illinois High School Association’s 3A state championship
- Contributed in a variety of different ways as he averaged approximately 15 points per game for Althoff with seven rebounds, four assists and 2.7 blocks per contest.
- Named First Team All-Area by the Belleville News-Democrat and to the All-South Seven First Team
- Tabbed All-State Third Team by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association
- McClain on Ferguson: “Tarkus is a young man that played for a state championship a year ago and his team will be preseason number one in the state this year,” noted McClain. “He comes from a great culture of winning both at his high school and in the summer AAU program.”
Jordan Blount
- Height: 6-8
- Position: Forward
- Hometown: Cork City, Ireland
- High School: SPIRE (Ohio) Academy
- Prepping at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio
- Played with his countrymen at the 2015 European Championships
- Was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 25.4 points per game to go along with 9.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest
- At the U18 EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament, Blount averaged a double-double behind 15.8 ppg and 10.5 rpg while earning All-Tournament plaudits.
- Blount speaks five languages and he spent 2013-15 at Canarias Basketball Academy in Gran Canary, Spain
- Through seven games with SPIRE Academy in 2015, the Irishman has continued to shine. He is averaging 19.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg and four apg.
- McClain on Blount: “Jordan is a young man who has played internationally against great players,” said McClain. “He brings an unbridled enthusiasm to the game when he plays. His motor is non-stop, and like Tarkus, he can play multiple positions on the team.”
Valparaiso
Micah Bradford
- Height: 6-0
- Position: Guard
- Hometown: Bradley, Ill.
- High School: Bradley-Bourbonnais
- Top-20 prospect in the Illinois Class of 2016
- Averaged 21 points per game
- Led Bradley-Bourbonnais to 20 wins last season
- Stood out during the summer playing for the Example Sports travel squad
- Drew on Bradford: "Our staff has been following Micah for quite a while, and we are thrilled that he will be joining our team next year. Micah is very gifted on the offensive end and comes from a great basketball family. We look forward to him having a great senior year and then getting on campus to help our program for next season. Valpo fans will really enjoy watching Micah play with the talented things he can do with the basketball.”
