Basketball early signing period begins

Men sign four and women ink two on first day

Five-star men’s basketball signee Jarell Martin

Tiger Rag News Services

LSU announced Wednesday the names of four approved signees to join Coach Johnny Jones’ Tiger basketball team for the 2012-13 season.

Three signed National Letters of Intent on the first day of the early signing period - 5-star forward Jarell Martin of Madison Prep in Baton Rouge; 4-star forward Jordan Mickey (Prime Prep) of Arlington, Texas; and, 4-star guard Tim Quarterman of Johnson High in Savannah, Ga.

Signing a Southeastern Conference Aid Agreement was center John Odo of Nigeria, who is presently at Hill Junior College. Odo is scheduled to enroll at LSU in January and because of that does not sign a national letter.

The signing class is receiving national raves from the recruiting experts with 247sports pushing LSU to fifth on its national recruiting rankings, with Rivals.com having the Tigers coming in at No. 6 and ESPN.com putting LSU at No. 7.

“This class consists of four young men of exceptional talent that will allow us to continue to compete in the highest level in the near future,” said Coach Jones. “The versatility of this class is what we were looking for from the beginning. We are excited about the future of LSU Basketball.”

Martin who brings a Baton Rouge presence to the LSU team, is a consensus five-star selection and was ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect and the fifth-best power forward in the class of 2013. ESPN ranked him as the 15th top player in the nation and the seven and the seventh-ranked power forward, while Rivals.com has him ranked third in the country at his position. The 6-8, 218-pound Martin averaged 19.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while leading Madison Prep to a 34-8 record a year ago.

Martin chose LSU over such schools as Alabama, Baylor, Memphis, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, UCLA and St. John’s.

“Jarell Martin is an exceptional talent who has the ability to play both outside and inside,” said Jones. “With his ball handling, passing and ability to score, he will be able to create opportunities for other players on his team. He could be a difficult matchup for our opponent.”

Mickey, a 6-7, 190-pound forward, is a consensus four-star selection and is ranked the No. 9 power forward and the 20th ranked player in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.com. ESPN.com has him listed at No. 13 power forward and the 47th-ranked player, while Scout.com lists him as the No. 11 at his position. He attends Prime Prep presently after leading Grace Prep of Arlington, Texas, to the state championship a year ago. He is also the brother of LSU wide receiver James Wright. He chose to join Coach Jones at LSU over such schools as Ohio State, Oklahoma State and SMU.

“Jordan Mickey has an exceptional knack for scoring inside and out,” the first-year LSU coach noted. “He is a tremendous passer and his ability to rebound and defend both the post and perimeter positions will allow us to utilize him in multiple positions.”

Another four-star selection, Quarterman is a multi-purpose athlete who can play anywhere on the perimeter. He is listed as the No. 18 small forward by Scout.com, while Rivals.com put him as the No. 12 point guard. ESPN.com lists him as the 17th-ranked point guard and the 67th best player in the Class of 2013.

Quarterman, 6-5, 185-pounds, averaged 17.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He chose LSU over Georgia, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Oklahoma and Texas, among others.

“Tim Quarterman is a great playmaker and his height will allow him to play the 1, 2 and 3 offensively. He also will have a great defensive presence for us,” said Jones. “His basketball IQ will allow him to step in and compete at this level right away.”

Odo, a 6-10, 230-pounder, will graduate from Hill College (Texas) in December, where he earned honorable mention junior college All-American honors after averaging 12.4 points and 14.2 rebounds a contest. He will have two years of eligibility remaining for LSU beginning with the 2013-14 season.

“John Odo will be a great addition to our team with his ability to defend in the post and rebound,” Jones commented. “He will also be a great back to the basket low post scorer that will give us a much needed true center.”

Of the class, analyst Evan Daniels of FOXSportsNEXT said, “…What Johnny Jones has accomplished so far is impressive…”, while Jerry Meyer of 247sports.com said: “… It’s been a little while since LSU has had recruiting success like this. They’re bringing in really big strong, athletic guys who are really good basketball players.”

Eric Bossi of Rivals.com wrote: “Don’t look now, but LSU has emerged as a major threat to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail. Well, that’s always been the case on the football field but under the direction of new coach Johnny Jones they are now a major threat on the basketball trail as well. All Jones has done for his first signing day effort is lock up the nation’s sixth ranked class.”

The LSU Tigers 2012-13 team plays again on Tuesday night against Northwestern State at 7 p.m. in the Maravich Center. Tickets are available at LSU.tix.net. Fans bringing a canned food item to donate at the game on Tuesday can receive a ticket for just $5.

Follow LSU Basketball on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and on Twitter @LSUBasketball.

NLI
Jarrell Martin - 6-7, F, Madison Prep, Baton Rouge
Jordan Mickey - 6-8, F, Prime Prep, Arlington, Texas
Tim Quarterman - 6-5, G, Johnson High, Savannah, Ga.

SEC
Jonathon Odo - 6-11, C, Hill Junior College, Nigeria 

Women sign Moncrief, Rhodes

LSU women’s basketball head coach Nikki Caldwell has received the National Letters of Intent from two talented student-athletes as part of the NCAA early signing period, it was announced on Wednesday.

Raigyne Moncrief, a 5-foot-10 guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Jasmine Rhodes, a 5-foot-10 wing player from Mobile, Ala., will be eligible to play for the LSU Lady Tigers for the 2013-14 season.

“We are extremely excited about the signing of Raigyne Moncrief and Jasmine Rhodes,” said LSU head coach Nikki Caldwell. “The two of them are not only exceptional athletes but more importantly, they are exceptional people. They will bring a lot of leadership qualities, hard work and a lot of intensity to our team.”

Moncrief is ranked the No. 18 overall player in America by ESPN Hoop Gurlz, and she is the highest ranked guard signee for LSU since Allison Hightower, who was tabbed as the No. 6 player in the Class of 2006.

“Raigyne is one of those players who is very unselfish,” said Caldwell. “She’s a person that when you see her play, you can see her passion and her work ethic on both ends of the floor. She’s someone who is a tremendous defensive player that can change the tempo of the game with her intensity and athleticism.” 

A five-star guard and excellent defender, Moncrief hails from American Heritage High School in Florida, the same school that produced current LSU senior Bianca Lutley. Moncrief was selected first team All-Broward County in her sophomore and junior seasons. She is considered to be the No. 6 ranked guard in the country by ESPN Hoop Gurlz.

As a junior, she averaged 14.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 5.0 steals per game in leading the Patriots to a 19-9 record. The Patriots finished the season ranked No. 2 in Class 5A. She’s also spent the last two summers playing with elite high school talent in South Florida as a member of the traveling Miami Suns.

Rhodes will come to LSU as one of the top prospects in the state of Alabama and one of the top-15 wing players in the country as rated by ESPN Hoop Gurlz. Rhodes averaged 20.1 points and 8.4 rebounds as a junior at Faith Academy, which spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in four years. For her efforts, she was named Mobile Press Register Player of the Year.

“Jasmine has a toughness about her,” said Caldwell. “She can play multiple positions, and she will bring an intensity to the game through her ability to defend and rebound. She’s a smart basketball player who knows how to win.” 

Rhodes is considered to be the city of Mobile’s most highly recruited prospect in years. In five varsity seasons, she has scored 1,810 points and grabbed 971 rebounds.