Nov. 10, 2004
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's basketball program has received signed national letters of intent from five student-athletes to enroll at UNLV and play basketball for the Runnin' Rebels starting with the 2005-06 season, head coach Lon Kruger announced Wednesday.
Javon Adams, Joe Darger, Gaston Essengue, Davon Jefferson and Wendell White are the five players that signed on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.
Adams, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior point guard from Gulf Shores Academy in Houston, Texas, averaged 21 points per game as a junior and led his team to the 2004 Texas private-school championship with a record of 32-2. He is ranked as the No. 2 point guard in the nation by rivalshoops.com and he is ranked No. 19 overall regardless of position.
"Javon has terrific point guard skills and abilities and most importantly loves to play and compete hard on both ends of the floor," Kruger said. "He has grown up with the idea of being a Runnin' Rebel and he is excited about realizing that dream."
Darger, a 6-7, 210-pound senior forward from Riverton (Utah) High School, averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds last year as a junior. The all-state selection is ranked as the No. 10 west coast small forward by theinsidershoops.com and is included in the top-5 west coast prospect class for 2005.
"Joe is a guy with a tremendous work ethic," said Kruger. "He loves to work at improving his game and has gotten better each week throughout the spring and summer that we watched him. He is a consistently good shooter and is excited about being in Las Vegas."
Essenque, a 6-8, 225-pound sophomore forward from Weatherford (Texas) College, played at Compton (Calif.) Community College last year as a freshman and averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. His team won the California junior college championship and he was an all-state selection. Originally from Cameroon, Africa, he is ranked in the top-5 of junior college players on the west coast.
"Gaston has improved from day one that he has been in the United States," Kruger said. "He has a terrific attitude about working each day to improve. He brings a low post presence, good activity, he is very strong and even though he is not real tall, he is very active when he gets the ball inside."
Jefferson, a 6-8, 205-pound senior forward from Lynwood (Calif.) High School, averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks per game last year as a junior. He is ranked the No. 7 forward in the nation by theinsidershoops.com and is ranked No. 27 overall regardless of position by hoopscooponline.com.
"Davon is a very talented, skilled player at his size," Kruger said. "He offers the versatility of playing inside and outside on the perimeter. As he has added strength through the summer he has gotten better and better results and we are thrilled to have him in our program."
White, a 6-6, 215-pound sophomore guard from Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, Calif., averaged 20.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game last season as a freshman. White, who is from Los Angeles, Calif., helped AVC to a 25-8 record last year and became the first player in school history to be selected first team all-state.
"Wendell is a junior college player that brings a little added experience on the perimeter," Kruger said. "Coming from Coach Chelette's program, he knows about working hard each day and team concept. We are thrilled by Wendell's decision to become a Runnin' Rebel."
