Coach Bobby Collins of Winston-Salem State needed a little of everything to fill out his recruiting class for next season. He signed four who he says have a chance to be impact players right away.
"The bottom line is we needed to fill some holes and we feel like these four guys are not only good kids, they can also play," Collins said. "They all will have a chance to compete for us."
The four players signed included a big man, 6-8 Stephon Platt, 6-5 small forward Mike Boner, shooting guard Jamarcus McClinton and point guard Lamont Monger.
While Collins signed four he also released three others from the program. Rising junior Darius Floyd, rising senior Mike Puckett and rising sophomore Max Funderburke are no longer on the team.
They were all on scholarship and Collins elected to not renew those scholarships.
Losing Floyd and Puckett will be felt the most. Floyd, who started 18 games last season at guard, averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds a game. Puckett was lost for academic reasons after the first semester and played in just 11 games but was the team's best shooter.
Collins said that it was important to sign players who could help the Rams right away. However, of the four players signed Platt has yet to qualify to play in the fall.
Platt, who is from Scotland County High School, averaged 18.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 blocks a game last season.
"Stephon can play on the inside and he can step outside a little bit," Collins said.
Boner can shoot the 3-pointer and is also a great rebounder, according to Collins. He is from Perquimans County High School in Hertford and was the Albemarle Conference player of the year last season after averaging 16.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game.
"I really like his versatility and he's a three man (small forward) who I like to have in my system," Collins said. "He's agile and is hungry and I just liked his energy."
Monger, a 6-foot point guard from Ahoskie, was a three-time all-conference player who had a scholarship offer in football from Duke.
"He's a pretty solid point guard and is very strong," Collins said. "There were a lot of schools after him for football but he wanted to play basketball."
The final player signed was McClinton, a shooting guard from Chester High School in Chester, S.C. He averaged 26 points and eight rebounds a game last season.
"I actually got some tape on him and saw him play and he's a scorer and has that mentality," Collins said.
Collins said that adding depth was his first priority.
"We have an opportunity to strengthen our program with these four talented freshmen," Collins said.
John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com
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