Presbyterian College men's basketball head coach Gregg Nibert announced the signing of guard Austin Anderson, guard Shea Jones and forward Matthew Citron to National Letters of Intent for the 2012-13 season.
"We feel like our signees will be able to contribute right away," said Head Coach Gregg Nibert, who enters his 23rd season leading the Blue Hose. "We have a solid group of returners coming back so they'll be able to show them the ropes. I expect them to be impact players as the season progresses next year."
Austin Anderson, 6-5, Guard, Piedmont, S.C.
Anderson played for Wren High School under Fran Campbell, as well as the South Carolina Raptors AAU team under Lamont Simmons. A four-year varsity letterwinner in football and basketball, the point guard earned all-region and all-area honors as a sophomore and junior. He played in the SCA Thanksgiving Tournament the last two years, earning all-tournament in both and MVP in 2010 , and was selected to the all-tournament team at the Shootout by the Sea as a sophomore. In 2010, Anderson was named MVP of his high school team and Player-of-the-Year for Anderson County. Averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds as a junior, Anderson comes into his senior season as a Wendy's Heisman Candidate and has been selected to play in the Battle of the Classes. Anderon was born Dec. 15, 1993 to Mike and Jennifer Anderson.
"He played at Wren for Fran (Cambpell) whose son Kevin played for us. We think he's going to be a tremendous player for us because he can play three positions. He can handle the ball so he can play at point guard, he can shoot well so can play a two or even a three. He's very skilled with the ball on the floor and shoot it off the dribble, off the screens. He's just a tremendous ball-handler and shooter."
Shea Jones, 6-1, Guard, Weston, Fla.
Jones is a senior at Cypress Bay high School and plays for Jason Looky. He also is a member of the NIKE Team Florida AAU team. The Weston, Fla., native, who averaged 10 points per game as a sophomore and 12 as a junior, enters his senior season ranked in the top 100 in the state of Florida. As a sophomore, Jones was named to the All-Tournament team at Florida Tech Camp and as a junior was named to the All-Tournament team at the Tournament of Champions. Jones was born April 25, 1994 to Mark and Sara Jones. His mother was a track standout at Wisconsin, while his father played basketball at York and is now a broadcaster with ESPN.
"We feel like we got a real sleeper with Shea (Jones). He was injured some last year and over the summer. We got to watch him play some and really feel like we got someone who can play point guard and the two spot. He can take the ball to the basket, pull up, finish and also shoot the three. We feel like we got a guard that can play both positions. He's also tenacious and competitive and can guard the ball really well. We think he can fit in with what we're trying to do defensively."
Matthew Citron, 6-7, Forward, Atlanta, Ga.
Citron plays for Anthony Thomas at Woodward Academy, as well as for Benjamin Miller with the Atlanta All-Stars AAU team. His junior season, Citron averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game. He was also named the Atlanta Journal Constitution Player of the Month for the month of December. Citron played in the 2010 Atlanta Christmas Tournament and earned all-tournament honors after he averaged 17 points and eight rebounds per game. He finished second runner-up at the annual AJC Dunk Contest. Citron was born Jan. 18, 1994, to Todd and Laura Citron.
"Matthew (Citron) is unbelievably athletic and can dunk it any way you can dunk a ball. He runs the floor well and has improved his outside shooting. We think he'll be a tremendous defensive player for us at the four. He can deny the ball and at the same time because he runs the floor well he can take the outside shot and drive the lane for the basket."
The Blue Hose open the regular season Friday, Nov. 11 as they host Montreat in a 7 p.m. game before traveling to 6th-ranked Duke Saturday, Nov. 12. That game will tip-off at 4:30 and will air on ESPNU and WLBG 860-AM.
