8 Players Sign Letters To Play With UTEP Basketball Team

UTEP?s 2011-12 men?s basketball roster continued to take shape on Friday with the announcement that eight talented student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play for the Miners.

The list includes five high school prospects and three junior college transfers. The high school signees are 6-0 guard D?Von Campbell (Arlington, Texas/Bowie HS), 6-0 guard C.J. Cooper (La Verne, Calif./Lutheran HS), 6-9 forward Cedrick Lang (Sioux Falls, S.D./O?Gorman HS), 6-5 forward Darius Nelson (Sacramento, Calif./Sheldon HS) and 6-7 forward/guard Jalen Ragland (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe HS). The junior college imports are 6-0 guard Mitch Marquis (Tyler JC), 6-7 forward Malcolm Moore (Tyler JC) and 6-6 forward Dazmond Starke (Eastern Arizona College).

A three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Campbell is also rated the no. 28 point guard in the country and a national top-150 prospect. He helped Bowie HS to a 30-7 record and the fourth round of the 5A playoffs last season, averaging 11 points and three assists. He was tabbed a 2010 All-District selection. A three-year letterman and two-year starter, Campbell has aided Bowie High to a 57-14 record over the last two seasons.

Cooper averaged 15.6 points and 6.1 assists last season while coached by his uncle, Eric Cooper, at Lutheran HS. He averaged 16.4 ppg and 6.8 apg as a sophomore, and 18.8 ppg and 3.3 apg as a freshman. Cooper is an 80 percent free throw shooter for his career. A three-time All-San Gabriel Valley honoree and three-time Arrowhead League MVP, he was a member of a state championship team a year ago. He was named the 2010 CIF Division 5 Player of the Year and was appointed to the Cal High Sports All-State Team.

Lang collected 7.5 points and a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game last season as O?Gorman HS won the AA (highest classification in South Dakota) state title. He shot 61 percent from the field in leading the Knights to a 19-5 record and 16-game winning streak. After missing his sophomore year with a foot injury, Lang rebounded to garner honorable mention All-Conference honors a year ago.

Another three-star recruit by Rivals, Nelson is regarded as the no. 53 small forward in the country by ESPN analysts. He is also listed as the no. 5 small forward in the state of California by Cal High Sports. Nelson averaged 24.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists for a 28-6 club last season. He hit 52 percent of his shot attempts and 73 percent of his free throws. Nelson scored over 30 points nine times and had two 40-point games as Sheldon HS won the sectional championship and reached the CIF Northern California semifinals. His older brother, DeMarcus, played at Duke and later in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors.

Ragland was a third team All-State selection as a junior at Chillicothe HS, averaging 13.5 points, six rebounds and two assists. He shot 48 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line in earning first team All-District and All-League recognition. Rivals.com lists him as a three-star recruit. Ragland contributed 6.5 ppg and 2.0 rpg as a sophomore for a 26-2 squad that captured the Division II state championship.

Marquis and Moore are teammates at Tyler [Texas] Junior College, where they are coached by Mitch?s father, Mike Marquis. The younger Marquis averaged six points and led Region 14 in assists with 6.5 per game during the 2009-10 campaign. He was sixth in the country in dimes en route to earning honorable mention Region 14 accolades. He was also selected to the Region 14 All-Academic Team. Marquis played his prep ball at Whitehouse [Texas] High School, earning co-MVP honors for District 14-4A as a senior.

Moore averaged 16 points, six rebounds and 1.5 blocks a year ago, connecting on a conference-best 63 percent of his shot attempts. He was a second team All-Region 14 pick. Moore attended Iowa City [Iowa] High School, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds as a prep senior. He averaged 15.5 ppg his junior year.

Starke had averages of 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds last season while shooting 62 percent from the floor at Eastern Arizona College. He was a first team All-Region and All-Conference choice and was the second-leading scorer in the league. Starke was honored as the national junior college player of the week after erupting for 58 points versus Glendale Community College. He was a first team All-District and second team All-Metro player at Highland Springs High School in Richmond, Va.

The Miners? November signees will join 6-0 guard Jacques Streeter (Los Angeles, Calif./Fremont HS/Findlay Prep/Cal State Fullerton) and 6-7 forward Julian Washburn (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville HS) as additions to the 2011-12 roster. Both are currently enrolled in school.

Streeter, who will have two years of eligibility at UTEP, started all 63 games for Cal State Fullerton over the last two seasons (2008-10). He averaged 11.8 points and 4.7 assists as a sophomore, and 10.4 ppg and 4.4 apg as a freshman. Streeter led the Big West Conference in assist/turnover ratio each of the last two years and rated 25th nationally in the category as a freshman. He averaged 11 ppg and 4.7 apg for Findlay Prep?s 32-1, national runner-up squad during the 2007-08 campaign. A three-year varsity letterman at Fremont HS in Los Angeles, Streeter was a first team All-City honoree as a senior.

Washburn was rated the no. 24 small forward in the country, a top-150 player overall and a three-star recruit by Rivals.com coming out of Duncanville HS. The son of former N.C. State star and NBA player Chris Washburn, he averaged 11.6 points as a senior, and 6.3 points as a junior. Texashoops.com rated him the no. 6 prospect in the Lone Star State in the Class of 2010. Washburn joined current Miner John Bohannon in the D/FW Metroplex Hoops Classic in May, 2009 in Dallas.