Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Spearman to Play in Hawaii

Ottumwa -- Indian Hills guard Brandon Spearman has signed a letter of intent with the University of Hawaii.  Spearman, a Chicago native, played one season at IHCC after transferring from Dayton.

Spearman quickly established himself as a team leader for the Warriors and was the second-leading scorer at 11.7 points a game.  He played in all 37 games and started more games -- 30 -- than anyone else on the roster.

He was second on the Warriors in 3-pointers with 53 and his 29 points against Ellsworth CC were the most scored by an IHCC player in a game this season.

Spearman was a second-team all-region choice.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Ricks Signs with Drake

Ottumwa -- Gary Ricks, Jr., a Southern California guy who started his college basketball career in Iowa, will stay in the state to continue his education and career.  Ricks, a native of Sylmar, Cal., has signed a letter of intent with Drake University.

Ricks earned Honorable Mention All-American honors after a sophomore season in which he led Indian Hills to a seventh-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament and a 33-4 record.  He averaged 10.0 points a game, led the team in free throw percentage (.732) and three-pointers (97) and was a second-team All-Region choice.

Playing in all 70 IHCC games over the past two seasons, Ricks was one of the best three-point shooters in school history.  He had a total of 170 3s, three shy of the school record held by Dwight Hardy.  His 97 threes this year were five fewer than Hardy's single-season record.

Ricks had a career scoring average of 11.2 and led the team in free throw percentage as a freshman as well, shooting .807 from the line.  His two-year three-point field goal percentage was .424. 

Drake coach Mark Phelps said, "Gary is one of the top shooters in the country.  He brings maturity and leadership to our team at the guard position."

"He is a winner who will improve all aspects of our guard play next year.  We are extremely excited about his joining our family."

Monday, April 16, 2012

D.J. Headed to OU

Ottumwa -- All the hard work that D.J. Bennett put in leading up to and during his sophomore season at Indian Hills has paid off.  Bennett has signed a letter-of-intent with the University of Oklahoma.

Bennett parlayed a successful year at Indian Hills in which he averaged 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds into attention from a number of Division I schools.  He signed with the Sooners after visiting the OU campus.

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said, "We're very happy D.J. has chosen to be a Sooner.  He brings high energy, shot-blocking ability and rebounding skills.  He also has the potential to be more of a scorer in the low post than he has been."

Bennett led IHCC in blocks this past season with 63 and he shot .673 from the field.  His breakout sophomore campaign came after a freshman season in which he scored only 72 points in 24 games.

The 6-8, 215-pound Bennett may have been the most improved player on the Indian Hills team this season.  He was one of only two holdovers from the previous year and really flourished in the second half of the season.  After scoring in double figures in only three of the first 25 games, Bennett scored 10 or more points in seven of the last 12 contests with a high game of 21. 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

McKay, Ricks, Jr. Are All-Americans

OTTUMWA --- Indian Hills Community College basketball players Jameel McKay and Gary Ricks, Jr. have been named National Junior College Athletic Association All-Americans.

McKay, a freshman, was selected to the All-American first team and Ricks, a sophomore, was an Honorable Mention choice.

The Warriors’ scoring (14.6) and rebounding (7.7) leader, McKay was one of ten players picked for the first team. He had a field goal percentage of .619 and was a key part of the Warriors’ seventh-place finish in the NJCAA national tournament.

The Milwaukee, Wis. native had double-figures in points and rebounds in all four IHCC games in the tourney and was named to the All-Tournament team. He was also tabbed a first-team All-Region 11 pick.

Ricks, from Sylmar, Cal., finished his two-year IHCC career as one of the best three-point shooters ever at Indian Hills. He made 170 3-pointers in his career – 97 in his sophomore campaign – and just missed setting the single-season and career school records in that category.

Ricks averaged 11.2 points while not missing a game over the past two seasons. He was also a first-team All-Region selection.

McKay and Ricks are Indian Hills’ first All-American choices since Dwight Buycks was named to the first team and Dwight Hardy to the third team after the 2008-09 season.