Although they lost three standouts from a year ago to the NCAA ranks, new Murray State men's basketball coach Josh Davis is optimistic that his signing class of 11 will step in and make immediate contributions to the Aggie success in 2022-23.
Leading scorer Lavell Brodnex moved on to Division I Wagner University after pumping in 14.3 points per contest while Jaxon Ingram heads to Arkansas-Fort Smith and Reggie Prudhomme to Cameron University following solid campaigns as well.
Davis' initial signing class includes key parts in several different positions that will be counted on early on.
Two-guard Terrance Austin is an explosive standout from Pueblo, Colorado that led his team to two consecutive state tournaments while averaging more than 20 points per outing as a senior.
Wing Freddie Cooper and forward Kyle Tolbert were prep school teammates at Indiana Elite a season ago with tremendous upside. Cooper is a gifted scorer while Tolbert is a strong rebounder in the paint despite being often undersized.
Brian Fuery has an outstanding wingspan around the paint at 6-foot-7 and is extremely athletic coming out of the state of Florida. Also from the Sunshine State is point guard Dray Graham out of Leesburg, where he won a pair of state championships at one of the perennial powerhouse programs in the state.
Point guard T.J. Gardner is a transfer from McHenry County College where he was a second-team All-Conference selection last year while tossing in 10 points and seven assists per game.
Combo guard Stanley Harley is another transfer from Arizona Western where he sat out last season with an injury. He is tremendously quick and a gifted shooter, hitting 48 percent of his three-point opportunities during a COVID freshman campaign.
The Aggies also add big man Kameron Johnson, who has skills to pass out of the post, a tremendous touch around the rim and uses his body well, according to Coach Davis.
Ridley Shema is a swingman that hails from London and caught plenty of eyes during a camp earlier this year in France. He brings size and athleticism along with a ton of versatility.
Davis along notched a pair of Oklahoma high school signees with Blake Newman along with guard Seth Wilkins from perennial power Jenks in the Tulsa area.
"This is probably a little bit bigger class than what we would normally with all the transition this year," the Murray State head coach commented. "The dream is that a lot of these guys get further opportunities after their first year, so we may have to sign another big class next year. Austin lives in the gym and is an ideal student athlete and Gardner is a proven guy at the college level that can break down defense and create for others. I am really excited about all of them though. Almost all of them have a chance to impact the team from Day 1. When they all show up, the cream will rise to the top.
"We have a good returning core to build around as well. Dayten Holman averaged double digits last year and A.J. Richard and K.J. Boone each played quite a bit. They will have a big impact on the team as well."
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