The men's basketball freshmen class of 2012 became significantly more complete over the past week as Coach James Derouin secured commitments from two coveted guards out of the Hamilton area. First to commit was Caleb Agada , of Burlington's Assumption Catholic Secondary School. That was followed closely by Hamilton's Moe Ismail, from Sherwood Secondary School, choosing to make his way to Ottawa.
"Our focus recruiting-wise was to address size and scoring at the guard position," stated Gee-Gee head coach James Derouin after the commitments were official. "With Warren Ward graduating at the end of next season, we felt we needed to find two scoring guards that will help us in the near future."
Both recruits displayed their scoring potential at the Pinky Lewis high school tourney in Hamilton this past November. Agada, a 6-foot-3 guard, was named a Second Team Tournament All-Star after putting up big scoring numbers such as a 36 point performance in Assumption's tournament opening game. Ismail, 6-foot-4, also dialed up the competition at Pinky Lewis, dropping 35 points for Sherwood in a pool play game.
With both players coming out of the Hamilton area, they are already familiar with each other on the court and consider each other good friends. "We feel like we will be a great combo on the wing, and I'm glad we're heading to the same place," said Ismail.
"Caleb is tough, athletic guard who competes at a high level and can score in multiple ways," says Derouin. "We feel Caleb will have an impact both as a freshman and in the years to come. Moe is an incredibly talented shooting guard who can flat out score the ball. He is long and has great explosiveness, and he brings the team another big guard who can make tough shots."
Ismail visited the uOttawa campus in late January and says that although he was looking forward to seeing Ward play, getting to talk with the injured veteran wing player gave him a sense of the leadership and down to earth style of the Ottawa program. Ismail added that the personality and approach of Coach Derouin was a key factor. "He's a competitive guy and will work with me one-on-one to help me be the best I can be. All he wants to do is be a winner, I could feel that. I'll work really hard to help this program win a championship."
Agada echoes the willingness to put in the work to contribute to the team. "I see my role the first year as pushing the starters, helping, working hard and working for minutes. That's something I've never really done before; I've always been presented with minutes. That's why I'm so intrigued to be here and learn a new position at the next level." Agada primarily played at shooting guard while in high school, and is expecting to become more of a combo guard at Ottawa.
Caleb will be studying math at the University of Ottawa, while Moe will enroll in social sciences.
The two newest Gee-Gees join 6-foot-10 Matt Nelson from Peterborough, who committed in December, as part of the 2012-13 Rookie Class.
Recrutement : le basketball masculin met la main sur des joueurs talentueux d'Hamilton
