Kevin Massiah Signs Letter of Intent

[uwmrissa]

Massiah Signs Letter Of Intent To Join Panthers
Junior college forward added to Milwaukee roster

MILWAUKEE - Kevin Massiah of Toronto, Ontario, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, head coach Rob Jeter announced today.

Massiah is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound forward who played this past season at Schoolcraft Community College in Michigan. He averaged 15.5 ppg while shooting nearly 62 percent from the field. He also averaged 7.7 rebounds per game in helping Schoolcraft to a 27-3 record.

He attended Western Kentucky University for two years, playing as a reserve for an NCAA Tournament team in 2002-03 before missing the 2003-04 season with an injury. He has two years of college elibility remaining.

"He is a tremendous addition to our program," Jeter said. "He is extremely athletic, versatile and exciting. He can score from the perimeter and with his back to the basket. He should fit in very well with the Panther style of basketball."

(From Kevin O'Connor, Sports Info Director)

[Pantherholic]

not a bad first signing, if he's as good on the court as he is on paper he could be dominant. hopefully jeter's working on bringing Childress back now.

[dylanrocks]

Here's the J-S story on Kevin. Two things: It's curious that Coach Jeter says Massiah's not as tall or as big as Joah, as he also weighs in at 6-5, 220. Also, I'm not sure anyone can say at this point whether or not Ryan will be a part of next year's team.

Juco forward agrees to join Panthers

Massiah familiar with Jeter

By DAN MANOYAN
[e-mail]
Posted: April 22, 2005

UW-Milwaukee basketball coach Rob Jeter lost the two recruits Bruce Pearl had signed from Schoolcraft Junior College in Livonia, Mich., but Jeter has gone back to the well to sign a third.

Kevin Massiah, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound small forward, signed a letter of intent to play for the Panthers on Friday. Massiah, a Toronto native who played for one season at Western Kentucky, averaged 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 62% from the field at Schoolcraft last season.

"We like Kevin because he is a very explosive and very versatile and athletic player," said Jeter, who actually recruited Massiah out of high school when he was an assistant coach at Wisconsin. "He goes inside and out, shoots threes or plays with his back to the basket.

"He's not quite as tall or as big as Joah (Tucker, Panthers forward), but he's not little, either."

According to Massiah, he also had offers from Northern Illinois and Marshall.

"Kevin is one of those rare athletes," said Carlos Briggs, who coached Schoolcraft to a 27-3 record this season. "He can run the floor with the best of them."

Massiah played at York High School in Toronto where he averaged an astounding 30.5 points and 8.0 rebounds. He once scored 57 points in a high school game.

After high school, Massiah attended Maine Central Institute, where he averaged 16 points per game.

Massiah appeared in 23 games as a freshman reserve at WKU, helping the Hilltoppers qualify for the NCAA tournament. He remained at Western Kentucky for a season after Dennis Felton left there to take the Georgia job, but Massiah was forced to redshirt his sophomore year when he suffered a broken foot.

He left after that season to attend Schoolcraft. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

"I picked UWM because I know Coach Jeter from when he recruited me at Wisconsin," Massiah said. "It's a great team with a great set of guys. Everybody loves basketball there."

The Panthers hope to sign possibly two more players this spring and will have at least two recruits visiting campus this weekend. The Panthers are scrambling because two other players from Schoolcraft, guard James Douglas and center Walt Waters, as well as Cincinnati Moeller forward Ryan Childress, won't be part of the team next season.

Douglas and Childress, both signed by Pearl, asked for and received their release from national letters of intent. Waters, who attended Schoolcraft in the fall but never played there, is currently attending UWM, but because of grades won't be with the team next season.

"I'm really surprised that Walt transferred to UWM when he did because I didn't think he was ready and I told them that," said Briggs, referring to Pearl's UWM staff.

Douglas reportedly is visiting Missouri this weekend and is receiving interest from Wyoming and Fresno State. Childress reportedly is being recruited by several MAC schools, including Kent.

Sweet celebration: UWM will celebrate the team's trip to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA tournament with a celebration at the UWM Student Union's Wisconsin Room from 7-9 p.m. Monday.

Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

[victorepanther]

I like the fact this was the guy Jeter was supposed to want and he was able to go out and get him. He sounds like a nice player, but most usually do at this stage.

Are we expecting him to back up Joah, or are the Panthers looking at more of a three forward set next year with Joah at the 4 and AT at the 5 spots?

[PantherLou]

Am I correct to asume that he will be eligible to play the 2006-2007 season? With 3 years of eligibility?



EDIT: oops, I see it is only 2 years.

[dylanrocks]

Lou, he'll be eligible in the fall, just in time for the 2005-06 season and, as you said, have two years of eligibility remaining. See you tonight at the celebration.