Monday, May 03, 2010

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 3, 2010) - ETSU head men's basketball coach Murry Bartow announced Monday that the Buccaneers have received a signed national letter of intent from junior college transfer Curtis Wilkinson (Bude, Miss.).

Wilkinson, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward from San Bernardino Valley College, gives the Bucs yet another player to help build the squad's inside post depth.

"We are really excited to have Curtis join our program" said Bartow, whose team is coming off a 20-win season and second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. "When he visited campus we were all really impressed with him as a person. He is a great young man with a lot of potential and upside because he did not play a lot in high school.

"He's also coming from a very good program with a strong coaching staff. San Bernardino Valley had a team last year with seven or eight Division I players, so their coaches had to use a lot of different rotations to get guys minutes. Curtis took advantage of those minutes and put up strong numbers."

A first-team All-Foothills Conference pick, Wilkinson averaged 11 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game while playing 22 minutes as a sophomore. In addition, he shot 59 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line. As a freshman, Wilkinson averaged 14 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a game.

Wilkinson had a great deal of interest from other schools, but said ETSU ultimately won out for many reasons.

"The biggest thing for me was how friendly both the coaching staff and the players were," Wilkinson said. "That was really big for me. A lot of places aren't like that, but this place reminded me of my home back in Mississippi. It was a nice environment and quiet. It just seemed like the right fit."

Bartow and his staff have now completed their 2010-11 recruiting class, as Wilkinson joins previous signees Anthony Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Ryan Woumn (Lynn, Mass.) on the ETSU roster.  

For more on ETSU men's basketball throughout the spring and summer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's hoops link.