April 19, 2005
CLEVELAND - The Viking men's basketball program took a big step towards completing its roster for the 2005-06 season by signing three players to national letters of intent to attend Cleveland State and play basketball beginning in the fall of 2005. Viking head coach Mike Garland made the announcement on Tuesday.
Signing with Cleveland State are Tristan Crawford (Steelton, PA/Highspire), Carlos English (Detroit, MI/Mott CC) and Terry Walker (Grand Rapids, MI/Ottawa Hills). English will be a junior with two years of eligibility remaining while both Crawford and Walker will both enter CSU next fall as freshmen.
"The addition of Tristan, Carlos and Terry completes a very talented recruiting class," head coach Mike Garland said. "We have definitely improved ourselves at every position and taken a big step towards having the personnel to play our aggressive style of basketball for 40 minutes a game."
Crawford, a 6-4 forward, was named the Pennsylvania Class AAA Player of the Year by the Associated Press after averaging 23.0 points a game and leading Highspire to a 32-3 record and the state title. He turned up his performance in the postseason, averaging 28.8 points in the four state tournament games.
A third team all-state honoree as a junior, he ended his career with 2,141 career points.
Crawford was ranked among the top 40 players in the region at the 2004 Boy's Basketball Shootout and as one of the top 20 seniors by the Pennsylvania/Maryland Basketball Camp. He was recently recognized in the April 18 edition of Sports Illustrated as part of "Faces in the Crowd."
"Tristan is the natural scorer that we were lacking this year," Garland said. "Not only can he score out of offensive sets, but he has the ability to create shots for himself and he is a tremendous finisher. More importantly, because he understands the importance of shot selection, he has developed into a very efficient scorer."
A 5-9 point guard, English averaged 8.7 points and 6.3 assists last year on the Mott team that went 30-3, winning the league western conference title and finishing second in the NJCAA District 12 tournament.
English was efficient offensively, shooting .505 from the field (54-107) and .718 from the line (51-71). He ended the year ranking 13th nationally in assists and 21st in steals (2.5 spg).
Prior to enrolling in junior college, English was a four-year starter at Detroit's Warren Fitzgerald High School. He was a two-time all-city pick by the Detroit News, scoring 1,273 career points.
English averaged 20.4 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 steals as senior in 2002-03 to help Warren Fitzgerald to a 19-4 record. As a junior, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.8 assists and 6.2 rebounds as part of a 21-2 squad.
"Carlos will fit in well on the perimeter and his quickness will add a another dimension to our game plan," Garland said. "Not only is he extremely quick but his ability to play at his top speed yet stay in control makes him a special player."
Walker, a 6-9 forward, earned honorable mention all-state honors from the Detroit News this past year after averaging 9.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.1 blocks. He shot 52.0 percent from the field and 71.0 percent from the free throw line.
He was ranked as the fifth-best post-player in Michigan by Prep Spotlight.
"I love the defensive presence that Terry has on the court," Garland said. "He will be able to step into the lineup next fall and immediately contribute by rebounding and blocking and altering shots. His offensive skills are going to develop as he gains experience but he is tall and athletic and loves to run the floor."
The trio that signed this week will be joined next year by J'Nathan Bulloch (Flint, MI/Northern), who signed during the early signing period last fall. In addition, Ije Nwankwo (Detroit, MI/Country Day) will become eligible in December after transferring to CSU from Purdue in January.
The Vikings completed the 2004-05 season with a 9-17 record and in eighth place in the Horizon League with a 6-10 mark.
