May 16, 2003

CLEVELAND - Four weeks after taking over the reigns of the Cleveland State men's basketball team, Head Coach Mike Garland has announced the signing of his first two recruits. Victor Morris (Inkster, Mich.) and Patrick Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) have both signed a National Letters of Intent to attend CSU in the fall.

A 6-0, 175 pound point guard at Inkster HS, Morris averaged 21.3 ppg, 7.0 apg and 4.5 spg last season for Head Coach Steve Brooks. He was an All-State and All-Metro West selection in addition to being a Michigan basketball coaches all-star selection. A member of the National Honor Society, Morris plans to study computer engineering or computer science. Butler, Central Michigan and Detroit were also recruiting Morris.

"Victor Morris is a bright young man with a tremendous basketball IQ who is capable of raising the play the level of his teammates," said Garland. "With his ball-handling skills and shooting abilities, he should have an opportunity to make an immediate impact in our backcourt."

Tatham, a 6-7, 220 pound power/small forward, averaged 21.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg for Head Coach Richard Rozario at Chinguacousy Secondary School near Toronto. Tatham has been a member of the Canadian Junior National Basketball Team since 2002 and is a leading candidate to earn "Mr. Basketball" honors in Canada this year. In addition, he is a three-time Peel Region all-star and last year led the Chinguacousy basketball team to the Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Association finals for the first time in 15 years. Tatham chose CSU after being released from his NLI at St. Bonaventure. He plans to major in communication.

"Patrick Tatham's ability, size and work ethic will make him a force to be dealt with in the Horizon League," noted Garland. "In many ways, Patrick reminds me of [former Kent State player] Antonio Gates."

Garland became the 13th head coach in the program's history on April 17, 2003. He spent the previous seven seasons as an assistant under Tom Izzo at Michigan State.