Shorter Finalizes Mens `10 Bball Class

As Hawks` head coach Chad Warner heads into his fourth year at the helm, six new faces will dot Shorter`s roster as a result of what he believes was a truly successful recruiting process. `I think this is the best class we`ve brought in,` Warner said about the five transfers and one true freshman that will join Shorter`s ranks for the 2010-11 season.

`In order for us to take the next step we have to continue to recruit and develop top players.`

Heading up the list of new Hawks is an athlete already familiar with Shorter and what it takes to compete in the rugged Southern States Athletic Conference - 6-foot-5 standout Jonathan Crawford, who was named to the SSAC All-Freshman team two years ago when he played at Shorter`s cross-town rival, Berry College.

`When we recruited him, he expressed to us that he liked the way we did things at Shorter and where our program was going,` Warner said of the Tuscaloosa, Ala., native. `I think this was instrumental in our getting him here. We had to beat several Division II schools to get him.

`He really loves to compete.`

At Berry, Crawford played in every game during the 2008-09 season, averaging nearly 13 points per game on the way to earning postseason conference recognition before transferring to Wallace State in Alabama. There, he became an integral part of a Wallace State team that finished the 2010 season as one of the top 10 junior college programs in the nation.

`He`s a very tough, aggressive and athletic player who will bolster our front line,` Warner said.

Shorter tapped into Alabama for another standout that could be a key for the Hawks in the backcourt, point guard Eric Nix of Ider, Ala.

While playing at Gadsden State, Nix put up some remarkable numbers at the point, dishing out more than six assists a game (162 for the season) on his way to earning all-conference honors.

`Eric is a true point guard and a very heady player,` Warner said. `And even better, he`s incredibly tough.`

Three other transfers, all who were high school standouts in Georgia, will bring their talents to the Hill this season.

Dante Harvey, who prepped at Columbia High in Stone Mountain, comes to Shorter after playing the past two seasons at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

`He`s a very, very talented athlete who has size and jumping ability,` Warner noted of the 6-6 Harvey, who battled injuries while at UTC. `He is a strong frontline player who can play inside and outside.`

Newcomer Walter Hill of Gainesville, who was named Georgia`s AAA Player of the Year in 2007 and ranked by Scout.com as a Top 50 shooting guard in the country, provides the Hawks with a new level of athleticism and versatility.

Hill originally signed a letter of intent to play roundball at the University of Georgia, but had a change of heart and opted to play football for coach Mark Richt`s Bulldogs. A broken hand hampered his football career leading Hill to re-ignite his love for basketball after transferring to play hoops at Southwestern Illinois Junior College.

`I think Walt is very excited to have found a home at Shorter,` Warner said of the 6-5, 215-pound Hill. When his motor is running in high gear, he`s a special player.

Rounding out the quintet of transfers is Willie Woodard of Thomaston, a 6-6 multi-purpose threat who arrives on at Shorter after playing at Gordon Junior College.

`He is really athletic,` Warner said of Woodard. `He may be the most versatile player we have.

Perhaps the biggest steal of the recruiting season for Shorter is Tyler Burse, who will begin his freshman season with the Hawks after a stellar career at LaFayette High where the 6-6 cager rolled up more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

Last season with the Ramblers, Burse led the team averaging 25.6 points and 13.2 rebounds a game. He also averaged two blocks and one steal per outing, hit 80 percent of his free throws and 49 percent of his shots from the floor.

Those numbers helped Burse earn Class AAA honorable mention All-State honors.

The newest additions to Shorter`s basketball family, Warner feels, will complement what is already a solid nucleus that includes three starters from last year`s squad that produced a 17-13 record, the third straight winning season for the program.

Anchoring the returning veterans includes All-American senior forward Marqise Wright, who had an NAIA-best and school record 19 double-doubles while averaging 14.9 points and 11.6 rebounds per game on the way to being named the SSAC Newcomer of the Year.

Still, Warner knows that there is a lot of work ahead for both old and new Hawks, each of which will combine to make up the first squad that has been entirely recruited by the coach.

All they are right now is potential on paper, Warner said of the recruiting class. They have to stay healthy, work hard in the classroom and on the court, and improve.

There`s work to do.

By: Jim O`Hara and Matt Green