Men’s basketball adds 2 for fall
The DU men’s basketball team has announced the signing of 6’3″ guard Cameron Griffin and 6’5″ forward Royce O’Neale for the 2011-2012 season.
Griffin attended Converse Judson High School in San Antonio. Griffin was named team MVP this season. O’Neale attended Harker Heights High School in Harker Heights, Texas, and helped lead the Knights to a 28-6 record and the Texas 5A Regional Quarterfinal.
“We are happy to add Royce and Cam to next year’s freshman class,” said head coach Joe Scott. “They are good, athletic players that can dribble, pass and shoot. They will add some needed elements to our team, and they complement the other three players who will join us this fall, as well as our returning players.”
Griffin led his high school team in scoring and rebounding, with 16 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He also scored in double figures in 30 games last season Griffin helped lead Converse Judson High School to a 25-5A District Co-Championship with a record of 8-2 and an overall record of 24-11.
O’Neale was named to the 2011 Al-District Team as a senior and also played in the Texas Hall of Fame regional All-Star game. O’Neale became the Harket Heights High School record holder for rebounds in a season (364), and single game record for points (39) and rebounds (21). He recorded 22 career double doubles, including 18 in 2010-2011. In his senior campaign, O’Neale averaged 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
Along with Griffin and O’Neale, the Pioneers class of 2015 roster includes Brett Olson, Marcus Byrd and Jake Long. Olson and Byrd recently teamed up in the 11th Annual All-State basketball All-Star game at the Pepsi Center. Olson contributed 13 points while Byrd tallied five points in a 97-84 victory for the Blue Team.
ECAC Tournament at DU this weekend
The Pioneers will host the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament this coming week at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
The semifinal round starts on Thursday with the opening game featuring Fairfield vs. Loyola, which starts at 4 p.m. The second game features the Pioneers against the Ohio State Buckeyes at 7 p.m.
The Pioneers come into the game as the top seed after finishing the season with a perfect record in the ECAC at 6-0.
The last time DU played OSU the Pioneers won 11-6 in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Showdown at Invesco Field at Mile High.
In that game the Pioneers answered everything that the Buckeyes threw at them. They controlled the ball for most of the game, largely in part due to the dominance of Chase Carraro in the faceoff circle.
OSU will look to gain momentum coming off of a 13-7 victory against Bellarmine to clinch the final seed in the tournament.
The winners of the semifinal rounds will face each other on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the ECAC Championship game.
