North Carolina Central is the reigning MEAC king, but it will have to replace much of the Royal Court from 2017 if it hopes to repeat.
NCCU lost all five starters from last year’s team, but it has eight new signees hoping to help it stay atop the conference in the coming season and beyond. The class includes former Cleveland State guard Jibri Blunt, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Mel Blount.
The 6-7 forward won’t be available to NCCU until the 2018-19 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 59 games.
“We are excited about our 2017-18 recruiting class,” NCCU coach LeVelle Moton said. “We feel as if we’ve filled our vacancies with a great group of student-athletes that can hopefully contribute from day one. Not only are they great basketball players, but better people. We feel like this recruiting class will continue to add value to our program as we attempt to sustain the standards that were established by the great student-athletes before them.”
The class also includes two freshmen: Jordan Perkins of Greensboro Day and Reggie Gardner of Baltimore’s DeMatha High School. Gardner, a 6-3 guard, played with top overall pick Markelle Fultz before finishing up at prep school in Conneticut.
The other five transfers are:
-Former Cal State-Northridge big man Zacarry Douglas
-Former Walters State guard Brandon Goldsmith
-Former Daytona State guard Alston Jones
-Former Palm Beach State forward Larry McKnight
-Former Polk State big man Dominique Reid who started his career at Niagra
DeMatha Catholic Highland School is located in Hyattsville, MD NOT Baltimore.