NKU head coach Dave Bezold guided his team to 21 wins last season.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team has added two more players for the upcoming season. They are:
• Ernest "Stretch" Watson, a 6-foot-7, 195-pound forward from Trinity Valley Community College. Two years ago, Watson averaged 10.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as Trinity Valley finished with a 24-9 record and advanced to the semifinals of the Region XIV Tournament. A native of Hyattsville, Md., Watson once scored 50 points in a game for Progressive Christian Academy.
•
Jalen Billups, a 6-foot-6 forward from Shroder High School in Cincinnati. Billups averaged 19.2 points and 8.6 rebounds this past season. He was named to the all-city team and earned All-Cincinnati Metro Atlantic Conference accolades as a senior.
“Stretch is constantly in motion on the court and has tremendous energy,” NKU head coach
Dave Bezold said. “He has a chance to step in and make an immediate impact because he is a good scorer and rebounder.”
“Jalen has a great deal of potential, and we are very excited about his future,” Bezold said. “He is very strong and has a good inside game. I can see him also being a very good player for us.”
Watson and Billups join a group of NKU newcomers that includes freshman guards
Ryan Fleming (LaSalle HS), Anthony Monaco (Dover HS),
Paul Byrd (Roger Bacon HS) and
Alex McGlothin (Walnut Hills HS). The Norse also added Division I transfers
Chad Jackson (James Madison) and
Eshaunte Jones (Nebraska) for the upcoming season.
Those recruits join an NKU team that posted a 21-9 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
