BATON ROUGE — Three Louisiana natives have signed national letters-of-intent with the LSU men’s basketball program, head coach John Brady announced Saturday.
Kedrick Brown, a 6-7 guard/forward from Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Niceville, Fla., Thomas Davis, a 6-8 forward from Kilgore (Texas) Community College and Shawnson Johnson, a 6-9 center from Lee College in Baytown, Texas, will enroll at LSU for the 2001-02 season.
“All three of these players are originally from Louisiana, and we feel good about that,” Brady said. “Also, these players collectively give our team next year the opportunity to again accomplish something significant. We are looking forward to the future of LSU basketball.”
Brown, a 220-pound Zachary, La., native, was a JUCO All-American last season as a freshman, averaging 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. The Zachary High product selected LSU over Auburn and Mississippi State.
“In my opinion, Kedrick may be the most exciting junior college player in the country,” Brady said. “He will play the perimeter for us, but he certainly has the ability to, at times, go inside as well. Kedrick has been extremely well-coached at the high school and junior college level, and there is no doubt he will bring a high level of excitement to our basketball program.”
Davis, a 220-pound Pineville, La., native, averaged 14.7 points and six rebounds at Kilgore last season. He was an allstate performer at Pineville High School, where he averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in his senior year.
“Thomas will provide us with an athletic forward who has the ability to play different positions,” Brady said. “He can play around the goal and defend the opponent’s power forward, and on offense, he can face the basket, which can make him very difficult to defend. We are excited about Thomas joining our team.”
Johnson is a 240-pound Shreveport, La., native who prepped at Green Oaks High School. He averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks last season at Lee College.
“Shawnson will fill a big void for us around the goal,” Brady said. “He will defend the opposing team’s center, protect the basket with his shot-blocking ability and rebound the ball with authority. Plus, with his ability to hold his own as a scorer, he gives us a player our team certainly needs.”