Jay PriceChattanooga State basketball coach Jay Price has had considerable recruiting success this year in the Atlanta and Tallahassee areas. Six of his seven men's signees came from near the Georgia and Florida capitals.
The other came from Clarksville, Tenn.: 6-foot-2 Tramon Moore, who starred at Northwest High School.
"He's a very, very, very athletic shooting guard," Price said Tuesday. "He's one of the most athletic guards I've ever seen at his size. He shoots it well and he jumps out of the gym. I think people will be surprised by his ability to rebound from the guard position as well as shooting the 3. And he can play some at point."
Cameron Davis is a 6-1 point guard from Morrow (Ga.) High School, the alma mater of 6-9 Chattanooga State returner Kris Bell, who was injured most of last season but already has been the subject of considerable attention from four-year schools.
"Cameron is a good team leader and is strong and very athletic, and he shoots it well," said Price, who lost two two-year point guards from last year's team but does have 6-3 William Davis from Chicago back. Davis hurt his shoulder early in his freshman year and didn't get to play much, but Price expects a considerable step up in production.
Another backcourt newcomer is 6-3 Brandon Shingles from West Gadsden High near Tallahassee.
"He can flat-out shoot it, and he's really athletic and also can play the 1 (point guard) or 2," Price said.
Tyquan Glaze from Cartersville, Ga., also played sparingly as a freshman guard, "but we're expecting him to be a big part of it," Price said. "I'm really excited about our guards, and we got some help on the blocks, too. We're adding some big bodies."
Montrell McKenzie is a 6-6 power forward and sophomore transfer from Flowery Branch, Ga., by way of Barton Community College in Kansas.
"He's a lefty and very athletic and very explosive," Price said. "He can step out and shoot it and runs the floor very well, and he jumps as well as any power forward we've ever had. He wanted to get back closer to home to give his mom a chance to see him play, and a lot of schools were after him, but he felt we gave him the best shot to get to the national tournament."
Murphy Huntley is a 6-9 transfer from Tallahassee and Daytona Community College, but he sat out last year with an injury so is a freshman in eligibility.
"He's a big lefty, strong, with good footwork on the block," Price said. "And he can step out and hit the 15-footer."
Delmont Walton is a "really strong" 6-6 post from Stephenson High near Atlanta.
"He's got a really good body and scores well on the block with either hand," Price noted, reminding that 6-6 Ronald Jones from Augusta, Ga., returns along with Bell inside. Jones started at the 4 position last year.
Another 6-6 sophomore transfer is Ugochukwu Mmonu from Nigeria and Greenforest Christian Academy in Atlanta. He's a small forward who played at Tennessee State last year and has a 3.8 grade point average, and he already spent part of a year in Chattanooga in Tennessee Temple's brief prep-school program. His aunt lives in Atlanta.
"We expect him to be highly recruited," Price said. "We expect this team to be highly recruited. They're really good players, first of all, but they're good students as well."
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.