One day after landing the New Orleans McDonogh 35 duo of De’Jon Jarreau and Brison Gresham, UMass added to its 2016 haul by landing big man Chris Baldwin.
The 6-foot-8 Baldwin out of Notre Dame Prep announced for UMass on Twitter, choosing the Minutemen over Creighton, West Virginia, Temple and DePaul.
“Chris is obviously incredibly excited to be joining the Minutemen,” Notre Dame Prep coach Ryan Hurd said. “The opportunity to play close enough to home to have his family and friends share in the experience is exciting for him. When you combine that with his relationship with Coach [Derek] Kellogg and Coach [Adam] Ginsburg, the university’s solid academic reputation, new $30 million dollar practice facility and an energized fan base…it became an easy decision.”
As for his skill set, Hurd said: “Chris is a power forward with range to the 3-point line and the willingness to assert his will in the paint. ”
Baldwin told MassLive.com in June after the Minutemen officially offered him a scholarship for 2016:
“Coach Kellogg and I keep in touch. They were the first school to express interest in me when I was a freshman and they have been there since. They told me that I’ve come a long way since the beginning of my recruitment. They see that I’ve put the time and effort into being a better basketball player.”
UMass on Monday beat out Miami for Jarreau and Gresham.
The 6-foot-5 Jarreau is rated the No. 7 combo guard in the nation in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com, while the 6-8 Gresham is ranked the No. 31 power forward.
Jarreau averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season while Gresham averaged 14.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, according to NOLA.com.
The duo joins MacDuffie (MA) School and PSA Cardinals guard Unique McLean in head coach Derek Kellogg’s 2016 recruiting haul. Earlier in the day, UMass lost out on St. Joe’s-Metuchen point guard Breein Tyree, who chose Ole Miss over UMass and Kansas State.
Miami remains in the hunt for Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick point guard Bryce Aiken who will decide in the next two weeks between Miami, Seton Hall and Harvard.
Photo: NOLA.com
