Marshall Basketball Signs Junior College Player

5/13/2003

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall University Men’s Basketball Coach Greg White announced today that Eric Smith, a guard/forward from John A. Logan College in Illinois, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Thundering Herd.

“Eric will be a great addition to our team,” White said. “He is a skillful player who has size, scoring ability, and can put the ball on the floor. His versatility will help fill the void left by the loss of Ronald Blackshear and Monty Wright.”

Smith, a six-foot-seven, 200-pound junior, averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds per game for coach Mark Imhoff’s Volunteers this season. Smith, a Cleveland, Ohio, product, played prep basketball at Glenville High School where he averaged 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game. He will take the scholarship left open by the early departure of Ronald Blackshear.

“Eric Smith has been a complete pleasure to have in our program the past two years,” Imhoff said. “He is an extremely athletic small forward who also brings the ability to shoot the three to the floor. His athleticism should provide some enjoyment for Marshall fans and his solid work ethic will benefit the basketball program.”

Smith decided on Marshall after receiving recruiting interest from Nebraska, South Florida, LaSalle, Colorado, Kent State, Montana, and Evansville.

“Marshall was the best fit for me,” Smith said. “The atmosphere was great and everyone I encountered in Huntington was very friendly. I can’t pinpoint just one thing that made the difference. It was everything.”

Smith and Trey Whitted, a shooting guard from Wilmington, N.C., who signed with Marshall in the early signing period, constitute Marshall’s incoming recruiting class for the 2003-04 season. They join a Marshall squad that returns 11 letter-winners from a year ago, including junior point guard A.W. Hamilton who led the Mid-American Conference in assists and assist to turnover ratio as a sophomore.