Junior college transfers Diamond Gladney, Terren Harbut to join Bobcats

Contact: Jim Stephan

5/9/2003

Ohio head men's basketball coach Tim O'Shea signed two junior college transfers to help the Bobcats in 2003-04.

ATHENS, Ohio – Junior college transfers Terren Harbut and Diamond Gladney have signed national letters-of-intent to play basketball at Ohio, head coach Tim O’Shea announced today. The pair will have junior status and be eligible for the 2003-04 season.

Harbut, a 6-6 forward from Lexington, Ky., played forward at Dixie State College in Utah, helping it to the 2002-03 Scenic Western Athletic Conference championship and a third-place finish at the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament. He was second on the team in scoring with 461 points, an average of 12.8 per game. Harbut finished seventh in the SWAC in rebounding at 6.8 per contest and hit 52.5 percent from the field. He twice tallied 24 points during his sophomore season, against Glendale Community College and Colorado Northwestern Community College. As a freshman, Harbut was a part of the Rebels’ NJCAA national championship team, averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest.

Gladney is a 6-0 point guard from St. Louis, Mo., playing the last two years at Ranger College in Texas. He was a first-team All-North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference selection, finishing second in the league in scoring (20.0 points per game) and third in assists (7.1 per contest). He was named Freshman Most Valuable Player in 2001-02. Gladney played at Cleveland R.O.T.C. High School in St. Louis and was District 3A Most Valuable Player his senior year.

“We are very pleased with the signing of these two student-athletes,” said O’Shea. “Terren is a very physical frontcourt player, helping us make up for the loss of Brandon Hunter to graduation. An excellent rebounder and defender, Terren should see considerable playing time. Diamond is a combo guard with extraordinary quickness and should solidify our backcourt for next season. We anticipate him seeing playing time at both the point and on the wing.”

Ohio returns three starters and five lettermen from last year’s team that finished 14-16, but advanced to the Mid-American Conference semifinals as a No. 11 seed.