Texas State Men’s Basketball Signs Five for 2016-17 Season

by, Phillip Pongratz, TXST Assistant Sports Information Director

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State men’s basketball head coach Danny Kaspar announced the signing of five players to a National Letter of Intent to join program for the 2016-17 season on Wednesday. The new players are Marlin Davis, Deris Duncan, Immanuel King, Nijal Pearson and Nedeljko Prijovic.

“I am very pleased with the recruits that we have signed thus far,” said Kaspar. “We feel that we got some quality players with a good mixture of from the high school and junior college ranks.”

Pearson is one of two early signees for the Bobcats from November. This past season he led Beaumont Central High School to a 28-7 overall record and 13-1 district mark while averaging 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game.

The 6-foot, 4-inch forward was named the to the Class 5A Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-State team, Class 5A-Region 3 TABC All-Region team and was the Co-District 22-5A MVP.

“Nijal is an all-purpose perimeter player that we expect to be a really good player for us,” Kaspar said. “He was ranked as one of the top 30 players in the state of Texas by several scouting services. He has great leadership skills and we are very excited to have him.”

Joining Pearson in the early signing period was Prijovic. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, he has attended Lee Academy in Lee, Maine this past year. The 6-foot, 8-inch forward is ranked as the second best player in the Pine Tree State by ESPN.

This past season Prijovic served as the team’s captain and helped lead the Pandas to an 18-12 record while playing only six home games. He averaged 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and started every contest. The soon to be Bobcat recorded seven 20-plus point games with a season-high 34 points and 12 rebounds coming against Prestige Prep Academy.

“Nedeljko is a four-man who can really pass and handle the ball. He has a pretty good outside shot and is a very skilled player that we hope can help immediately,” said Kaspar. “He went to prep school and is an older player. He will be coming in at 20 years old but will still be considered a true freshman.”

Davis will join the Bobcats from Westbury Christian High School in Houston, Texas. The 6-foot, 2-inch point guard helped lead the Wildcats to the their fourth consecutive Class 4A TAPPS State Championship, recording 23 points and five assists in the finals.

This past season saw Davis average 20 points and five assist per game to earn first team all-state honors for the second straight year. He was also named to the all-tournament team and selected as the TAPPS Class 4A-District 5 MVP.

“Marlin has great leadership skills and can play either guard spot but we are looking for him to play at point guard,” stated Kaspar. “We think we have signed a real good one in him.”

Duncan is a 6-foot, 4-inch guard that played the past two years at Weatherford College in Weatherford, Texas. As a sophomore, he led the Coyotes in scoring at 15.8 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting from the field and also grabbed 6.6 rebounds per contest. He added 56 assists, 40 steals and 13 blocks for the year.

In conference play, Duncan increased his scoring average to 18.3 per game, shot 50.3 percent from the field and retrieved 7.7 rpg. His performance helped earn him All-North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Second Team honors.

Prior to attending Weatherford College, the Fishers, Indiana native attended Don Bosco Prep School in Crown Point, Indiana.

“Derius is a very athletic player that can help us immediately with his ability to get to the basket and hit the mid-range jumper,” said Kaspar.

King played the past two seasons at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama. A 6-foot, 8-inch, 240-pound center, he averaged 8.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game and made 51.2 percent of his shots while helping the Lions to 26-6 record, an Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) regular season championship and semifinal appearance in the ACCC/Region 22 tournament.

Before Attending Wallace State, King prepped at Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. During his senior year he averaged a double-double of 13.4 points and 12.9 rebounds per contest.

“Immanuel will help us immediately after the graduation of Emani Gant and Austin Evans’ decision to no longer play basketball,” Kaspar said. “His addition will be a big assistance to us right off the bat.”

For the latest on Bobcat men’s basketball, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com and follow the team on Twitter at @TxStateMBB.