Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball signs three blue-chip high school recruits
11/15/2007 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2007
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki men's basketball head coach Chris Lowery unveiled his three-man 2007 recruiting class on Thursday, calling it "clearly the best one ever at Southern Illinois."
Listen to Lowery Press Conference
SIU received signed commitments from point guard Kevin Dillard (Homewood, Ill./Homewood Flossmoor H.S.), wing guard Torres Roundtree (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.) and forward Anthony Booker (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.).
Dillard is currently ranked #135 in a listing of the nation's top prospects by Rivals.com. The 5-foot-11 senior averaged 17.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 3.7 apg last season and earned Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-state honors.
"He's a very talented point guard who can score and can pass with either hand," Lowery said. "He's fearless. He has the ability to play-make, and he can do that at a high level."
Dillard hails from the same high school as Julian Wright, the former Kansas player who was the #13 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by New Orleans.
"Having a year to play with Bryan Mullins, we may have the two best point guards in school history on the same team at one time," Lowery said.
Roundtree was the St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro Player of the Year last season after averaging 17.9 ppg 6.4 rpg and 2.9 apg for McCluer North. Along with teammate Booker, the 6-foot-3 senior helped lead his club to a 26-3 record and Missouri 5A state championship.
"He's going to be a crowd-pleaser, because he's very athletic and has the ability to play to the crowd," Lowery said.
Roundtree scored a career-high 38 points to go with 13 rebounds in the championship game win over Kansas City Rockhurst, 69-57.
"He can score in so many different ways," Lowery noted. "He also has a high basketball IQ."
Although Booker averaged only 9.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg as a junior, the 6-foot-8 senior blossomed into a much-sought-after recruit during summer AAU competition. His performance last July at the Adidas Super 64 event in Las Vegas was so impressive that he leaped all the way to #29 on the Rivals.com rankings, and the service lists him as the ninth-best power forward prospect in the nation.
"He's a program-changer," Lowery said. "He's a terrific athlete with great size. He can score inside and out. He has a tremendously high ceiling."
Lowery concluded, "All three of these kids are blue-chip recruits. It's exciting to see the level of kid we're getting to come play in our program."
