Junior transfers P.J. Stinnett and Todd Martin join freshman David Gantt to complete the list of 6 recruits added to the program during the off-season. Stinnett and Martin are expected to have an immediate impact on the program while Gantt has a promising future ahead of him.
Martin is a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward/center, who prepped at nearby Upland (Calif.) High, spent the past 3 years at a pair of NCAA Division I schools. He signed with Albany (N.Y.) out of high school before transferring to Troy (Ala.). As a 2004 freshman at Albany, Martin averaged 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 27 games with the Rams, starting 7 of them. He sat out the 2005 campaign at a junior college before returning to the hardwood this past season and averaging 4 points and 2 rebounds in 29 games for the Trojans.
Stinnett is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound physical point guard who returns to collegiate basketball after a 3-year layoff. Previously, he started all 61 games during a 2-year junior college career at the College of Eastern Utah. Stinnett averaged 9 points and 4 assists a game in his career, including averaging 11.1 points and 4.2 assists for the 18-13 Golden Eagles during his 2003 sophomore season. Out of Eastern Utah, he signed a letter of intent with Big 12 member Kansas State but did not attend the school, instead stepping away from the game until now. He is projected to move into the starting line-up at a position where the Cougars graduated their 2 point guards of a year ago, Josh Reisman and Kasey Myers.
A 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward, Gantt was a 2-year starter at Santiago High in Corona, Calif. In 22 games during his 2006 senior season, he averaged 4.7 points, a league-leading 11.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. He registered 5 games with 15 or more rebounds last year, including a career-high 17 in a win over Bonanza High.
This trio of current signees joins Chidi Ajufo, Mike Caffese and David Stafford to complete the Cougar recruiting class of 2007.
“I think we’ve satisfied our needs and then some,” said Azusa Pacific coach Bill Odell, the 2006 Golden State Athletic Conference Co-Coach of the Year. “In P.J. and Todd we have 2 players who can contribute from the outset of the season, and in David we have a young man who can develop and evolve into a leader for the program in the years ahead.”
Azusa Pacific, which has earned 10 consecutive trips to the NAIA Championship Tournament, opens the 2006-07 season Nov. 9 at Life Pacific College in San Dimas, Calif.
