uc riverside signings

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

UC Riverside Gets One More
Big Man To Complete Class--(Apr. 24, 2001)

Foreign students seem to be popular today. LMU signs an Australian, and UC Riverside, which will play its first full season in D-I as a member of the Big West, is trying to catch up in a hurry and today the Highlanders completed their recruiting class for 2001 by signing Christian Ebenrecht (6'-11" ?? C) from Germany. While the press release says he'll enter UC Riverside next fall as a freshman, it also indicates that he just turned 22 this past Thursday, which makes him older than many college graduates. Oh well, older sometimes is better, and with big guys, most of them mature late. . . so this guy ought to be really mature. Here's the press release we received this afternoon from UC Riverside's athletics information director:

UC Riverside Highlanders Men's Basketball Wraps
Up Spring Signing as Christian Ebenrecht Inks National Letter of Intent

(4/24/2001) -The UC Riverside men's basketball team put the wraps on an active Spring signing period by signing 6-11 forward Christian Ebenrecht to a National Letter of Intent Tuesday.

Ebenrecht, who turned 22 on Thursday, is native of Mainz, Germany, where he played for TV Kirchheimbolanden. He averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots per game for the German club. He will enter UCR in the Fall as a freshman.

"Christian's age and maturity gives us the opportunity to take a young man who has excellent athletic ability and improve his basketball playing skills to fit within the framework of our team in the near future." Coach John Masi said. "It is very rare for a program in a position like ours, moving to Division I, to get someone of Christian's size and skill level."

Previously the Highlanders announced the signings of 6-7 forward John Galbreath of Big Bend Community College, 6-7 swingman Cedric Lusk who played for Cerritos College's 2000 state JC championship team before taking a year off to concentrate on academics, 6-4 guard Jake Wessel of Indian Hills Community College, and Rickey Porter, a 6-3 combo guard who averaged 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists at Mater Dei HS.

UCR finished at 8-17 overall last season as the Highlanders played their first-ever schedule against Division I opponents. The Highlanders will join the Big West Conference for the 2001-02 school year.