csudh signees

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Cal State Dominguez Hills Gets Meilleur,
Lankster, Byrd & Roche--(June 28, 2002)

Not everyone these days winds up committing to a D-I school. Ask any college coach or anyone who follows college basketball recruiting closely and they'll tell you it's all a numbers game: With more than 500,000 boys playing basketball throughout the U.S. (according to the NCAA), and only 4,500 spots at all divisions of NCAA basketball (D-I, II, and III--again this figure comes from the NCAA), the opportunities for a D-I scholarship are even harder to come by than many suspect.

Want numbers? Here are some more: With approximately 300 schools offering a maximum of 13 scholarships per team at the D-I level, and with only about 3.5 of those opening up each year, there are fewer than 1,000 D-I scholarships available in any given year (forget about the fact that no school can't sign more than 5 players in any year, and no more than 8 in two years); we're talking about what really comes up each year as an available ride. Figuring that about 1/4 of the 13 slots open up each year, that's about 3.2 scholarships per school, or less than 1,000 total at the D-I level (actually it's probably closer to 900+ each year).

And when you also consider that about 300-400 of those 900 or so available scholarships each year go to JUCO players, then you begin to see how overwhelmingly difficult it can be to get one. The NCAA estimates that there are about 157,000 high school seniors playing basketball. If you consider the entire pool, that means that the odds of getting a scholarship if you are a senior playing hoops in high school is about as good as getting hit by lightning (which, by the way is about a 1 in 600,000 chance, according to the federal government statistics).

Assuming (as the NCAA does) that there are about 15,700 seniors with talent (about 10% of all seniors playing) who are vying for one of those 500-600 spots, the odds are still pretty much stacked against getting a D-I ride, no matter how tall a player is, no matter how talented he may be, and no matter how well your high school team fared while you were a part of it.

The scarcity of D-I scholarships and the reality of the limited options for continued participation post-high school, are just a few of the reasons why many players choose to attend D-II, D-III or NAIA schools (or for purely economic reasons or academic reasons, why a lot of guys opt for the JUCO-transfer route).

We always like to hear about top local high school players who have graduated who opt to stay local to attend programs that are on the way up, like Cal State Dominguez Hills. CSUDH happens to be in one of the toughest D-II conferences in the country, the CCCA, with schools like Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Bakersfield, two teams that on any given night might whip about 90% of D-I teams they face, or Cal State Stanislaus, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Davis, etc. But CSUDH got a whole lot better this past spring, and just yesterday they picked up a major commitment: Ryan Meilleur (6'-9" Sr. F/C) from Artesia has agreed to sign a scholarship agreement and will play for the Toros next season.

Our sources tell us that the Toros have now signed four players this spring to scholarship agreements. They are:

Sterling Byrd (6'-8" F) from Compton Centennial HS-- Sterling is an efficient wing, who can run, rebound and who helped lead Compton Centennial once again to the Section finals and to the State CIF Division III Finals.

Mike Roche (6'-7" F) from Long Beach Poly-- Mike is a tough inside banger who can rebound, is mobile and plays excellent defense, and is a great young man. We had the pleasure of spending some time with Mike this past spring on the Pump N Run Seniors and he chose CSUDH because he wanted to be close to home.

Saul Lankster (6'-6" F/G) originally from Dominguez, then a transfer to LB Poly for a brief period, he finished up at Compton Centennial, and helped lead the Apaches to the two finals they played in this past season.

Ryan Meilleur (6'-9" Sr. F) from Artesia HS-- Ryan had been hearing from St. Mary's and several other D-I's, but ultimately decided to stay local with the Toros. He's a big-bodied player who can rebound and fill the middle, and he definitely provides a presence that the Toros have not had in quite some time. He immediately becomes the tallest and biggest player on the squad (the tallest player previously was 6'-7" Kevin Blunt, a senior who graduated this month). Ryan is the last of the team members at Artesia (together with Ronald Allen, who committed some time ago to Cal State Fullerton), who played on the same team with the much publicized and pilloried group of foreign players, including Jack Martinez, Amaury Fernandez and Jon Steffanson, all of whom left Artesia when former coach Wayne Merino resigned in the wake of the scandal that threatened the team two years ago. Meilleur, a home-grown prospect, stayed on at Artesia and under the coaching of Scott Pera, the Pioneers continued to uphold the winning tradition that has marked Artesia basketball for so many years.

With these four signees, all of whom have D-I talent, CSUDH should immediately become a factor to contend with in the CCAA. And when you also consider that the Toros have some other pretty decent players returning, like redshirt point guard Jason Harris from Upland, this could actually turn out to be the year that Dominguez puts itself on the map in the CCCA and in D-II hoops.