ziri signs with LMU

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Around The WCC: LMU Signs
Jon Ziri To NLI--(Nov. 15, 2002)

We received an e-mail from John Shaffer, the Sports Information Director at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, confirming that the Lions have received a signed National Letter of Intent from John Ziri (6'-2" Sr. G) from Arizona. We've seen Ziri a few times during the spring and summer tournaments, and he's certainly the player described in this release and a very nice pickup for LMU. Here's the release.

Lions Sign Guard Jon Ziri From Arizona
Jon Ziri of Marcos De Niza High School has committed to Loyola Marymount men's basketball.

Los Angeles, CA (Nov. 15, 2002) - Jon Ziri from Tempe, Ariz., has signed a National Letter of Intent with Loyola Marymount University and the men's basketball program, announced Head Coach Steve Aggers. Ziri, a 6-2 guard from Marcos De Niza High School is the lone commitment for the Lions in the early signing period.

"In evaluating guard play during the AAU summer tournaments we found Jon Ziri very impressive in how hard he plays and how well he competes," said Aggers, who enters his third season at LMU. "Jon has good quickness and takes great pride in his defensive abilities."

Ziri led Marcos De Niza to the 5A State Title last season with a 60-49 win over Highland. He made three three-pointers and scored 16 points in the finals. Ziri also had a strong summer playing for the Arizona Stars AAU program directed by Art Dye.

"Jon led his team to the state championship as a junior while leading in both scoring and rebounding. He was also the team's leader on the floor," said Aggers. "We wanted to find a perimeter player that could really shoot the ball and Jon has outstanding statistics in that area."

Ziri finished his junior campaign averaging 17 points and nine rebounds per game. He is a McDonald's All-American nominee and earned second-team all-state honors. One of the more respected players in Arizona because of his work ethic, Ziri was named to the All-Southeast Valley and All-Central Region teams following last season's state championship.

"In terms of our future recruiting, we knew we would be losing guard Kent Dennis to graduation next season and wanted to find a good off guard to replace him," said Aggers. "Jon is a high character young man who has come from a quality high school program under the guidance of Head Coach Dave Stark. We look forward to having this outstanding young man in our program."

Ziri will join the Lions squad for the 2003-04 season. The Lions will play their final exhibition game Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. against Team Ezybonds of Australia before opening the regular season at Gersten Pavilion on Nov. 22 at 7:05 p.m. against Loyola Chicago.