Thursday, April 19, 2012

Utah Native Signs To Play Hoops For Casper College

Joel Davidson and staff are happy to announce the signing of 6’10 230 pound big man Lew Evans from Salt Lake City, Utah.  A year ago Lew played his high school basketball at Highlands High School in the Salt Lake area and was the state tournament MVP while averaging.  With his ability to stretch the floor and his skills on the perimeter give Coach Davidson exactly what he is looking for at that position. 
Lew was a Salt Lake Tribune first-team 4A basketball all-state selection as well as leading the Rams in scoring and rebounding at the 4A state tournament. Evans finished the season averaging 14 points per game and 9 rebounds a contest. He led his team to a state championship title and was 1st team all-state as a senior.
“Lew will be a big part of what we are doing next season because his position is an intrical part of what we do defensively and offensively.” Said Davidson of the big man from Salt Lake City. “We have been told by doctors and his parents that Lew still has 4 to 5 more inches left in growth and has already grown an inch in the last year.”
Casper College will be getting a very good player in Evans this fall for the 2012-2013 season. “He can do just about everything and is a very smart defender for his size” Davidson said. “He does a great job rebounding and shooting the ball and that’s what we need him to do for us.”
At New Hampton Prep which is one of the top prep schools on the east coast Lew averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds a game playing against some of the top talent in the country. The former Utah Pump-N-Run player had several division 1 offers from schools back east including New Hampshire, Hartford, Vermont, and Tulsa but wanted to have a better chance at playing division 1 basketball on the west coast.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

T-Birds Sign Top Talent From The State of Illinois

Casper College men’s basketball program has announced the signing of Juwan Starks from Aurora, Illinois. Starks is a 6-4 180pound wing from West Aurora High School in the Chicago area.  The four-year varsity starter broke the school’s all-time scoring record. He finished his career with 1,627 points. During his senior season he was a first-team all-tournament selection at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.  He led the Blackhawks to a 21-5 record, averaging 18 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals.


Starks was a four year all-conference honoree as well as a four year all-stater (First team all-state) and was the Beacon-News Player of the Year.  He is one of the most all-around, talented players to come out of the state of Illinois and it showed as he led his team in rebounding (6.1-per-game), deflections (78) and steals (60) on the way to earning DuPage Valley Conference co-MVP with Glenbard North’s Josh Fleming. Almost unnoticed was the fact that Starks also became the school’s single-season and career three-point leader this year with 70 treys.


Juwan has a big-time ability to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor. He is super athletic and long for a wing. He has a toughness and the knack for guarding the basketball defensively and that is part of the reason why Juwan is considered to be one of the top 25 high school players in the state of Illinois.


Coach Joel Davidson had this to say about the dynamic wing from Chicago. “Juwan is a great kid who will have an immediate impact in our program on and off the floor. He had a great career and was well-coached.”  This season Starks made a team-best45.5 percent (70-for-154) from beyond the arc.


Starks will continue his career at Casper College playing for Davidson but before signing with Casper, he was getting recruited by Rick Majerus at Saint Louis University, the University of Minnesota, Indiana State, Manhattan, University of Liberty, and Jacksonville University.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Joel Davidson and Staff Ink One of Wyoming's Top Prospect

Ryan Madsen had other offers to play college basketball.In the end, though, the 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Wheatland chose Casper College. Madsen signed his National Letter of Intent with the Thunderbirds on Thursday.“I chose Casper because of these guys ... the coaching staff,” Madsen said. “They’re interested in me, and they’re interested in my future.”

Madsen, a two-time Class 3A all-state selection, averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and3.0 assists for the Bulldogs this past season. As a junior, he led 3A in scoring, assists and steals and helped Wheatland advance to the state championship game.“Ryan brings a lot to the table,” Casper College coach Joel Davidson said. “He shoots the ball well, and he has a toughness about him. He has the right attitude that we’re looking for.”

Madsen was also being recruited by Iowa Western College and Black Hills State University, among others, but chose the T-Birds because “I liked Casper best,” he said. Casper finished 25-9 this season, losing in the championship game of the Region IX tournament.