PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's basketball team added a third player to its incoming class for the 2009-10 season Thursday as 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jake Eastman of Douglas Freeman High School in Richmond, Va., signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Bradley University and play for the Braves next season, eighth-year head coach Jim Les announced today.
The son of Boston Celtics assistant coach and former Washington State head coach Kevin Eastman, Jake Eastman averaged 16 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists as a senior this past season, helping Douglas Freeman to a 21-5 overall record, and he ended his prep career with more than 1,300 points. He was named to the 2009 Richmond Times Dispatch All-Metro second team, as well as landing first-team all-district honors in Virginia's AAA Colonial District, and he recently scored 12 points in his North team's 113-99 victory in the 804 All-Star Game.
“We are excited to add not only another quality basketball player to our program, but a quality young man,” said Les. “We think Jake offers tremendous upside, because of the skills he brings to the table.”
Eastman joins two November signees -- forwards Jordan Prosser and Milos Knezevic -- in Bradley's three-player recruiting class for the 2009-10 season. A product of nearby Eureka (Ill.) High School, the 6-foot-8 Prosser was named the Peoria Journal Star small-school boys basketball Player of the Year and landed first-team all-state honors after averaging 23.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game during his senior season. A 6-foot-8 forward from Las Vegas (Nev.) Liberty High School, Knezevic averaged 21.2 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior, earning third-team Nevada 4A all-state honors from the Las Vegas Review Journal, as well as first-team All-Southeast Conference and All-Sunrise Region accolades.
The Braves have won at least 21 games in four consecutive seasons and have racked up 10 postseason victories since 2006. The freshman trio will join eight returning lettermen, including four starters, from the 2008-09 Bradley squad that finished 21-15 and reached the championship game of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. In addition to the eight returning lettermen from this year's team, Bradley also will welcome back junior guard Andrew Warren (foot) and sophomore forward Will Egolf (knee), who sat out the 2008-09 season with injuries.
2009-10 Bradley Basketball Recruits
Name Yr. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) 2008-09 Stats
Jake Eastman Fr. G 6-4 200 Richmond, Va. (Douglas Freeman H.S.) 16 ppg, 8 rpg, 7.5 apg
*Milos Knezevic Fr. F 6-8 215 Las Vegas, Nev. (Liberty H.S.) 21.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg
*Jordan Prosser Fr. F 6-8 210 Eureka, Ill. (Eureka H.S.) 23.8 ppg, 12.6 rpg
* November signees
Pronunciation Guide
Milos: MEE losch
Knezevic: kuh ? NEE ? zuh ? VICH
