PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's basketball team officially completed its four-man recruiting class Monday when the Braves received a signed letter of intent from Sean Harris (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin H.S.), a 6-foot-7 forward who began his college career at Yuba (Calif.) College in 2007-08 and is currently completing a two-year church mission in Honduras.
Harris joins three high school seniors in Bradley's recruiting class for the 2011-12 season: Louisville Eastern H.S. guard Remy Abell, Peoria Limestone H.S. star Donivine Stewart and 7-foot-1 center Nate Wells of Davenport (Iowa) West H.S. all signed on the first day of the Early Signing Period Nov. 10. Harris, who attended the same junior college that produced former Bradley players Zach Andrews (2005-07) and Lawrence Wright (2004-06), will have three years of eligibility remaining when he joins the Braves next year.
"Sean's a good athlete who's long and can do a number of different things out on the floor," ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les told the Peoria Journal Star. "He has good perimeter skills, he can put it on the floor and he's a good passer."
During his freshman season at Yuba College in 2007-08, Harris averaged 14.9 points per game and 11.7 rebounds and was runner-up for Bay Valley Conference Player of the Year.
Remy Abell - G - 6' 4" - Louisville, Ky. - Eastern H.S.
A 6-foot-4 combo guard, Abell has been ranked among the top five recruits from the state of Kentucky and was a first-team All-Seventh Region selection as a junior last season.
"I feel like I made the right decision," Abell told the Louisville Courier-Journal Wednesday. "After talking more to my family and coaches and friends, I made a great decision and the right decision for me. It's a great fit."
Donivine Stewart - G - 5' 11" - Peoria, Ill. - Limestone H.S.
Stewart is the latest home-grown product to join the Braves, following recent players from the Peoria metro area Danny Adams, Marcellus Sommerville, Daniel Ruffin and Jeremy Crouch. The 5-foot-11 point guard has been a scoring machine since starting his varsity career as a freshman and he will enter his senior campaign with 1,784 career points (22.9 ppg), while also averaging 4.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game. The three-time all-state pick needs just 84 points to set the Limestone High School career scoring record.
""I love the city of Peoria and I really love playing for my city," Stewart told the Peoria Journal Star when he committed last spring. "During AAU season, the Chicago kids call me 'Peoria.' Playing for Bradley is like playing for my hometown."
Nate Wells - C - 7' 1" - Davenport, Iowa - West H.S.
Wells will become the third 7-footer in the Jim Les coaching era at Bradley, following Brandyn Heemskerk (7'1") and Patrick O'Bryant (7'0"). The future Brave led Iowa's Class 4A as a junior last year with 113 blocked shots in just 25 games, an average of 4.52 rejections per game.
"I kept wanting to come back and see it," Wells told the Peoria Journal Star when he committed of his multiple trips to visit the Bradley campus. "It grew on me and is the best fit for me. I really love it. It's a great school, big but small and personal at the same time."
Wells is a relative newcomer to basketball while growing nine inches since he was in seventh grade. He made the Davenport West varsity squad as asophomore and blocked 77 shots during the 2008-09 season, giving him 190 rejections in just two seasons.
Bradley (1-0) will resume its three-game, season-opening home stand tonight when the Braves host Northern Illinos (0-1) in a 7:05 p.m. tilt at Carver Arena. Bradley will have a short turnaround before its third game, a 7:35 p.m. contest Wednesday at Carver Arena in the second round of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
