Nov. 9, 2005

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina head basketball coach Larry Hunter announced today that Jake Robinson (Canton, N.C./Pisgah HS), Nick Aldridge (South Webster, Ohio/South Webster HS), Brandon Giles (Auburndale, Fla./Auburndale HS) and Omar Thomas (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day HS) have each signed National Letters of Intent.

"Each one of these young men is a very talented basketball player," Hunter said. "They have been a part of outstanding high school programs and experienced success and winning at a very significant level. Collectively, they provide us the foundation for a very solid recruiting class. We were looking to bring in quality young men who are good students and who are skilled basketball players that could add size and versatility to our squad. We feel good about accomplishing these goals with this class. This group sees a great opportunity in our basketball program and trusts our vision for the future."

Robinson, a 6-7, 205-pound forward, is the Catamounts' first signee from Western North Carolina since West Henderson's Joey Bryson, who played at Western in 1996, `98-99. He was tabbed the Western North Carolina (WNC) Player of the Year by the Asheville Citizen-Times last season, leading the 2004-05 Bears to a 29-0 record and the North Carolina 2A State Championship. Along the way, Robinson picked up first team All-State honors, Western Highlands Conference (WHC) Player of the Year honors and the 2A State Championship Most Valuable Player Award. As a junior, he averaged 19.14 points and 5.9 rebounds, while shooting 58 percent from the field, including 45 percent from 3-point range, and 82 percent from the free throw line. In the spring of 2005, the Mountain Amateur Athletic Union presented Robinson with its annual Mark Lane Memorial Award, which goes to the top 1A/2A Male Athlete in WNC. In his sophomore season, he led Pisgah to a 25-2 record and the Bears won the WHC regular-season and tournament championships, while advancing to the sectional final. He was named honorable mention All-State, second team All-WNC and all-conference, averaging 18.6 points and 6.62 rebounds. In his first three seasons, Robinson has scored 1,173 points and is averaging 5.9 rebounds while draining 121 3-pointers over his sophomore and junior seasons. Robinson is coached at Pisgah High by Jimmy Cleaveland.

"Jake has great size for a perimeter player and a tremendous shooting motion," Hunter said. "The best compliment I could give Jake is that his team always wins. He has a very good feel for the game and finds ways to make his teammates better. People say Jake is one of the better players to come out of Western North Carolina and we feel fortunate to keep him close to home. He has a lot maturity for his age and, with his skills, work ethic and leadership, will have a big impact upon our program."

Aldridge, who had verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati this past summer before rethinking his decision, is a 6-7, 240-pound forward from South Webster, Ohio. He led the Jeeps to a 23-3 record last season and the Division IV quarterfinals, averaging 28 points and 10 rebounds per contest. He was also tabbed Division IV Player of the Year and first team All-State by the Associated Press. As a sophomore, Aldridge averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds to be named second team All-State and won the first of his two Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association District 14 Player of the Year awards, leading South Webster to a 22-4 record and the Division IV Final Four. He is coached by Marc Kreischer at South Webster High.

"Nick is a very skilled and mobile big man with excellent size and strength," Hunter said. "He should score over 2,000 points in his high school career and has a chance to be an immediate impact player for us next season. He is a very competitive player that should add a measure of toughness as well."

Giles, a 6-5, 190-pound wing, averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists at Auburndale High to earn third team All-State honors. He led his team to a 17-8 last season. A first team All-Polk County selection, he helped his Florida Elite summer team to the AAU Nationals. As a sophomore, Giles helped the Bloodhounds produce a 17-9 record as well, averaging 10 points. He is coached at Auburndale by Eric Robinson, who says "Brandon is a great overall team leader both on and off the court."

"Brandon has great size and length for a college guard," Hunter said. "I had been recruiting Brandon since I was at N.C. State and continued to do so upon my arrival at Western because he has the ability to impact the game both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. He has played in a terrific high school program, one which produced NBA star Tracy McGrady, and played on one the best AAU teams in Florida."

Thomas is a 6-7, 210-pound wing who was listed in one recruiting service as the top small forward in the states of Michigan and Ohio combined. Thomas is on track to become just the third, four-year starter in Detroit Country Day history, joining the likes of NBA stars Chris Webber and Shane Battier. As a junior captain, Thomas led the Yellowjackets to a 23-3 record and a berth in Michigan's Class B Elite 8. The Associated Press listed him as honorable mention All-State, while the Detroit Free Press had him as a third team All-State pick after he averaged 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists last season. Thomas was also an All-State honoree as a sophomore, averaging 15 points and seven rebounds while helping DCD to a number two rank in the state. He is coached at DCD by Kurt Keener, who played for Coach Hunter while at Wittenberg.

"Omar has a very strong, mature body which, combined with his tremendous versatility, allows him to play any position on the court," Hunter said. "He has been taught the correct way how to play the game. He has the ball-handling and savvy to play the point guard position and has the size, strength and mental make up to play the post positions."

Western Carolina will open its 2005-06 season this Thursday (Nov. 10) at 9:00 pm, facing Bowling Green in the NABC Classic hosted by Virginia Tech. Due to schedule conflicts, Western will pick up Bowling Green's radio feed and broadcast the game on Western's own WWCU FM (90.5 FM in Cullowhee) and on the internet at www.wwcufm.com. The Catamounts will then face Radford on Saturday at 3:00 pm, which will not be broadcast due to Western's 3:30 pm football game at Appalachian State that same day. WCU will conclude the Classic facing host team Virginia Tech at 3:00 pm on Sunday. Gary Ayers and Steve White will be on hand to broadcast that game on the Catamount Sports Network.

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