Posts Tagged ‘Ryan Pierson’

Becker’s Birthday Present

Monday, April 22nd, 2013
Caption: St. James's Serman Harris (11) defends as Dre Wills of Mercersburg Academy drives to the basket on Tuesday, December 4, 2012. (Public Opinion/Ryan Blackwell)

Caption: St. James’s Serman Harris (11) defends as Dre Wills of Mercersburg Academy drives to the basket on Tuesday, December 4, 2012. (Public Opinion/Ryan Blackwell)

(Burlington, VT) – It was a very happy birthday indeed for Vermont head coach John Becker last Wednesday. On the day he turned 45, Becker received the best gift a coach could ask for: a verbal commitment from Harry “Dre: Wills – a player with the skill set to turn every one of the Catamounts’ weaknesses into strengths.

Vermont fans may have to go all the way back to high-flying Tobe Carberry (’00) to find a Catamount guard with a similar skill-set to Wills. An extremely athletic, incredibly tough and very physical 6’1” combo-guard, Wills’ is a bit rough around the edges and a suspect shooter from behind the arc, but he is an elite-level defender, an elbows-above-the rim-athlete and a big-time play maker capable of blowing by his man off the bounce, slashing into the paint and finishing at – and well above – the rim.

Wills comes to Vermont from Indiana by way of a post-graduate year at Mercersburg Academy, a prep-school in Pennsylvania and had significant interest from, among others, Butler, Loyola-Chicago, Siena and Wisconsin-Green Bay and was also recruited by the likes of Xavier and Michigan before committing to the Catamounts. (more…)

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Vermont lands transfers Hector Harold and Ryan Pierson

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

(Burlington, VT) – The University of Vermont moved quickly in replacing departing players Brendan Bald (leaving the team, remaining in school), Chris Santo and Ryan McKeaney, landing potential impact transfers Hector Harold and Ryan Pierson, as confirmed by multiple team sources.

Both Harold (6’7” wing/forward) and Pierson (6’10” center) give the Catamounts length and size, and both are transferring into the program from a higher level; Harold from Pepperdine (West Coast Conference) and Pierson from Northeastern (CAA).

Harold, a 6’7” 205 pounder who can play the three and four is billed as an athletic shooter who can run the floor and finish above the rim, and who could be a potential match-up problem in the America East. As a sophomore, he played in 27 games, averaging 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game.

Listed at 6’10” 260, Pierson came to Northeastern with tremendous promise and hype, and was billed as being the first dominant rebounder to lace them up on Huntington Ave since America East alumn Sylbrin Robinson (2004). A legit 6’9”, he has the size and talent to make a significant impact at the America East level.

In his freshman season, Pierson earned CAA All-Rookie honors, averaging 7.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in just under 26 minutes per game. However, during his sophomore campaign, the St. Louis native appeared to fall out of favor with the Huskies staff, and saw his minutes and production drop dramatically; averaging just 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8.7 points per game.

Both players must sit out the 2012-2013 season as transfers, but will have two years remaining of eligibility. Both have the potential to make a significant impact in the AE, but both have yet to tap their potential at the collegiate level.

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