UC Riverside Men's Basketball Announces Three NLI Signings For 2015-16 Season
11/18/2014 1:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Riverside—UC Riverside Head Men's Basketball Coach Dennis Cutts announced today that prep players Menno Dijkstra, Eric Rwahwire and D.J. Sylvester recently signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Highlanders beginning with the 2015-16 season.
Dijkstra is a 7'0" 225 lb forward from the Netherlands, who is playing his third year for Rob Orellana at the Canarias Islands Basketball Academy (CBA). He is also a member of the Netherlands Junior National Team, and has started the past two years. Dijkstra chose UC Riverside over scholarship offers from Portland, Loyola Marymount, UNC Wilmington, Fordham, and Texas-San Antonio.
"Menno is a extremely talented young big with tremendous upside," said Orellana. "He has great skill for a player of his size. He plays with a lot of energy, and is one of the most intelligent players we have ever had in our program."
"We are very excited about Menno joining our program," said Cutts. "He brings great size and skill, and will be a great addition and compliment to the current young big men in our program. Coach Orelana and the Canarias Basketball Academy have done a great job developing Menno's talent to prepare him for collegiate basketball."
Eric Rwahwire, rated as a ESPN 3-star recruit is a 6'4" guard originally from Toronto, Canada. He is currently attending Saddleback Valley Christian High School in San Juan Capistrano where he plays for Head Coach Tom Lewis. As a Junior Rwahwire averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds, earning First Team, All-CIF honors, as well as being named San Joaquin league co-MVP. He is also rated as the 18th best player in the state of California by ESPN.
"This is a great opportunity for Eric to become a part of a great up and coming program in the west coast," said Lewis. "It's a terrific fit for him academically and athletically."
"We are very fortunate to be able to sign a kid with Eric's ability," added Cutts, "and we think he will be a key contributor to our future success. On and off the court Eric is very mature for his age, and we believe he will be a great addition to the UC Riverside family."
Sylvester is a 6'3" shooting guard from Victorville, CA. As a junior, he averaged 17 points and 5 rebounds for Silverado High School. He earned First Team, Desert Sky League honors as a junior, and was also selected by the Daily Press as a First Team, All Area Selection. Sylvester is currently attending Morse High School in San Diego, where he will finish his prep career playing for coach Bob Sumler.
"DJ is a versatile guard that we feel has tremendous upside to be an impact player in our program," explained Cutts. "We are even more excited about his character and what he will add to the UC Riverside community. DJ comes from a great family and we are confident that he will have an impact on and off the court."
I am extremely excited about the direction of our program with these three young student-athletes," Cutts added. "The staff did a great job of executing our recruiting plan to bring in high character, academically motivated young men combined with a high level of basketball ability. The future is very bright for UC Riverside Basketball."
Dijkstra is a 7'0" 225 lb forward from the Netherlands, who is playing his third year for Rob Orellana at the Canarias Islands Basketball Academy (CBA). He is also a member of the Netherlands Junior National Team, and has started the past two years. Dijkstra chose UC Riverside over scholarship offers from Portland, Loyola Marymount, UNC Wilmington, Fordham, and Texas-San Antonio.
"Menno is a extremely talented young big with tremendous upside," said Orellana. "He has great skill for a player of his size. He plays with a lot of energy, and is one of the most intelligent players we have ever had in our program."
"We are very excited about Menno joining our program," said Cutts. "He brings great size and skill, and will be a great addition and compliment to the current young big men in our program. Coach Orelana and the Canarias Basketball Academy have done a great job developing Menno's talent to prepare him for collegiate basketball."
Eric Rwahwire, rated as a ESPN 3-star recruit is a 6'4" guard originally from Toronto, Canada. He is currently attending Saddleback Valley Christian High School in San Juan Capistrano where he plays for Head Coach Tom Lewis. As a Junior Rwahwire averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds, earning First Team, All-CIF honors, as well as being named San Joaquin league co-MVP. He is also rated as the 18th best player in the state of California by ESPN.
"This is a great opportunity for Eric to become a part of a great up and coming program in the west coast," said Lewis. "It's a terrific fit for him academically and athletically."
"We are very fortunate to be able to sign a kid with Eric's ability," added Cutts, "and we think he will be a key contributor to our future success. On and off the court Eric is very mature for his age, and we believe he will be a great addition to the UC Riverside family."
Sylvester is a 6'3" shooting guard from Victorville, CA. As a junior, he averaged 17 points and 5 rebounds for Silverado High School. He earned First Team, Desert Sky League honors as a junior, and was also selected by the Daily Press as a First Team, All Area Selection. Sylvester is currently attending Morse High School in San Diego, where he will finish his prep career playing for coach Bob Sumler.
"DJ is a versatile guard that we feel has tremendous upside to be an impact player in our program," explained Cutts. "We are even more excited about his character and what he will add to the UC Riverside community. DJ comes from a great family and we are confident that he will have an impact on and off the court."
I am extremely excited about the direction of our program with these three young student-athletes," Cutts added. "The staff did a great job of executing our recruiting plan to bring in high character, academically motivated young men combined with a high level of basketball ability. The future is very bright for UC Riverside Basketball."
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