In addition to getting the namesake son of a good friend and fellow Brainerd High School star alumnus, Jay Price has added a former Ooltewah standout plus one of the state’s top point guards and four transfers from the same high-profile junior college for his 2010-11 Chattanooga State men’s basketball team.
Price, who reported seven Lady Tigers recruits Friday, also had seven new Tigers to talk about.
One of those was Tyner point guard Keith Rawls Jr., whose father helped lead Brainerd to a state championship four years before Price and a new group of Panthers won another. “Little Keith” played two years for another Price friend, Chattanooga native Lawanza Crutcher, at Stephenson High School in Atlanta before coming back to Chattanooga.
“Keith Sr. and I are good friends, and I had the opportunity to work with Keith Jr. in summer camps and see him develop,” Price said. “He’s a good on-ball defender and he has really improved his overall game, especially his jump shot. I really think he’s going to be a valuable part of what we’ve got.”
And that’s a lot, Price thinks, with Alex Wells, Alex Dean, Rayshawn Walker and William Moore returning from the Tigers team that seemed a national-tournament possibility until a late-season fade and the newcomers, who include 5-foot-11 shooting guard Abdur Rahim Cooper, 6-8 post Joshua Lee, 6-8 center Mike Robertson and particularly 6-6 forward Latraius Mosley from a team that did go to Hutchinson, Kan.
They played for former Middle Tennessee State coach Bruce Stewart at Northwest Florida, formerly named Okaloosa-Walton. Price had recruited Lee out of Maplewood High School in Nashville, and Lee’s interest in coming to Chattanooga State a year later helped the other three who got their releases pick the Tigers, too.
“It’s rare getting that much talent at one time,” Price said.
Mosley, from Athens, Ala., was a Northwest Florida starter and already has spurred numerous NCAA Division I calls to the coach.
“He’s a rare commodity,” Price said. “Robertson (from Birmingham) also has a lot of D-I interest.”
Another Chattanooga State recruit who attracted considerable Division I attention is 5-10 point guard Telvin James from Clarksville.
“Telvin was one of the top players in the state, and he had a really good state tournament. Alabama and Clemson were among the schools after him,” Price said. “We had to fight off a lot of high-major junior colleges to get him, including Northwest Florida and Walters State and even some jucos in Texas. He’s a very muscular, very athletic kid.”
The new Ooltewah recruit, joining former teammate Tyler Whitman from coach Jesse Nayadley’s Owls program, is 6-7 Jason Jenkins, who took an extra year of high school to square away his requirements.
“Jesse got me into coaching (at Notre Dame High School), and I still see his team play every year more than anybody else’s,” Price said. “I really liked Jason’s athletic ability. His skills are unlimited. He’s very long, very athletic and has a good shot. If he has the mindset to work, he has a chance to play Division I or at least Division II.”