WONDER BOYS ANNOUNCE THE ADDITION OF THREE MORE TRANSFERS FOR THE 2009-10 SEASON

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys Head Basketball Coach Mark Downey announced recently that Jimmy Sherwood, Jeremy Dunbar, and Willie Sanders have joined the Wonder Boys for the upcoming 2009-10 season.

These three signees will join senior Marcus Pillow and freshman Kendall Pinckney who earlier this month were also added to the roster.

All five of these newcomers will join a Tech team that is looking to replace one senior and three starters from last season’s 23-9 squad that won the school’s first ever GSC Championship and advanced to the regional semifinals in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

          “With these three signees, it shows where our program is at right now,” Downey said. ”Not only can all of these guys help our team win games; they have great character and do very well in the classroom.

“We are very lucky to have each one of them at Tech.”

          Sherwood, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound forward, comes to Tech from Sharon, Mass. Sherwood who will be a junior at Tech this season. He was a walk-on at Duquesne University, which is one of the top teams in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Sherwood joins the team after playing 22 games in two seasons for the Dukes and played in the Pittsburgh Pro Am Summer League. While at Duquesne, he served as one of two representatives on the Atlantic-10 Student-Athletic Advisory Committee.

           “Jimmy will give us a tough, hard-nosed athlete on the wing. He is a very hard worker, who loves to work on his game,” Downey said. “During his freshman year at Duquesne, he stepped in at the power forward position and held his own in the A-10 Conference, that same toughness helped him win the small school co-MVP honors in the prestigious Pittsburgh Pro-AM.”

          Dunbar, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard, joins the Wonder Boys from Niceville, Fla. He will be a junior this season and comes to Tech after playing last season Southeastern Louisiana. Prior to going to SE Louisiana, Dunbar played at Northwest Florida Community College, where he was named a Second-Team All-Conference selection. While with the Raiders, Dunbar averaged 10.1 points during conference play, shot 41 percent from behind the 3-point line and shot 76 percent from the free-throw line and helped the team finish with a 23-5 overall record. After successful junior college stop, Dunbar went on to play one year with the Lions, who are a member of the Southland Conference.

          “I have seen Jeremy a few times, the first coming as a freshman at NW Florida CC and then last year against Arkansas (for SE Louisiana) in Bud Walton Arena,” the fourth-year Tech coach said. “Jeremy will bring some shooting and scoring punch to our roster. He is an experienced player who can do a lot different things for us on the wing.”

Sanders, a 6-foot, 180-pound guard, comes to Tech from St. John’s River Community College in Palatka, Fla.  At SJRCC, Sanders was named a Second-Team All Mid-Florida Conference selection this past year. In high school, Sanders was nominated for Mr. Basketball in the state of Florida, was a Runner-up All-State selection and was named a First-Team All-Conference honoree.

          “Willie Sanders is a winner, a player that does all the little things. He is a leader, tough and talks on the floor. He scores, passes and guards,” Downey said. “Willie does whatever it takes to win. He will make every player in our program better every day because he will not settle for anything less than their best.”

 -- Tech Athletics --