RU men’s basketball coach Mike Jones
Radford University men’s basketball head coach Mike Jones and his staff completed the 2020 recruiting class with four new additions to the Radford Men’s Basketball program Tuesday afternoon.
Dante Moses and Jamal Burke signed their national letters of intent and will be incoming juniors. Shaquan Jules transferred from USC Aiken. Joshua Walker, a 6-7 forward from Hyattsville, Md., will be an incoming non-scholarship freshman.
A 6-4 guard from Riviera Beach, Fla., comes to Blacksburg from Daytona State Junior College where he started 21 games and saw action in 29 games in 2019-20. He averaged 14 points, five rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He scored in double figures 20 times with a season-high 29 points in his next-to-last game at State.
Coach Jones said of Moses, “Dante is a young man whom I have known for a long time. We recruited him out of high school and although he had to go the junior college route, we knew he was the type of person and player that we want in our program. He is first and foremost a good person and has a great work ethic.
“Dante’s size, athleticism and versatility make him a welcome addition to our team,” the head Highlander said. “He can play the wing position and even has the ability to play point guard. His athleticism will allow him to excel on the defensive end and can help us on the backboards. We are excited to welcome him to the program.”
A 6-11 forward, Burke comes to Blacksburg via Georgia Highlands College. He started 28 games in 2019-20 and played in 32 games, averaging 8.3 points and slightly more than eight rebounds per game. One hundred four of those rebounds were offensive. He shot 55.5 percent from the field and was named to the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) All-Defensive Team averaging more than one block per outing
Speaking of Burke, Coach Jones said, “Jamal is the big-bodied athlete we needed with this year’s class. His size and length bring us a different dimension on the defensive end than we have had in the past. He not only brings those attributes, but also some experience having played two years of junior college. He’s a capable scorer inside and we plan to give him opportunities to score. Jamal is a unique person. He is a gentle giant off the court and fiery competitor on the court. He will be a good addition to our team.”
Jules is a 6-7 forward from Orlando. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game through a two-year career at USC Aiken. During the 2019-20 season, he shot 63.6 percent from the floor and averaged 11.5 points per game. He had four games in which he scored 20 points or more and scored in double digits 20 times.
He guided Windermere Prep to a district title as a junior in high school and was a top-100 prospect in the state of Florida coming out of high school.
Coach Jones described Jules as “a versatile, strong athletic forward reminiscent of some Radford greats. His potential to be an impact forward in our program is exciting. He has shown at the Division II level to have a good skill set and has the work ethic to really improve during his time with us. He’s a very good rebounder and will be able to score inside and out in our system. Off the court, Shaq has shown to be a great teammate and a person with the burning desire to be great. That drive will serve him well in our program.”
The four new players will join a highly touted trio that signed with the Highlanders in November