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Saturday, June 30, 2001
Isles’ roster rounded out with signing
Sperey’s transfer marks end of 2001 recruiting
By Darrin Scheid
Caller-Times

‘We got experience in our junior-college players. In our younger guys, we have quality, explosive players. All of them will fit into our pressing, running style.’ - Arrow

Ronnie Arrow can rip apart his 2001-02 men's basketball player shopping list and throw it in the trash.
   Arrow, the third-year Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach, is finished for this recruiting season after he announced on Thursday that 5-foot-10 transfer Treut Sperey is the Islanders fifth and final signee. Sperey played last season at Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College and averaged 18 points, eight assists and four steals for a team that went 29-4.
   Last month, Arrow said the final A&M-CC signee would need to be versatile enough to play point guard or shooting guard. He said Sperey is that player.
   "You can't play off him, or he'll hit the outside shot on you, but he also has the ability to run the team on offense and defend the quickest player the other team can put on the floor," Arrow said. "He's perfect for our style of play, and he understands the game. With Treut out there, it's like having a coach on the floor. And he has been a winner at every place he's played."
   Sperey was a two-time all-North Bay selection and two-time Sonoma County Player of the Year during his junior and senior years at Piner (Calif.) High School. As a senior he averaged 22 points and eight assists, helping Piner to a 29-1 record and berth in the state semifinals.
   During his freshman year in junior college, Sperey led all California junior colleges with 9.8 assists per game. As a sophomore, he was the floor leader of a team that included two other Division I signees. Santa Rosa forward Robert Johnson signed with Oregon, and forward Damany Hendrix signed with Lamar.

2001-02 Islanders
With the signing of junior-college guard Treut Sperey on Thursday, A&M-CC coach Ronnie Arrow has wrapped up this year's recruiting season. Arrow signed five players. With the addition of Corey Lampkin, who sat out last year to gain eligibility, six Islanders will make their collegiate debuts in 2001-02. Player Ht. Cl. Comment
Sannai Atsbeha 6-4 Sr. 6.7 points, 43.6 3-point FG pct last season
C.J. McBride 5-10 Sr. 3.1 points, 11.0 minutes per game last season
Armond Wainright 6-2 Sr. 10.6 points, 40.9 3-point FG pct last season
Shaun Hemsley 6-9 Jr. 2.9 points, 12.0 minutes last season
Dustin Shultz 6-8 Jr. 2.9 points, started 16 games last season
Treut Sperey 5-11 Jr. Signee, combo guard from Santa Rosa (Calif.) JC
Brian Evans 6-0 So. Team-high 125 assists last season
Brian Hamilton 6-5 So. 3.7 points, 50.7 FG percentage last season
Thomas Bailey 6-7 So. Signee from San Antonio Holmes
Travis Bailey 6-2 So. Signee from San Antonio Holmes
Derrick Murphy 6-7 So. Signee from Kaskaskia (Ill.) College
Corey Lamkin 6-6 Fr. Former S.A. East Central standout
Sean Cole 6-7 Fr. Signee from St. Monica (Calif.)

   "Treut did a lot the past two years," Santa Rosa Junior College coach Craig McMillan said. "He was our second-leading scorer and leading assist man. He played two positions for us, and that's what I understand they needed in Corpus Christi."
   With the signing of Sperey, the Islanders bring five signees to next season's team, which will try to improve on a 14-14 record.
   Sperey and 6-7 sophomore forward Derrick Murphy will be the only junior-college transfers. Travis Bailey, Thomas Bailey and Sean Cole will be first-time college players. Freshman-to-be Corey Lampkin, who practiced with the team last year while using his redshirt year, round out the six-person class of newcomers.
   "We accomplished what we needed to accomplish in this recruiting period," Arrow said. "We got experience in our junior-college players. In our younger guys, we have quality, explosive players. All of them will fit into our pressing, running style."
   Baseball team signs three:
   A&M-CC baseball coach Hector Salinas announced the signing of three junior-college players this week.
   Hector Garanzuay and Danny Luna from UT-Brownsville and Joshua Hulin from Odessa College are expected to enroll this fall and play for the 2002 Islanders.
   Garanzuay was a two-year starter at second base for UT-Brownsville and hit .324 with 11 doubles, 1 homer and 20 runs batted in. The former Brownsville Pace standout also stole eight bases last season. Hulin, who split time at first and in the outfield for Odessa College the past two campaigns, finished his two-year career hitting .406 with a school-record 45 doubles, 15 homers, and drove in 75 runs. In the 2001 season, he garnered all-Western Junior College Athletic Conference accolades.
   Luna, a two-year letterman at UT-Brownsville and former Robstown pitcher, had a 2-6 record and 4.54 ERA last season.
   Arrow hires assistant:
   Andrew Helton, an administrative assistant the past two seasons at the University of Miami, will begin his new job July 3 as a full-time assistant men's basketball coach at A&M-CC. Helton replaces Steve Green, who left in October to accept the head coaching vacancy at South Plains Junior College.
   Greg Wright served as the interim assistant coach during the 2000-2001 season.


Contact Darrin Scheid at 886-3747 or scheidd@caller.com

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