NEW ROCHELLE, NY - Iona College men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino announced the addition of eight student-athletes for the 2020-21 season. The Gaels' incoming class contains three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen, including three junior college transfers ranked in the top 100 in the nation and six that signed a National Letter of Intent this week.

"Our eight newcomers are almost twice as many as I've had in any one class during my career," said Pitino. "Because of the circumstances that evolved with the retirement of Coach Cluess, it was a necessity in order to maintain the excellence that he put forth over the last decade. I'm really looking forward to getting to work with the program as soon as our current situation allows."

BERRICK JEANLOUIS (LEHIGH ACRES, FL)

"Berrick fits so well with our style of play," said Pitino. "He is an outstanding defensive player and is explosive on offense in the open court. I'm excited to have him in our running style of play."
 
JeanLouis comes to New Rochelle following a year with Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers, Florida, where he averaged 12.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. The ultra-athletic, 6-4 wing was ranked No. 27 on JUCORecruiting.com's Top 100 on a squad that finished 29-2 in a season cut short prior to the NJCAA National Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played his freshman year at New Mexico State University alongside fellow newcomer Robert Brown and outgoing graduate student Mo Thiam. JeanLouis appeared in 15 games off the bench with the Aggies.
 
JeanLouis spent his final two scholastic seasons at Canterbury School in Fort Myers where he helped guide the Cougars to the FHSAA Class 3A finals as a senior. The team went undefeated (14-0) in District 6 play and was 21-6 overall. He averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in his senior season. As a junior, he averaged 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. The Cougars also finished the 2016-17 season with a 21-6 overall mark and were 12-3 in league play. He spent his first two years at Lehigh Acres High School. The explosive athlete was also a two-time Florida high jump state champion as well as a regional champion in the long jump.

ROBERT BROWN (DALLAS, TX)

"Robert is a holdover from last year's team. He is a good shot blocker and rebounder with excellent potential," said Pitino. "I look forward to developing his skills both on the perimeter and on the inside."
 
An athletic post performer and strong finisher around the rim, Brown joined the program in January after two and a half years at New Mexico State University. The 6-9 forward practiced with the Gaels during the spring semester. Brown played 14 games in 2018-19 and 2019-20 with the Aggies following a red shirt season in 2017-18. The Dallas, Texas, native scored 38 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 59.1% from the field in limited action. His redshirt rookie campaign was cut short due to a shoulder injury. Brown played alongside fellow newcomer Berrick JeanLouis and outgoing Iona graduate student Mo Thiam that season.
 
As a scholastic student-athlete, Brown spent his senior season at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, California and averaged 11 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Phantoms. As a junior, he played at Advanced Preparatory International in Dallas and as a freshman and sophomore he attended Prime Prep Academy. While at Advanced Prep, Brown played alongside several top hoops prospects including Billy Preston (Kansas), Trevon Duvall (Duke), Mark Vital (Baylor), Nysier Brooks (Cincinnati/Miami) and Terrance Ferguson (Oklahoma City Thunder). He was ranked No. 30 on 247Sports.com's top basketball recruits in Texas in 2017.

DARREUS BROWN (AMARILLO, TX)

"Darreus was signed by the previous staff and is an outstanding three-point shooter and athlete," said Pitino. "I also look forward to developing his game"
 
Brown signed with the Gaels in November 2019 and is a 6-2 shooting guard from northern Texas. He played the 2019-20 with Clarendon College. In 10 appearances, Brown averaged 8.4 points, converting 18-of-28 attempts from distance. As a freshman in 2018-19, he averaged 16.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 52% from the field and 42% from long distance at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Missouri.
 
A pure scorer, Brown was ranked the No. 39 best prospect in Texas by Rivals.com in 2017 after attending Pro-Vision Academy in Houston. As a junior, Brown led Tascosa High School to a 31-1 overall mark and state regional quarterfinal appearance for the first time in 27 years. He averaged 19.4 points and five rebounds per game and was named Amarillo Globe-News' Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He played alongside recent Saint Peter's graduate Quinn Taylor at Tascosa. As a sophomore, Brown was the Texas 2-6A Newcomer of the Year.

TAHLIK CHAVEZ (ARLINGTON, TX)

"Tahlik was one of the premier shooters in junior college," said Pitino. "With the emphasis on the three-pointer, he gives us a lethal weapon with his NBA range and extremely quick release and will fit like a glove in our motion offense."
 
Chavez was Coach Pitino's first verbal commitment at Iona College after being announced as the program's 14th head coach on March 14. He spent the 2019-20 season at Garden City Community College in Kansas. He played in and started all 31 games where he averaged 20.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Chavez connected on 108 three-pointers at a 44.4% clip. He scored 20 or more points 18 times and had a season-best 42-point effort vs. Dodge City in mid-February.
 
The 6-2 guard was a four-year varsity starter at Lake Ridge High School and played AAU ball for Urban DFW Elite. Chavez scored 1,203 points at Lake Ridge and holds school records for single-game three-pointers (10), single-season three-pointers (124) and career steals (68). As a senior, he averaged 18 points per game and was named first-team all-region and first team all-district.

OSBORN SHEMA (KONOMBE, RWANDA)

"Osborn is an agile seven-footer with unlimited potential," said Pitino. "He is a terrific athlete and shot blocker with an outstanding perimeter shot."
 
A 7-1 forward from Rwanda, Shema played his first year of college ball in 2019-20 for New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He averaged 10.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 28 games played. Shema posted eight double-doubles. He scored a season-best 24 points vs. Trinidad State and had a season-high 15 rebounds vs. New Mexico JC. He ranked fifth in the WJCAC in rebounds (132), second in blocks (45) and 10th in rebounds per game while his 81 total blocks placed ninth in the nation. He was named All-Region V, first team All-WJCAC and WJCAC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Shema played scholastically for coach Frank Glover at Glove Prep Christian and averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game… He was ranked No. 12 on FloridaHoops.com's Top 100 report. In 2016, he was part of a national youth team in Rwanda that finished fifth at the 2016 Africa U18 Basketball Championship staged in Kigali.
 
Shema choose Iona over the ACC's Florida State and the Big 10's Rutgers.

JOHAN CRAFOORD (STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN)

"Johan is an excellent rebounder and very rugged around the rim," said Pitino. "He is long, athletic and strong, a terrific passer and a very good offensive player in the paint."
 
Crafoord, a 6-9 versatile forward, comes to the Gaels from Glove Prep Christian Academy (FL).  His international playing experience includes time with Djurgarden Basket in his native Stockholm as well as a stint with the U18 national team.  No stranger to the New York metropolitan area, Crafoord played for the NY Rens AAU program.

NELLY JUNIOR JOSEPH (BENIN CITY, NIGERIA)

 "Nelly is one of the premier players to come out of Africa this year," said Pitino. "He is a tremendous athlete who is great in the open court. He is a powerful player with a very good mid-range game."
 
Joseph, a 6-8 forward, comes to Iona from the NBA Academy Africa, a program he joined in October 2018. The NBA Academy Africa is an elite basketball training center in Saly, Senegal for the top male and female prospects throughout Africa and the first of its kind on the continent. He competed in several international events including the 2018 Academy Games in Canberra, Australia and the same event in 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. The African squad finished third in 2018 against teams from Australia, China, India and Mexico. In December 2018, Joseph competed alongside top prospects from the league's academies in a series of exhibition games at the NBA G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas. He also played for the NBA Academies select team in the 2018 and 2019 Tarkanian Classics prior to the G League Showcase. In February 2019, Nelly participated in Basketball Without Borders Global camp in Charlotte during NBA All-Star Weekend. In April 2019, he participated in the NCAA's Next Generation Sunday event at the Men's Final Four.
 
NBA Academies employ a holistic, 360-degree approach to player development with focuses on education, leadership, health and wellness, character development and life skills, including educational development for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S. and mark a signature elite player development initiative for the NBA. Since October 2016, NBA Academies have been launched in Australia, China, India, Mexico and Senegal and more than 25 NBA Academies graduates have committed to NCAA D1 schools.

RYAN MYERS (BROOKLYN, NY)

"We are excited to have Ryan as part of our program," said Pitino. "He is a local player from Christ the King which has produced so many outstanding high school basketball players. Ryan can score, drive and pass and has a great future ahead of him with our program."
 
A 6-0 guard, Myers started for the CSHAA's Christ the King High School in Middle Village, New York. Myers averaged 21.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Royals in 2019-20. As a junior, Myers was the second-leading scorer on the team, averaging 16.3 points per game. Myers earned MVP honors as the Royals earned the 2019 CSHAA-AA championship for the first time in five seasons with its win over Archbishop Stepinac. He played AAU ball for New Heights.

2020-21 IONA MEN'S BASKETBALL RECURITING CLASS AT A GLANCE

Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown / High School / Previous School
Darreus Brown	Jr.	G	6-3	180	Amarillo, TX / Pro Vision Acad. / Clarendon College
Robert Brown	Jr.	F	6-9	235	Dallas, TX / Advanced Prep. Int'l / New Mexico State
Tahlik Chavez	So.	G	6-2	165	Arlington, TX / Lake Ridge / Garden City CC
Johan Crafoord	Fr.	F	6-9	230	Stockholm, Sweden / Glove Prep Christian Acad. (FL)
Berrick JeanLouis	Jr.	G	6-4	195	Lehigh Acres, FL / Canterbury School / Florida Southwestern State
Nelly Junior Joseph	Fr.	F	6-8	230	Benin City, Nigeria / NBA Academy Africa (Senegal)
Ryan Myers	Fr.	G	6-1	170	Brooklyn, NY / Christ the King
Osborn Shema	So.	F	7-1	200	Kanombe, Rwanda / Glove Prep Christian Acad. (FL) / New Mexico Military Inst.