Louisville Adds Five With 2013 Men's Basketball Class
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Five impressive high school, prep and junior college products
have each signed a national letter-of-intent to continue their basketball
playing careers at the University of Louisville, ranking this Cardinal group
among the nation's top recruiting classes.
The list of stellar signees includes Akoy Agau, a 6-8, 235-pound center
from Omaha (Neb.) Central High School; Anton Gill, a 6-4, 180-pound
guard from Raleigh, N.C., who is currently at Hargrave Military Academy in
Chatham, Va.; Chris Jones, a 5-10, 175-pound guard from Memphis, Tenn.,
who is currently at Northwest Florida State College; Terry Rozier, a
6-1, 170-pound guard from Cleveland, Ohio who is also currently at Hargrave
Military Academy. David Levitch, a 6-3, 160-pound guard from North
Oldham High School in Goshen, will also join the Cardinal roster next year as a
preferred walk-on.
"This entire class shoots the ball," said UofL head coach Rick Pitino.
"That was a priority with us. Every one of them shoots it well and that
is a much needed attribute for our team."
Akoy Agau
Agau (name pronounced uh-KOY uh-GOW; like cow with a "G") has helped Omaha
Central win three straight state titles, averaging 11.6 points and 6.8 rebounds
and blocked 92 shots as a junior last season. He produced a triple-double
in the state title game against Omaha South last season with 16 points, 14
rebounds and 13 blocked shots.
"As soon as I saw Akoy, I immediately wanted to see him in a Louisville
uniform," said Pitino. "He's a triple-threat guy — he scores, passes and
handles it very well. He has a very high basketball IQ. He's won
three straight high school championships and that's the type of player we look
for: someone who is conditioned to win. We're very excited to have
him."
Originally from Sudan, Africa, Agau moved to Cairo, Egypt as a child before
coming to the United States in 2002. After starting on three Central
state championship teams, he is bidding to become the first Class A player in
Nebraska history to start for four state title teams. As a freshman, he
totaled 18 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots in the state championship
game over Norfolk.
A two-time all-state selection, Agau is ranked No. 84 nationally in the ESPN
100, 86th by Rivals.com, and is 18th nationally among centers by Scout.com.
Agau, who speaks three languages (Dinka, Arabic and English), had narrowed his
collegiate choices to Georgetown, Baylor, Memphis, West Virginia and Nebraska
before signing with the Cardinals.
Anton Gill
Gill averaged 18.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals as a
junior last season in leading Ravencroft High School to at 31-4 record and the
Class 3A North Carolina state championship. He is playing his final prep
year at Hargrave Military Academy, where he teams in the backcourt with fellow
UofL signee Terry Rozier.
"Anton is a very gifted athlete who we've known for quite some time," said
Pitino. "He shoots it and runs the floor extremely well. He's a
left-hander who is good off the bounce and scores. We're thrilled to have
him as a Cardinal."
Gill has averaged 19.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds at
Hargrave through nine games this season (7-2 record). He scored a
season-high 30 points in Hargrave's loss to Spartanburg Methodist Community
College last Sunday.
Gill helped Ravencroft to a combined 78-14 record in three seasons at
Ravencroft, where he was on pace to become the school's all-time leading scorer
before transferring. He had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists in
the Ravens' state title victory over Greensboro Day last season.
A first-team AP All-State selection as a junior, Gill is ranked No. 29
nationally in the Scout.com Top 100, 40th in the ESPN 100, 48th nationally by
Rivals Top 150, and is sixth among shooting guards by Scout.com. As a
junior, he scored 28 points in a head-to-head matchup with NC State guard
Rodney Purvis, but his Ravencroft team fell to Purvis and Upper Room Christian
Academy.
Gill committed to the Cardinals early in his junior year before also
considering North Carolina State, Charlotte and Wake Forest.
Chris Jones
Jones averaged 18.0 points, 4.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game
as a freshman last season at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville,
Fla. He earned first team 2012 NCJAA All-America honors after leading
Northwest Florida to a 32-2 record and a national runner-up finish.
"I feel Chris is the best point guard (prospect) in the nation," said
Pitino. "He's as explosive a point guard at both ends of the floor as I've
ever recruited. He's a prolific scorer, tougher than nails, and is a
big-time winner. I'm not sure what phase of his game is the best because
he's a great passer, a great rebounder at 5-10, big-time steal guy, big-time
scorer and wants to win as much as any player I've ever recruited. We
needed to have a great one replace Peyton Siva and we have it in Chris Jones."
The top junior college player in the nation, Jones has averaged 28.3 points
this season in leading Northwest Florida to a 4-0 record and the No. 2 ranking
in the NJCAA national poll. He scored a career-high 38 points against
Atlanta Metro last Saturday, connecting on 15-of-22 field goals while
collecting six steals. He is the reigning NJCAA Region 8 player of the
week after averaging 33 points, eight rebounds, four assists and 5.5 steals in
a pair of games.
A top 50 prospect as a senior at Melrose High School, Jones originally signed
with Tennessee in the same class as current Cardinal Kevin Ware before opting
for the junior college route. He was rated as the nation's 10th-best
point guard in high school by ESPN, Rivals and Scout, and the No. 39 prospect
overall by Rivals.
He averaged 20.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game as a junior in
leading Memphis (Tenn.) Melrose to the Tennessee Class AAA state title and a
No. 15 finish in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 national rankings. He earned
first-team all-state honors and was the state tournament MVP after scoring 35
points in the championship game. He transferred for his senior year to
Oak Ridge (N.C.) Military Academy, where he averaged 22.5 points, 5.1 rebounds,
5.0 assists and 2.8 steals.
Jones also considered Memphis, Kansas, Baylor, Florida State and Oklahoma State
before his commitment to the Cardinals.
Terry Rozier
Rozier originally signed with the Cardinals last November, but is spending the
2012-13 season at Hargrave Military Academy. Through a 7-2 start for
Hargrave, Rozier has averaged 24.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 3.9
steals. He has averaged 36.7 points over the last three games, including
pouring in a season-high 50 points in a loss to Louisburg College — the No. 4
ranked junior college — on Monday while adding 10 rebounds, four assists and
four steals in the game. Eight Hargrave players will sign with NCAA
Division I institutions.
"Terry is someone we were counting on for this year, but needed a year in prep
school," said Pitino. "He's an explosive scorer and athlete who plays two
positions. He's a very good on-the-ball defender. We thought he was
one of the best guards in the nation last year and is having an outstanding
season at Hargrave."
Rozier averaged 25.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.7 steals as a
senior in leading Shaker Heights to a 21-3 record, the Erie League Championship
and a berth in the regionals for the first time since 2002. He
scored a season-high 40 points vs. John Jay and totaled 37 points, seven
rebounds and four steals as Shaker Heights beat Garfield Heights in the
district title game.
An-All Lake Erie League selection for three years, Rozier was rated 74th
overall in the 2012 ESPNU Top 100 players, No. 80 by Rivals in the class of
2012, and 68th by Scout.com. He averaged 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and
3.2 assists as a junior as Shaker Heights won nine of its last 13 games en
route to a 14-8 record.
He had 10 points and three steals for his USA Midwest team in a 99-93 victory
over Canada in the championship game of the 2011 Nike Global Challenge, which
featured the top high school and under 19 players from top international
teams. He is the cousin of current U of L sophomore center Zach Price.
Rozier had also considered attending Cincinnati, Illinois, West Virginia and
Cleveland State before initially signing with the Cardinals.
David Levitch
Levitch, who will join the Cardinals as a preferred walk-on and non-scholarship
player, averaged 18.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds as a junior in
leading North Oldham High School in Goshen, Ky. to a 19-11 record. He
connected on 42.3 percent of his three-point goals (66-of-156) last season.
"David shoots the ball well," said Pitino. "As he gains more strength,
like (current walk-on guard) Tim Henderson, he will be a great addition to
Cardinal Basketball."
An All-Eighth Region selection last season, Levitch has already scored over
1,000 career points at North Oldham and will be the lone starter returning from
a year ago. He was seventh in the state in free throw percentage last
season, connecting on 81.7 percent from the line (151-of-185). He scored
a career-high 37 points against Spencer County last season.
Levitch averaged 13.0 points and 3.2 assists as a sophomore when he scored a
single-game high of 28 points on two occasions. He has been a standout
performer on his AAU squad The Ville 2013, which won the adidas Super 64
tournament in Las Vegas in 2009 and has won the Kentucky state championship on
four occasions.
Levitch was receiving attention from Stetson and Bellarmine among others before
choosing to walk on with the Cardinals.
Mangok Mathiang
Although already enrolled and practicing at Louisville, Mathiang is sitting out
this season and essentially will be a member of this class with four years of
eligibility remaining. Mathiang averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and four
blocked shots last season for IMG's postgraduate team, which posted a 28-2
record in 2011-12.
"We could not have signed a high school player this year as good as Mangok,"
said Pitino. "He gets a year of practice under his belt with us before
joining this class on the court next season."
Born in Sudan, Africa, Mathiang lived in Melbourne, Australia for many years
before moving to the United States to play a season of high school basketball
at Carbondale (Ill.) Brehm Prep School in 2010-11. He has been on
the UofL campus since Aug. 20. (name is pronounced MANG-go like the
fruit, with a silent "K" MATH-ee-ang).
