University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Announces Signing Of Lindsay, Sparrow And Williams
11/15/2009 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond men's basketball head coach Chris Mooney announced the signing of guard Cedrick Lindsay (Washington, D.C.), guard Wayne Sparrow (Baltimore, Md.) and forward Derrick Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) to National Letters of Intent.
"We are thrilled with this recruiting class," Mooney said. "These three players come from three of the best high school programs in the country."
Lindsay is a 6-foot-0 guard who plays for coach Steve Turner at Gonzaga College Prep, Sparrow a 6-foot-3 guard from St. Frances Academy who plays for former Temple star Mark Karcher and Williams is a 6-foot-6 forward who plays for legendary coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City.
Lindsay's Gonzaga College Prep squad is ranked No. 20 in USA Today's preseason poll, with the mention of a "solid backcourt in Duke signee PG Tyler Thornton (14.8 ppg, 7 apg) and Richmond signee G Cedrick Lindsay (17.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg)." Williams' St. Anthony's team is also in the USA Today Preseason Top-25, ranked No. 24. The USA Today poll says St. Anthony's "might have the best front court in the state with 6-9 Devon Collier, 6-9 F Ashton Pankey and PF 6-6 Derrick Williams."
Lindsay averaged 17.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.1 steals as a junior as he helped lead Gonzaga College Prep to a 29-5 record and final national ranking of No. 9 last season. Lindsay was named First-Team All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Honorable Mention All-Metro. He was the MVP of the Springfield Classic and the MVP of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Touranment.
"Cedrick's a consummate leader, he leaves everything on the floor and can get it done on both ends of the floor," Turner said of Lindsay. "I truly believe he is the most underrated player in the country. The coaches did a great job of showing Cedrick what the school was about and how he fit in their particular system. From start to finish they made it clear he was a top priority and made it very clear how he could have an opportunity to succeed in their system."
"I chose Richmond because it was a great combination of athletics and academics," Lindsay said. "The coaching staff was great and the players were great. They made me feel like family."
Sparrow averaged 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a junior at St. Frances, earning First-Team All-Maryland Interscholastic League, First-Team All-Baltimore City, Second-Team All-Baltimore Catholic League and Second-Team All-Metro. He was named to the Baltimore Catholic League All-Tournament First-Team. Sparrow was the vice president of the Mother Mary Lange National Honor Society.
"Wayne is a great kid, he can shoot the long three and he's worked really hard over the last two years at going to the rack and finishing," said his high school Karcher, who helped lead Temple to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1999 Elite 8. "He can flat out do it all. As a coach and an ex-player, you see things these guys can work on and he has such a great work ethic that he will only get better. When he gets down to Richmond he will really be able take it to the next level and be a force in the Atlantic 10."
"I'm just excited to go there," Sparrow said. "I remember seeing Coach Mooney and Coach Jamal (Brunt) at most of my games when I was younger and when I got the chance to talk to them I was really comfortable with them. Then when I first took a visit to Richmond, I got this home feeling from the coaches and players. I feel like the coaching staff can help me get the best out of my abilities."
Williams is a 6-foot-6 forward who played his first two years at Life Center Academy, earning Second-Team All-State Independent as a sophomore before transferring to St. Antony's. He helped lead St. Anthony's to a 24-5 record as a junior, averaging nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and one block per game. Then in AAU Williams averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks and he averaged 24 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks per game in summer leagues for St. Anthony's. Hoopscoop has Williams, who is known as one of the strongest players in the class of 2010, as No. 96 on its list of seniors.
"I just got Derrick's first quarter grades and he made first honors," Hurley said. "Since last year he has worked his behind off to become more dangerous on the offensive end and I expect him to have a monster senior year. We are going to put him in positions where other teams can't stop him because he is such a physical force, but he lost 25 pounds in the offseason so now he will be able to play on the perimeter also. I can't say enough about Derrick, my projection is he will be an Atlantic 10 All-Conference player down the road."
"Coach Mooney and his entire staff made me feel very comfortable that Derrick could go a long distance from home and enjoy a great experience," Hurley said. "Coach Mooney's door is always open and he's already shown that he communicates very well with young people. With the combination of Coach Mooney, his staff and the University of Richmond, I am confident that Derrick has made a great decision."
"I had a good visit and overall the school just really impressed me," Williams said. "The academics, the coaching staff, the players, everything was just good."
Lindsay, Sparrow and Williams will begin playing for the Spiders next November.
