ASU Adds Pair Of Prospects

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State head men's basketball coach Dip Metress announced Friday the addition of two players to the Jaguar program for the 2011-12 season.

Former Augusta prep standout Harold Doby and Cincinnati State transfer Roman Hill have joined the program and will each be eligible for the 2011-12 season. Both players will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Hill starred at Cincinnati State Community College last season and led the Surge to a 24-11 overall record. The 6-3, 198-pound guard/forward averaged team highs in scoring (11.2 ppg.) and rebounding (7.7 rpg.) despite battling a pair of knee injuries. He earned team MVP honors and won the squad's academic award for posting the highest GPA on the team.

"We needed to address athleticism in our recruiting needs and Roman is the type of athlete that we need to have success at our level," Metress said. "He brings a lot of versatility to our lineup and we're excited to have him for the next three years. He's got a quick first step and has a knack for rebounding the ball."

A 6-5, 209-pound forward from Augusta, Doby was a Class AA All-State selection for Laney High School in 2007-08 and shared Region 3-AA Co-Player-Of-The-Year honors with Swainsboro's Tony Mitchell, now at Alabama. He spent his freshman season in 2010-11 at Georgia State University in Atlanta. In his very first collegiate game, he scored 19 points for the Panthers against McNeese State. For the season, he played in 26 games and made five starts, scoring 2.5 ppg., and averaging 2.1 rebounds per game.

"Harold was one of the best players in our area a couple of years ago and we took a long look at him coming out of high school," said Metress. "He possesses a high basketball IQ and a certain toughness that you need on the collegiate level. He's the type of athlete that will have a lot of success at ASU. The first time I saw Harold play five years ago, he was 14 years old I said to myself 'I hope I get to coach him someday'. Harold is a throwback type of player because he loves to play and is willing to work on his weaknesses."

The Jags return two starters (senior guards O'Neal Armstrong and Tye Beal) and four letterwinners (juniors Kyle Armour and Travis Keels) from last season's squad, along with redshirt freshmen Charles Robinson and Devon Wright-Nelson. ASU was ranked as high as No. 4 in the nation, matched a school record with 30 wins in 2010-11 and claimed its fourth Peach Belt Conference Championship in the last five seasons.