Men's Recruiting: Siena Adds Much-Needed Depth

Here's another in the series examining players joining conference programs for the coming season.

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SIENA MEN

- BRETT BISPING (6-8 forward, Morton, Ill., H.S.): He averaged 16.4 points, 7.6 rebounds per game as a high school senior while shooting .525 percent from the field. Said to be a tall, lanky combination forward with a nice outside shooting touch.

- RYAN OLIVER (6-3 guard, Northfield Mt. Herman, Mass., Prep School):  Oliver, who played pre-school ball in California, averaged 14.0 points per game at the prep school level. Highlight tapes of him show that he has a nice stand-still jump shot from long range. He made 82-of-194 three-point attempts (.423 percent) in prep school.

- RICH ADU (6-4 guard, Regional Elite Developmental Academy, Mississagua, Ontario): An athletic, tall guard who can also play some small forward. Had also gotten offers from some lower-level A-10 programs. He averaged 16.0 ppg. as a junior. No stats available for Adu from this past season.

- LIONEL GOMIS (6-8 forward, Blair Academy N.J.): Originally from Senegal, Africa, Gomis was a redshirt at Siena last season due to an NCAA ruling that he did not complete his high school eligibility in the allowed time frame. Gomis, though, suffered some personal hardships while in Africa that prohibited him from attending school for two years. He played three seasons at Blair, which he came to the U.S., and averaged 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game there two years ago. He is a defensive-minded big-man with shot-blocking skills. He has three remaining years of eligibility.

- IMOH SILAS (6-8 center/forward, Holderness, N.H. Prep School): Like Gomis, Silas is a native of Africa (Lagos), and was redshirted by Siena last season due to the same rule concerning completing high school eligibility as Gomis. He is said to be a strong defensive player/rebounder with rapidly developing offensive skills.

ANALYSIS: With only six players that head coach Mitch Buonaguro used extensively last year, and with three of those having graduated this past May, the Saints needed plenty of help. They get it not only with the return of injured players (guard Rakeem Brookins, and forwards Davis Martens and Trenity Burdine), but the eligibility of Gomis and Silas inside and the long-range shooting abilities of Bispring, Oliver and the all-around game of Adu. Gomis and Silas are likely to get siginficant minutes this year. The three true freshmen, Adu, Ryan and Bispring, will likely be role players and get their chance for bigger minutes as their respective careers progress.