USF Announces New Basketball Trio

USF bolstered its backcourt with the signing of Montavious Waters, one of the top prep guards in the Southeast, beefed up its inside game with Maurice Mobley, a junior college power forward, and became stronger at both positions with Marius Prekevicius, a junior college forward/guard.

The trio share two traits that USF coach Robert McCullum stresses — shooting and strengh.

“All these kids can really score and they’re all strong,” McCullum said. “They can score the ball and that’s something that we put a premium on — guys that can score, that can shoot the basketball. They probably come in as strong as any players that we’ve had coming in. To get players this young and to be as strong as they are physically, that’s certainly an added plus because often-times part of the transition that players have to make coming to this level is the physical aspect of the game.”

Waters, a 6-3, 195-pound guard out of Westover High School in Albany, Ga., was a Class AAA first team all-state selection by the Georgia Sports Writers Association. He averaged 19.5 points per game along with 10 rebounds and seven assists. Waters was also the Albany Herald Metro Player of the Year and was named to the Augusta Chronicle first team all-state team.

“Montavious is a point guard that has tremendous size,” McCullum said. “His size, his strength, his athleticism, his ability to get to the basket, those are the things that really excite us about his game. As we look for bigger more athletic guards with a high skill level, Montavious certainly fits that mold.

“He is still making the transition to the point guard spot but there is no doubt in my mind that he is the point guard of the future for our program. Because of his size and his strength he will come in and compete immediately. He shoots the ball well and he really rebounds the ball well for a guard; all the things that we’re looking for in a guard, Montavious possesses.”

Mobley averaged 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds while playing center for Parkland College in Champaign, Ill. The 6-5, 240-pound power forward helped Parkland to a 23-10 record that ended a victory shy of the National Junior College Tournament. He was named first team All-Collegiate Conference of Central Illinois and first team All-Region 24. Mobley is originally from Andress, Texas.

“Maurice has an extremely powerful presence inside,” McCullum said. “He can shoot the basketball out to 17 feet but he is really explosive around the basket. He knows how to establish post-up position and perhaps more importantly he does a great job of finishing inside because of his athleticism and his explosiveness.

“While he is not very tall for a college forward, his frame, his body and his strength more than make up for what he gives away in height. He will add to our front line immediately and he will also give us versatility. He will allow us to play with a lineup with two four men at the same time if we don’t want to go with a five and a four. That’s good to have players with versatility that enable you to give your opponents different looks.”

Prekevicius, a 6-5, 210-pound forward/guard, averaged 16.2 points and 3.8 assists per game as a freshman at Weatherford College in Texas and he will have three seasons of eligibility at USF. A native of Lithuania, Prekevicius played one season at Florida Air Academy in Melbourne and was a Class 2A honorable mention all-state selection.

He is a member of the Lithuanian National Team that will play this summer at the European Championships for Young Men in the Czech Republic. Prekevicius played last summer with the Lithuanian Junior National Team that advanced to the finals of the FIBA Junior World Championships.

“Marius is a very versatile player,” McCullum said. “He is very skilled, he shoots the ball well, with great range and he will certainly fill a void we have in terms of adding perimeter shooting to our team. He is a unique junior college player, much like (USF sophomore guard) James Holmes, in that he will come in with three years to play. He is a mature kid for his age. So many European players have that quality. He is so sound and so skilled fundamentally that he, too, will come in and compete for a starting position.”

The three players join Collin Dennis and Solomon Jones, who signed with USF last fall. Dennis, a 6-2, 180-pound guard, is from Richland High School in North Richland Hills, Texas. Jones, a 6-10, 215-pound forward/center, played at Daytona Beach Community College in 2002-03. He transferred to Cloud County (Kan.) Community College following the first semester of the 2003-04 academic year to concentrate on his studies.