Arkansas big man to Lehigh

The Mountain Hawks of Lehigh swept into Paris, Ark., and snagged a promising big man from Subiaco Academy. John Gourley, a 6-foot-11, 250-pound center, is set to sign this fall and play his college ball in the Patriot League.

“John is a done deal for Lehigh,” said Gourley’s AAU coach Mike Charles of the Arkansas Wings. “He is set to sign early with them. He took a visit to Lehigh and just really liked it.

“Oklahoma State saw the potential in him and wanted him to walk-on. With a chance to have the best recruiting class in the country, they just didn’t have a scholarship for him.”

Coach Charles views Gourley as a sleeper with a chance to be a NBA player. He just did not get the exposure in front of high major coaches this summer because he played behind one of the nation’s better post players in Michael Washington.

“John has a chance to be a pro,” said Charles. “He is a great passer, has good hands, shoots it well and makes good decisions. He just doesn’t have the lower body strength right now, but if he develops that part of his game, he has a chance.

“He played really well for us at the end of the summer, but it took him a while to adjust to our faster pace of play. When he played his best like when he scored 17 points in a quarter against the Houston Hoops in New Orleans, it was during the dead period and none of the coaches were there. Then later in the summer, he did not always play a lot because he was behind Michael Washington.”