Eastern Kentucky Loads For 2002-03

Eastern Kentucky's second-year coach Travis Ford is looking to bounce up from this past season's 7-20 (3-13 Ohio Valley Conference) record with the addition of four newcomers for the 2002-03 season.

Heading EKU's recruiting class is Matt Witt, a 6-0, 170 pound point guard from Bethel High School in Tipp City, OH.

Witt, who committed to EKU this past fall, was a first-team All-State player as a senior as he averaged 34.6 points per game. He has twice been named Southwest District Player of the Year and Division IV Co-Player of the Year. Witt also considered Youngstown State.

Next Ford picked up two players from Cecil County Community College in the suburban Baltimore, MD, area. Mike Scott, a 6-0, 170 pound combo guard, averaged 17.6 points, 4.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last season, while being chosen First Team All-Conference, First Team All-Region and honorable mention junior college All-American. Scott is a native of Baltimore where he played two years at Southern H.S. and then two at Northern H.S.

The other CCCC player is Sherard Rogers, a 6-9, 210 pound power forward, who averaged 10.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game this past season. A native of North Jersey, Rogers played his final season at St. Benedict's following three seasons at St. Patrick's.

Rogers hit 48.3 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three-point territory. Other schools that considered Rogers included UNLV, West Virginia, Louisiana-Lafayette and Winthrop.

Rogers spent his freshman year at Dean Junior College in Franklin, MA, and then was redshirted at Cecil during the 2000-2001 season.

EKU's fourth recruit hails from Itawamba Community College in Fulton, MS. He's Charles Slaughter, a 6-6, 220 pound power forward, who averaged 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this past year, while shooting 58.2 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from behind the arc.

Slaughter, who prepped at Randolph Clay High School in Cuthbert, GA, was also recruited by Southwest Texas, Stephen F. Austin and Lipscomb.