After a fourth place finish in the Patriot League this past season, the AU men’s basketball team has added two recruits as they look to compete for an NCAA tournament berth this season.
Kelton Samore and Colin Smalls both announced their commitments to the University in recent months.
Samore recently finished a post-graduate year at Maine’s Bridgton Academy after being named Second Team All-State in Oregon by USA Today as a senior at Grant High School in Portland.
Samore, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound power forward, is listed as a 3-star recruit on 247Sports, and held offers from programs such as Stanford, Utah State, Boise State, Air Force and San Francisco before committing to AU on April 23, according to Verbal Commits, The Left Bench and Prep Hoops.
“[AU was] recruiting me really hard and they really wanted me and I’ll get a chance to play there,” Samore told Prep Hoops. “On top of that, their business program is one of the top in the country.”
According to Prep Hoops, Samore is “the consummate stretch four, with the ability to shoot to 22 feet. He also has a good feel for the pick and roll game.” This skill set should be helpful in replacing Sam Iorio, who transferred to South Alabama this off-season.
While Samore is expected to make an impact on this year’s team, Colin Smalls won’t be on campus to contribute until the fall of 2020.
A high school senior who plays his basketball at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in nearby Potomac, Maryland, Smalls held offers from Columbia, Stony Brook, Lafayette, UMass Lowell and Robert Morris before committing to AU on June 16, according to Verbal Commits.
A 6-foot point guard, Eagles fans can expect Smalls to be a presence on both ends of the floor.
“I work hard. I pick up 94 feet … I can get to the rim and score the ball really well,” Smalls told Prep Hoops in 2018. Smalls will come to Tenleytown looking to fill the shoes of Sa’eed Nelson, the 2018-2019 Pre-Season Patriot League Player of the Year who will be graduating in the spring of 2020.
AU Athletics declined to comment, stating that the department is unable to comment on recruited athletes until their signing periods. Smalls did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
NCAA bylaws state that institutions are not allowed to comment generally about the prospective student-athlete’s ability or potential contribution to the institutions team. The institution also cannot comment about the likelihood of the student-athlete signing with the institution.
This story has been updated to clarify the NCAA rules on compliance and student commitment. An earlier update to the story issued a correction. We have since amended that to a clarification on NCAA rules surrounding compliance.
