Elkhart Memorial standout Todd Johnson (22) has signed with NKU.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Several years from now, this might be remembered as the best recruiting class in the history of Northern Kentucky University basketball.
NKU head coach
Dave Bezold announced Thursday the signing of five prep standouts. The blue-chip class features:
•Todd Johnson, a 5-foot-8 point guard from Elkhart Memorial (Ind.) High School. The lightning-quick Johnson averaged 12.8 points and 6.1 assists per game as a junior. He was
named All-Northern Lakes Conference and honorable mention Indiana all-state last season. An outstanding athlete, Johnson is also a standout wide receiver for the Chargers' football team.
•Jacob Rossi, a 6-foot-8 forward from Franklin (Ohio) High School. Rossi averaged 17.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a junior. He holds the school record for most career blocked shots, including 10 rejections in a single game. Rossi, who also recorded the first triple-double in school history, earned All-South Western Buckeye League honors the past two years. He enters his senior year with 523 career points.
•Justin Rossi, a 6-foot-8 forward from Franklin (Ohio) High School, and the twin brother of Jacob. Justin scored 12.0 points per game as a junior and earned All-South Western Buckeye League honors. An outstanding shooter, Justin has knocked down 90 shots from 3-point range going into his senior season. In addition to their basketball accomplishments, the Rossi brothers have had perfect attendance in the classroom the past three years.
•John Staley, a 6-foot-5 forward from Chaminade-Julienne High School. Staley averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds last season for the Eagles, who compete in the Greater Catholic League. The Kettering, Ohio, native led the GCL in scoring and earned a spot on the All-GCL first team. Staley enters his senior season with 501 career points.
•Tyler White, a 6-foot-3 guard from Lima Senior High School. White averaged 17.8 points and 5.3 assists as a junior, and he was named honorable mention Division I Ohio all-state. In addition, ESPN's on-line recruiting publication projected White as one of the top 60 point guard prospects in the class of 2012. He was named All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference last season and enters his senior year with 765 career points.
“I'm really excited about this class of recruits, with the combination of quickness, size and their collective skill sets,” Bezold said. “It's hard to say where this class ranks in our program's history, but these recruits are going to have a chance to lead NKU into a new era as we prepare to reclassify to Division I. This is a great group of young men we have signed, and I think our fans are going to like what they see from these players during the next four years.”
NKU posted a 21-9 record last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Last week, the Norse stunned Big East powerhouse West Virginia, 77-74, in Morgantown, W.Va.
NKU opens regular-season play Saturday by hosting UC-Clermont at 1:30 p.m. in The Bank of Kentucky Center.
That game will be played exactly 40 years to the day of the Norse's first-ever contest, a 109-65 win over Calvary (Ky.) on Nov. 12, 1971.
