Six New Broncs on 2012-13 Roster
When Kevin Baggett begins his first season as the Rider head coach, he will have six new faces to work with for the 2012-13 men's basketball season.
Khalil Alford of Durham, NC, Shawn Valentine of Atco, NJ, Derrick Stewart of Philadelphia, Jamal Nwaniemeka of West Philadelphia and Zedric Sadler of Detroit, MI will be freshmen on the Rider roster.
"I am very excited about the five incoming freshmen we have coming in this fall," said first-year head coach Kevin Baggett. "All of them offer a different skill set, which will be very valuable as we move this program forward."
They join transfer Nurideen Lindsey of Philadelphia, who will be a junior. "Nurideen Lindsey is a transfer from St. John's who brings instant credibility and talent to our program," said Baggett, who begins his 17th year coaching on the Division I level. "He will be very important to our team's success this upcoming season."
Alford, a 6'4" guard, comes to Rider from Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia, after a standout career at Kestrol Heights High and Southeast Raleigh High in North Carolina. At Fishburne he averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
At Kestrol he averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists as a senior, after a junior year in which he averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. His junior year he lead his team to the National Prep Championship. A fine all-around athlete, Alford was a three-sport lettermen at Southeast Raleigh, earning Second Team All-State honors as a safety in football while also excelling in baseball.
Valentine is a 6'8" forward who comes to Rider from Phelps School in Malvern, PA, where he averaged 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game last year while earning Defensive Player of the Year honors last year. In 2011 he averaged 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals, earning First Team All-Tri-County honors. At Winslow Township High School he averaged 16.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists, earning Second Team All-Group 4 South Jersey honors in 2010.
Stewart, a 6'5" forward, was a two-time team captain at Neumann-Goretti High School, leading his team to three straight PIAA State Championship (AAA) and four consecutive Philadelphia Catholic League titles. Neumann-Goretti was 111-11 in Stewart's four years on the team, three as a starter, going 70-0 in the PCL. As a senior Stewart earned First Team All-Catholic, Third Team All-City and Second Team All-State (AAA) honors. He was the PCL defensive Player of the Year as a senior. As a sophomore he played alongside brother and current Rider player Daniel and his team was 30-1 and was ranked second in the country by ESPN.
Nwaniemeka, a 6'4" guard, played two seasons at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School and scored 870 points in 46 games. The Bucks County Player of the Year as a senior, Nwaniemeka lead the Philadelphia Catholic League with a 24.4 scoring average in PCL games, setting a league record. The Second Team All-State selection averaged 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.3 assists and 2.1 blocks along with his overall scoring average of 21.8, while shooting 50.0 percent from the field.
Sadler, a 6'2" guard, averaged 18.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.2 steals and 2.1 blocks as a senior at Cody High School, earning First Team All-State and First Team All-City, as well as being named "Mr. West Side" of Detroit.
Lindsey, a 6'3" guard, comes to Rider from St. John's University, where he averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in nine games this season. A graduate of Overbrook High School, Lindsey attended Redlands Community College and earned First Team All-NJCAA Region II honors, averaging 22.3 points (sixth in the nation), 5.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game. At Overbrook Lindsey compiled 1,315 career points in just three seasons. He averaged 35.8 points per game his sophomore and junior seasons.
The Broncs won seven of their final 11 regular season games in 2011-12, placing fifth in the 10-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and return seven letterwinners.
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