Men’s basketball hopes new signings help out

Josh Stanley

With two seniors graduating this spring, Sacramento State men’s basketball team has rebounded and signed five new recruits for next season. 

The first recruit to sign with the Hornets was Pleasant Grove High School’s Cody Demps.

 Demps, a 6-foot-4-inch, 185-pound guard, played four years of varsity basketball at Pleasant Grove and was a starter for three. Demps was a two-time first team all-Delta River League selection, was named to the all-Metro first team by the Sacramento Bee and took his team to the 2012 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I basketball semifinals.

 During his senior year, Demps averaged 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and shot 48.6 percent from the field. 

Demps said he is excited to join the Hornets.

 “I’m super excited and can’t wait to get started.” Demps said. “I visited and liked the campus. I grew up around here so I liked the environment. I liked the coaches’ honesty and vision and it was a good chance to play Division I basketball.”

 Head coach Brian Katz said Demps would join the Hornets as a player who can be plugged in at point guard, shooting guard or small forward.

 “Demps can play all three spots, he’s a versatile handler,” Katz said.

 Demps will have to compete with team leaders like sophomore point guard Dylan Garrity and senior small forward Joe Eberhard for minutes. At shooting guard he will compete for time against senior guard Jordan Estrada and junior guard Jackson Carbajal. 

But Demps said he is up to the task of challenging for playing time and will be working hard to get ready for the season and join the team. 

“I’m excited for the challenge,” Demps said. “I have been working out with a trainer, who actually used to play for Sac State named Guss Armstead and I’m about to take classes and live on campus as well as train with the team during summer.” 

The second recruit to sign with the Hornets was Mikh McKinney.

McKinney, a 6-foot-1-inch, 165-pound guard, is a transfer from Ohlone College where he redshirted one year and played another. He will come to Sac State with three years of eligibility remaining.

 In his lone season at Ohlone, McKinney was named to the first team all-state and first team all-Coast Conference teams after averaging 14 points per game, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 53 percent shooting from the field.

 Being three inches shorter than Demps, McKinney will not be challenging him for small forward minutes, but Katz said “McKinney is like an off guard-point guard.”

 At point guard position, he could compete with junior reserve guard Julian Demalleville for backup minutes under Garrity. He may also compete against Estrada, Carbajal and Demps for shooting guard. 

  The third and fourth recruits to sign with the Hornets were Jordan Salley and Ryan Okwudibonye.

 Salley, a 6-foot-6-inch, 230-pound small forward/power forward, is transferring from Santa Rosa Junior College where he played two seasons.

 Last season, Salley averaged 4.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots, while shooting 55 percent from the field.

 Salley’s road to Div. I basketball looked promising after being an all-state selection his junior year at La Verne Lutheran High School in La Verne, Calif., where he averaged 16.5 points, 11 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots on 62 percent shooting.

 But the injury bug began to hamper Salley.

 Salley missed his senior year of high school and lost all his scholarship offers because of a knee injury. The injury hampered him through his first collegiate season with Santa Rosa as well and it was not until last year that he was finally healthy again.

 Salley said it has been tough over the years dealing with the knee. 

“I feel like I have missed a lot,” Salley said. “Before I got hurt I had everything going for me. But once I got hurt, I lost the scholarships, I put on weight and I just wasn’t the same player for a while.”

 Salley said he is coming to the Hornets at 100 percent and more bouncy than ever and looking to prove to people he still is the 16 and 11 guy from high school.

 “I feel real good,” Salley said. “My knee is better and I am a better player than I was before.”

Salley will play down low according to Katz and try and help fill the void of senior Josh McCarver, who graduates in the spring.

 The fourth recruit at 6-foot-8-inches and 230 pounds, Ryan Okwudibonye, comes right in to challenge senior center Konner Veteto and provide another body down low.

 Okwudibonye is transferring from New Mexico Junior College, where he played 50 games in two seasons.

 Last season, Okwudibonye averaged 4.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and shot 43.8 percent from the field 

Okwudibonye is a graduate of Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach.

 At Ocean View, Okwudibonye averaged 8.7 points and 7.6 rebounds on 55.2 percent shooting from the field during his senior season. He was also named to the all-conference team during his junior and senior season.

 Katz said he thinks the two new big men that are going to fill in for McCarver are looking good.

 “I think (McCarver) had a pretty good year last year,” Katz said. “Coming out of junior college, (Salley and Okwudibonye) are both ahead of where (McCarver) was at that time. We’re pretty excited about that.”

 The fifth and most recent signing for the Hornets was Edison High School (Huntington Beach) guard Dreon Barlett.

 Barlett, a 6-foot-3-inch, 170-pound guard, comes to the Hornets from the same school where Garrity came from.

 Barlett started out at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove, Calif., but transferred to Edison for his junior and senior year.

 Barlett is coming off his best season of his high school career after averaging a league-leading 22.8 points per game. He also averaged 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals on 44 percent shooting.

Despite only playing two seasons at Edison, Barlett was named to the first team all-Sunset League team each year.

But much like the other guard recruits, Barlett will have to compete for minutes as well.

 At 6-foot-3-inches, Katz said “Barlett is like a 3-2, he’s like a small forward-off guard player.” 

All three of the recruit guards are exactly what the Hornets needed and Katz said he is excited about that. 

“We felt like in the offseason we needed to get two handlers and McKinney and Demps are that,” Katz said. “Barlett is a kid that is a very explosive athlete and scorer. He’s different than the other two, he’s the most explosive scorer of the three.”

Summer practice will begin on July 9, but they can only be coached two hours per week and work on strength and conditioning 6 hours a week through the summer until school starts. 

The first full-on practice will begin Oct. 12 and give the five recruits a chance to prove to Katz what they can do for Sac State. 

The first exhibition game is Oct. 30 and the season begins on Nov. 9.

Garrity said he is excited for all the new recruits to come in and help the Hornets and he is looking forward to starting the next season.

Josh Stanley can be reached at [email protected].