BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Murray H. Goodman ’48 Head Coach Brett Reed has announced his first-ever recruiting class which consists of John Adams (San Jose, Calif.), Jordan Hamilton (Seattle, Wash.), and Justin Maneri (Saddle Brook, N.J.). The three newest Mountain Hawks have excelled on the basketball court and in the classroom during their scholastic careers, and will add depth to the perimeter and inside games for Lehigh next season. “We are pleased to have John, Jordan and Justin join our program,” explained Reed. “Each of them represents a strong commitment to both academic and athletic excellence throughout their high school careers. I fully anticipate they will continue to grow and ultimately represent Lehigh University very well in the classroom, on the court and within our campus community.”
John Adams is currently a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School, one of California’s best high school programs and a pre-season No. 15 ranked team in the country according to Scout.com. The 6-6 forward, who is coached by Brian Eagleson, was a key contributor last season for a team that won their first-ever Northern California Championship and advanced all the way to the state title game before falling to perennial power Mater Dei. Adams averaged 8.7 points and 6.5 rebounds, starting for a team that has four players committed to Division I programs, and received All-WCAL accolades. This season, Adams was honored as a pre-season All-Area and All-CCS selection.
“John comes to Lehigh from a very successful high school program,” Reed explained. “We believe these experiences will ultimately help him transfer the proper commitment, work ethic and confidence into his freshman year. In addition, John’s defensive abilities are very strong. He has taken great pride in guarding many of his opponent’s best players and has done so quite well. John’s lateral quickness is excellent and his pursuit of the basketball for rebounds is solid. Defensive ability, rebounding and understanding of what it requires to win games are generally the attributes that allow younger players to contribute early in their college careers.”
A 6-5 wing player out of Seattle, Washington, Jordan Hamilton currently attends Seattle Prep where he plays for Michael Kelly and is rated as the number-four wing prospect in the state. Last season Hamilton led Seattle Prep to the 3A State Tournament, in which he averaged 22 points per game in. For the season, Hamilton totaled 16.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 54 percent from the floor and 71 percent from the foul line. At the conclusion of the season, Hamilton was one of only three underclassmen to be named to the All-Metro League team, widely regarded as the best league in the state of Washington. On the summer circuit, Hamilton was named a top-20 All-Star (Best of the Best) at the West Coast All-Star camp.
Reed offered his thoughts on Hamilton. “Jordan is an ever improving player. His growth and development on the court have been significant. He appears to be committed to working on his skills and abilities to make himself the best player he can possibly become. Because of this, we feel his basketball career at Lehigh will continue to blossom.” He continued, “Jordan is an excellent shooter who has the ability to stretch the defense. He has also demonstrated a solid ability to score and finish in the open floor. In addition, his size on the perimeter may prove very valuable in defensive match-ups and assisting our program in the critical area of rebounding.”
The final member of Lehigh’s Class of 2012 is Justin Maneri, a 6-8 center/forward from Saddle Brook High School in New Jersey. Maneri, who plays his high school ball for Brian Gelenius, averaged 17.9 points, 12.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 blocks last season and garnered All-Area accolades from the Herald News. In addition, Maneria has been twice named to the All-Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League Team, twice named All-Bergen County and was a third team All-North Jersey selection last season. Maneri will well eclipse the 1,000 point mark at Saddle Brook having scored his 1,000th career point last year as a junior. Maneri’s success is not limited to the hardwood, as he was heavily recruited as a tight end and wide receiver in football.
“Justin’s size, strength and overall physicality are important attributes for our program,” Reed commented. “His physical maturity will be very instrumental in allowing him to impact our program with a strong rebounding presence and hopefully carry forth a degree of toughness that will become contagious. In addition, Justin’s ability to run the floor is excellent."
Reed concluded, “Justin has consistently split his attention between football and basketball over the last several years. Although this has allowed him to make significant strides from a strength and toughness standpoint, as he begins to focus his full attention on basketball, we feel his overall skill level will improve. If Justin will be able to pick up our concepts and overall system quickly, he will be well on his way to a very productive career.”
After winning its last two games to pull even at 5-5 on the season, Lehigh now has off for the next several weeks for final exams and the holiday break. The Mountain Hawks return to action on December 28 when they play host to Monmouth at Stabler Arena. Tip-off is set for just after 7:00 and tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall, or by logging onto Lehighsports.com at anytime.
