WATKINS INKS TWO TOP RECRUITS
Nov 12, 1998 | Men's Basketball
November 12, 1998
Bernard King of Gibsland, La., and Carlton Brown of Temple (Texas) Junior College have signed letters-of-intent to play college basketball at Texas A&M, Aggies coach Melvin Watkins said Thursday.
King, a 6-5 guard from Gibsland Coleman High School, is rated as the 39th best prep prospect in the country by Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports and is rated as the 59th best prospect by Clark Francis' Hoop Scoop. King was also recruited by Purdue, Minnesota, Tulane, Seton Hall, LSU and Wyoming.
As a junior last season, King averaged 30.2 points, 7.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game. He earned Amateur Athletic Union All-America honors last summer and was named to the all-tournament team at the AAU's Washington (D.C.) Pro-Am Tournament as a member of the Shreveport-Bossier AAU team.
"Bernard is one of those players who makes everybody else on the team look good," Coleman coach Oscar Williams said. "He'll pass it before he shoots it and he still averaged 30 points a game for us. We went 40-4 last year and played some bigger schools, too."
"Bernard is one of the top high school guards in the country and we are excited about him being a part of our future," Watkins said. "He is a multi-talented young man who can play a lot of different positions."
Brown, a 6-7 forward, led Temple Junior College in scoring and rebounding as a freshman last season, averaging 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and earned first- team all-conference and second-team all-region honors.
Through four games this season, he is averaging 23.5 points and 8.1 rebounds and is ranked as one of the top 30 junior college players in the country by Rick Ball's JUCO Report. Brown played high school basketball at San Antonio Jay High School, where he played for former A&M player Steve Sylestine.
"I think Carlton will be an impact type of player for A&M," Temple coach Kirby Johnson said. "He's as athletic as anyone who has ever played for me but more than that, he's a pleasant person to be around. He's a respectful, fine young man who will do very well at A&M."
"Carlton will immediately increase our athletic ability on the wing and that was one of our needs as we approached this recruiting class," Watkins said. "We're very excited about having him join our basketball family."
1998-99 TEXAS A&M RECRUITING CLASS Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown (High School/College) Carlton Brown F 6-7 210 San Antonio, Texas (Jay/Temple JC) Bernard King G 6-5 180 Gibsland, La. (Coleman)
