May 8, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. - Brandon Sampay, a former player at Howard College (Texas), signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his education and basketball career at Illinois State Tuesday. Sampay, a 6-8, 255-pound post player, will be a junior and have two years of eligibility remaining heading into the 2007-08 campaign.
Illinois State head coach Tim Jankovich was excited about the signing of Sampay.
"We are thrilled to be welcoming Brandon into our basketball family," said Jankovich. "He played for a great junior college coach in Mark Adams, and really developed into a versatile player. He will be a great addition to our program and this university."
Sampay averaged 13.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest last season. He also led Howard College with 1.6 steals per game. Sampay shot better than 60 percent (.603) from the field, and nearly 71 percent (.708) from the free throw line. Sampay was a two-time Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) all-league performer, and led the Hawks to a 52-13 record in his two years with the program.
"The coaching staff sold me on coming to Illinois State," said Sampay. "Coach Jankovich is a teacher of the game, and that is the type of coach I want to play for. I feel like it's a great fit and I look forward to contributing right away."
Sampay, who attended Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, also made official recruiting visits to Connecticut, Wyoming and Missouri Valley Conference foe Wichita State, where he verbally committed to play for former Shockers head coach Mark Turgeon last December.
Sampay is Jankovich's second signing since being hired on March 20. Emmanuel Holloway, a 6-2 guard, signed an NLI on April 26.
