April 15, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's basketball team expanded its incoming recruiting class to six, as head coach Tim Jankovich announced that forward Jackie Carmichael and junior college transfer guard Austin Hill each signed a National Letter of Intent Wednesday to continue their education and basketball careers at ISU.
Carmichael, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound power forward, played at South Kent (Conn.) Prep School this past season. He averaged 10 points and nine rebounds per game, as the Cardinals posted a 27-6 record. Prior to attending South Kent, Carmichael, who will have four years of eligibility at Illinois State, attended Manhattan (Kan.) High School and was a Class 6A All-State player.
As a senior at Manhattan, Carmichael averaged 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots per game. He led the Indians to a 20-3 record in 2008 and the first state tournament for Manhattan High School in 12 seasons. He was also a McDonald's High School All-America nominee.
"Jackie is an exciting addition to our program," said Jankovich. "He is a tremendous athlete with outstanding size and strength. As much success as he has already had in his career, I strongly believe his best days are ahead of him."
Hill, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound guard, spent his last two seasons at Southeastern Illinois College (Harrisburg, Ill.) and hails from Covington, Ky. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last season for the Falcons, who started the year 19-0, before finishing with a 24-5 mark and a No. 11 final ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I (NJCAA) poll.
As a prep, Hill attended Covington Holmes High School. He averaged 17.5 points and four rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. Holmes posted a 25-10 record during Hill's senior season, before losing in the final four of the state tournament. Hill was a second-team all-state selection and was named the Kentucky Region 9 Player of the Year.
"Austin is a very strong, tough, physical guard who gives us a dimension that we felt like we really needed," said Jankovich. He played in an outstanding junior college program which we feel will make his adjustment (to the NCAA Division I level) smoother."
Carmichael and Hill join fellow Redbird recruits, Justin Clark, Jon Ekey, Terrence Johnson and Zeke Upshaw, who each signed during the early signing period last fall.
"Obviously ,we have an inordinate number of new players joining our program for next season, but the exciting thing is that we have a tremendous freshmen class of five, that I'm very optimistic about, as well as a junior college addition whom we feel can fill a need," said Jankovich.
