NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head coach Dan Muller has announced the signing of current Iowa Western guard Josiah Strong to a National Letter of Intent to compete for Illinois State starting in the 2020-21 basketball season.
Through six games this season with Iowa Western, the 6-2 combo guard is averaging 14.2 points while pulling down 3.5 rebounds and dishing out 3.7 assists per game. He has scored in double-figures in all six of his games, including scoring a season-high 25 points in the opener on Nov. 1. He has dished out at least three assists in four games, including a season-high eight against Butler Community College, and has pulled down at least five rebounds three times in the early portion of the season.
"We are so excited to welcome Josiah to our program," said Muller. "Josiah is a physical combo guard that can really shoot the ball at a high level. With his one year at Navy and now this year at Iowa Western, he will bring a lot of experience playing for two terrific coaches at the college level. At 6-2, and the ability to play and guard multiple positions, Josiah will really help our program next year with the loss of our seniors."
As a freshman, Strong played for the Naval Academy and played in 31 games, averaging 10.5 minutes per game. He twice scored in double-figures during the season, including a season-high 11 coming at Lipscomb in which he made all six of his free throw tries. He also had season-highs of four rebounds at American Univ. and four assists at Colgate.
With Navy he averaged 3.1 points, 1.0 assists and nearly a rebound per game. He made 11-of-12 free throws during the year, 38 percent (34-of-90) from the field and 17-of-47 (36 percent) from beyond the arc. He added nine steals, one blocked shot and just 20 turnovers for the year.
Illinois State is currently 2-1 in the 2019-20 season and will face off against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Friday, Nov. 22 in the opening round of the Paradise Jam, hosted in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
