USU men’s basketball announces two high school commitments and two junior college commitments

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men’s basketball head coach Stew Morrill announced Thursday that high school standouts Henry Bolton and Julion Pearre (pronounced Perry) along with junior college players Chris Smith and Darius Perkins have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Aggies.

Bolton is a 6-2 guard from Portsmouth, R.I., where he played for St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I.

“Henry is an athletic, strong guard, who is very quick with the ball. He scores in a variety of different ways and has the potential to be a great defender. We can play him at either guard spot,” Morrill said.

Pearre is a 6-3 guard from McKinney, Texas, where he played for McKinney North High School.

“Julion is a two guard that may eventually be able to play the point,” Morrill said. “He is a very good shooter with a high basketball IQ. Julion is a good athlete that is young for his class and a player with a tremendous upside.”

The duo of Bolton and Pearre join with freshmen guard Sam Merrill and forward David Collette in the Aggies’ 2013-14 signing class.

Bolton averaged 15.0 points, 6.2 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game as a junior at St. Andrews, earning all-state and all-New England Region honors. As a junior, Bolton helped guide St. Andrews to the New England Prep School championship game, losing on a buzzer-beating shot from midcourt, ending the season with a 24-9 record.

Bolton attended Portsmouth High School in Portsmouth, R.I., as a freshman and sophomore, where he was a two-time all-state and two-time all-New England Region honoree. As a sophomore, he helped Portsmouth to the New England Final Four. Bolton enters his senior season with 1,323 career points. Bolton was also a two-year letterwinner in football at Portsmouth High School, rushing for 920 yards and 25 touchdowns as a sophomore, earning all-league honors in helping Portsmouth to an 11-1 season and a state runner-up finish.

Bolton’s mother, Zeporah Dasher, is in the U.S. Navy, so Bolton has also lived in Virginia, Tennessee and Japan, and his mother is now stationed in Washington. He intends on majoring in computer science at USU.

Pearre averaged 15.1 points, 2.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game as a junior at McKinney North, helping the Bulldogs to a 22-13 overall record. He earned first-team all-district honors as a sophomore after earning second-team all-district accolades as a freshman. During his sophomore season he was named to the all-tournament team of the Sherman Holiday Tournament.

He is the son of Hulon and Perdethia Pearre. He plans on majoring in sports medicine at USU.

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Smith is a 6-4 guard from Sacramento, Calif., and comes to USU from Yuba College, the same junior college that current Aggie senior players Spencer Butterfield and Sean Harris played at. 

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>”Chris has excellent size as a perimeter player, which will allow him to play either wing position in our program,” Morrill said. “He is an excellent shooter and scorer, and a very solid defender. We expect Chris to be an impact player right away and love that he fits in our system.”

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Perkins is a 6-1 guard from Fort Myers, Fla., and joins Utah State from Miami Dade College. 

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>”Darius is a strong combo guard who has a very good feel for the game,” Morrill said. “Two of his many attributes are his ability to shoot the ball and his love of playing defense. He has the talent to be an excellent Mountain West Conference guard.”

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Smith and Perkins bump USU’s 2013-14 signing class to six players, joining freshmen guards Henry Bolton, Sam Merrill, Julion Pearre and forward David Collette.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Through the first three games of this season at Yuba, Smith is averaging 26.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, helping the 49ers to a runner-up finish at the San Francisco City College Tournament.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Last season, Smith earned all-Bay Area honors after he averaged 15 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, while shooting 53.0 percent from the field, including 42.0 percent from three-point range, as well as 80.0 percent at the free throw line.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>As a prep standout at Center High School in Antelope, Calif., Smith averaged 21.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, helping the Cougars to a 23-9 overall and 7-3 league record. Smith shot 49.6 percent (204-of-411) from the field, including 38.9 percent (49-of-126) from three-point range during his senior season. 

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Smith is the son of Pete and Darlene Smith. His father, Pete, played at Sacramento State from 1978-79. Smith intends on majoring in business at Utah State.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Perkins averaged 18.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game last season at Miami Dade College.  He shot 50.0 percent from the field, as well as 48.0 percent from behind the arc and 77.0 percent at the free throw line.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>He was a prep standout at Chaminade-Madonna Prep School in Hollywood, Fla., averaging 21.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game during his career there. Perkins earned first-team all-Class 3A all-state honors, along with being named the all-district player of the year and the team MVP. He shot 63.5 percent (73-of-115) from the field, in addition to 58.1 percent (25-of-43) from behind the three-point arc as a senior, finishing his career shooting 61.1 percent (237-of-388) from the field and 61.7 percent (82-of-133) from three-point range.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Perkins is one of five children of Margaret Smith and Antonio Perkins. He intends on majoring in business administration at USU.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>The current Aggies are 2-0 so far this season and hits the road for the first time this season, heading to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take on UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. (MT). The Aggies return home to host SEC-opponent Mississippi State on Saturday, Nov. 23.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>USU men’s basketball single-game, multi-game and season tickets are on sale. All single-game tickets will go on sale two weeks prior to each game. Single-game tickets will cost $18 for non-priority and $20 for priority, as well as $25 for premium games against Mississippi State (Nov. 23), BYU (Nov. 30 in Salt Lake City) and UNLV (Feb. 15).

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>USU men’s basketball season ticket renewals and new season tickets are also still on sale. Season tickets start at $230 and they include all 20 home games as well as the BYU game at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City on Nov. 30. Big Blue Scholarship Fund per seat commitment fees apply, ranging from $100-$900 per seat in addition to ticket cost.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Family Plans are also available for purchase at $800 (two adults and three Jr Aggies). Please be aware that there is a limit of one Family Plan per household.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>To order a package or for more Aggie men’s basketball ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Fans can follow the Aggie men’s basketball program at twitter.com/AggieHoops. USU fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics, on facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on instagram at instagram.com/USUAthletics.

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”><span style=”text-decoration: underline;”><strong>Utah State Men’s Basketball 2013-14 Signing Class</strong></span>

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>David Collette – FR – F – Murray, Utah – Murray High School

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Sam Merrill – FR – G – Bountiful, Utah – Bountiful High School

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Henry Bolton – FR – G – Portsmouth, R.I. – St. Andrews School

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Julion Pearre – FR – G – McKinney, Texas – McKinney North High School

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Darius Perkins – JR – G – Fort Myers, Fla. – Chaminade-Madonna Prep School/ Miami Dade College

<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>Chris Smith – JR – G – Sacramento, Calif. – Center High School/Yuba Community College

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<p style=”text-align: left; margin: 0px;”>-USU-

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