Head coach Bill Coen has finally announced the four freshmen that will be joining the Northeastern University basketball program for the 2012-13 season. The returning starters of Jonathan Lee, Joel Smith, Quincy Ford, and Reggie Spencer will now share the same jersey as David Walker (Stow, Ohio), Kwesi Abakah (Suwanee, Ga.), Derrico Peck (Woodstock, Ga.), and Zach Stahl (Chanhassen, Minn.). The Huskies are also adding Scott Eatherton, a transfer student from St. Francis (Pa.) who will be available for the 2013-2014 season.

The former Stow-Munroe Falls captain, David Walker, will add depth to a small forward position carried mostly last season by Quincy Ford. Walker lead his Bull Dogs to a 22-3 record, a Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC) River Division Championship, and during his senior season he appeared in the state regional finals. The player of the year in the NOC River Division averaged more than 15 points a game, six assists, and four rebounds per contest. He also earned first team All-Ohio honors and finished second in the state in two-point field goal percentage. While the 6’6 incoming rookie can play any of the three perimeter positions, if he hopes to become a staple of the Huskies’ offense and even a back-up to Lee, Smith and Ford, Walker is going to need to improve his shot and score more consistently off the bounce.

The 6’9 body of forward Kwesi Abakah will definitely help a very small Huskies frontcourt. With the exception of 6’11 Dinko Marshavelski, the Huskies tallest player is Ford at small forward position. Abakah should be able to help Spencer in the frontcourt with his size and rebounding. The captain of North Gwinnett High School lead his squad to a 21-10 record and averaged six rebounds and two blocks a game his senior year. He is also third on North Gwinnett’s all-time rebounding list.

It is clear Coach Coen is preparing for the graduation of Lee and Smith. Derrico Peck is another 6’5 guard to help the Huskies in their frontcourt. The Etowah high school standout posted team bests in points (15.1 per game), rebounds (7.1), assists (3.6), blocked shots (2.5) and steals (2). The guard has also shown that he can perform in big games, registering 30 points, 5 blocks, and five steals in his final playoff game.

Zach Stahl is an athlete that simply knows what it takes to win. The 6’6 guard led Hopkins high school to three state titles including a 29-2 record in his senior campaign. With Stahl leading the way in points with (19.1) and rebounds (8.0), the prep school also earned the No. 1 state ranking and a top-20 national ranking his senior year.

The Huskies’ transfer athlete, Scott Eatherton, is coming off a season at St. Francis University in which he averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds a game. He shot 61.4 percent from the field, including 31.6 percent from 3-point range. He also posted 6 double doubles. In his tenure at St. Francis, Eatherton was the leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.

Coach Coen continues to push the Huskies in to becoming one of the more fast-paced teams in this grind-it-out CAA conference, and having four out of his five recruits able to play in the backcourt will definitely help with that goal. This class also gives the program something to work with when the Husky co-captains of Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith graduate.  As far as the frontcourt, Northeastern better hope Dinko is healthy or Reggie Spencer keeps on growing.

– Zolan Kanno-Youngs

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