Cyclones Add Three In Late Signing Period

AMES, Iowa--Iowa State head men's basketball coach Greg McDermott announced today that L.A. Pomlee, a first-team all-state selection and one of the top prep players in Iowa, and Jamie Vanderbeken, one of the best junior college post players, have signed national letters of intent to play basketball at Iowa State for the upcoming 2008-09 season. McDermott also announced that Scott Christopherson, Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball Award winner in 2007, will transfer to Iowa State after playing one season at Marquette.

Pomlee, a 6-8, 230-pound power forward from Davenport, led his Davenport Central team to the Class 4A state championship game in 2008. A first-team all-state pick by both the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) and the Des Moines Register, Pomlee averaged 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds as a senior. He led the Mississippi Athletic Conference in both rebounding (10.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (63.8 percent), guiding his Central team to an unblemished conference mark (16-0) and a 23-3 overall record. He was ranked as the 38th-best power forward in the class of 2008 by Scout.com.

“We are very excited to have L.A. join our program,” McDermott said. “He has made great strides this past year in all areas. He is a versatile, athletic forward that can impact our program immediately. His ability to rebound and block shots will serve him well in the Big 12.”

Vanderbeken, a 6-11, 240-pound forward from Belleville, Canada, averaged 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds while leading his Tyler (Texas) J.C. squad to a top-10 national ranking and a 25-3 overall mark in his sophomore season. Vanderbeken, who earned second-team all-Region XIV honors, led his team in field goal percentage (56.7 percent) and was second on the squad in 3-pointers made with 40. He was selected to play in the NJCAA All-Star game on April 20, and was ranked as one of the top-50 junior college players nationally at the beginning of the season.

“We are excited to have Jamie join the Cyclone basketball program,” McDermott said. “He brings so much to our program. His versatility, skill and 3-point shooting will give us great spacing on the floor. Jamie brings size, a strong basketball IQ and a wealth of experience from Tyler Junior College which will make him an immediate impact contributor for the Cyclones. At 6'11”, he will be one of the best 3-point shooting big men in the country.”

Christopherson, a 6-3, 200-pound guard from LaCrosse, Wis., was named Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball and was a first-team all-state selection after averaging 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists for LaCrosse Aquinas High School in 2007. He played one season at Marquette, appearing in 18 games, scoring 1.3 points and shooting 6-of-15 from 3-point range as a true freshman in 2007-08. He will sit out next season under NCAA transfer rules and will begin competing for the Cyclones as a sophomore in 2009-10.

“Scott will bring leadership, toughness and shooting to our backcourt,” McDermott said. “His ability to play multiple positions and a strong work ethic will be tremendous assets to our program in the coming years.”

Pomlee, Vanderbeken and Christopherson are three of seven Cyclone newcomers for the 2008-09 season. Dominique Buckley (6-2, 190, Fr., Detroit, Mich.), Wes Eikmeier (6-3, 175, Fr., Fremont, Neb.), Justin Hamilton (6-11, 220, Fr., Alpine, Utah) and Clinton Mann (6-7, 220, Fr., Overland Park, Kan.) all signed national letters of intent in November.

Iowa State Men's Basketball 2008-09 Recruits
Dominique Buckley, G, 6-2, 190, Freshman, Detroit, Mich. (Romulus)
Scott Christopherson, G, 6-3, 200, Sophomore, LaCrosse, Wis. (Aquinas/Marquette)
Wes Eikmeier, G, 6-3, 175, Freshman, Fremont, Neb. (Archbishop Bergan)
Justin Hamilton, C, 6-11, 220, Freshman, Alpine, Utah (Lone Peak)
Clinton Mann, F, 6-7, 220, Freshman, Overland Park, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
L.A. Pomlee, F, 6-8, 230, Freshman, Davenport, Iowa (Central)
Jamie Vanderbeken, F, 6-11, 240, Junior, Belleville, Ontario, Canada (Quinte/Tyler J.C.)

Dominique Buckley
G, 6-2, 190, Freshman
Detroit, Mich. (Romulus)
High School: A true point guard who is considered one of the top floor leaders in the class of 2008...ranked as the 124th-best player in the nation according to the ESPN 150 rankings...was a 2008 Detroit Free Press Dream Team member and an AP first-team all-state selection as a senior in 2008...finished fourth in the balloting for Michigan's Mr. Basketball Award...led his team to a 22-4 record and a state semifinal appearance as a senior...averaged 15.2 points, 6.3 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 steals in his final season...tallied 31 points vs. Detroit Pershing...named second-team Class A all-state as a junior by the Detroit Free Press, averaging 14.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 6.3 assists...shot 39 percent from 3-point range and 72 percent at the free-throw line...was first-team all-West Detroit selection...team won conference and district titles in 2007...made two free-throws with no time on the clock to secure a 66-65 semifinal victory over Belleville...averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 assists as a sophomore...has been starting since his freshman season when his team made the state title game...chose ISU over Wisconsin, Penn State, Xavier, Miami (Fla.) and Dayton...committed to ISU prior to his junior season.

Scott Christopherson
G, 6-3, 200, Sophomore
LaCrosse, Wis. (Aquinas/Marquette)
One of the best players in Wisconsin in the class of 2007, Christopherson transfered to Iowa State from Marquette after playing one season with the Golden Eagles...will sit out next season (2008-09) as a redshirt under NCAA transfer rules and will be a sophomore eligibility-wise for the 2009-10 season.
At Marquette: Played in 18 games as a true freshman, averaging 1.3 points and 0.7 rebounds...shot 42.1 percent (8-19 FG) from the field and 40.0 percent (6-15 3FG) from 3-point range...was slowed by a knee injury that required surgery at the beginning of practice.
High School: Named Mr. Basketball in the state of Wisconsin by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association following his senior season at LaCrosse Aquinas High School...first non-division 1 winner of the award since 1996...Cyclone teammate Diante Garrett finished third in the balloting for Mr. Basketball...ranked as the 27th-best point guard in the final Rivals.com rankings...first team all-state honoree after averaging 22.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game...helped program to a 26-1 overall record and a spot in the state championship game...netted a team-best 18 points in the title matchup...named Mississippi Valley Conference Player of the year as a senior...contributed 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per night as a junior en route to all-state accolades...program posted a 46-4 overall record during his two-year tenure...competed his first two seasons at the prep level at Melrose-Mindoro High School...all-state honoree after chipping in 22.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a sophomore...helped team to 18-5 overall record...four-year letterwinner.

Wes Eikmeier
G, 6-3, 175, Freshman
Fremont, Neb. (Archbishop Bergan)
High School: One of the greatest scorers in Nebraska prep history, Eikmeier was a two-time Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008...a two-time first-team Super State pick by the Omaha World Herald in 2007 and 2008...finished his career with 2,193 points, ranking eighth all-time in Nebraska prep history...averaged 31.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.1 assists while leading his Archbishop Bergan team to a perfect 27-0 mark and a Class D-1 state title as a senior...led the state in scoring as a senior, tallying 840 points to rank eighth on Nebraska's prep single-season scoring list...scored 107 points in three state tournament games, the most-ever in Class D-1...his 43 points in the state final game vs. Humphrey St. Francis broke the Class D-1 state tournament single-game scoring mark...he was 16-of-22 from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range in the state championship game, tying the state tournament mark for field goals in a game with 16...scored a career-high 59 points behind a 10-of-13 effort from 3-point range vs. North Bend...owns 24 school records...was one of only six juniors to earn state player of the year honors by Gatorade in 2007...named captain of the Fremont Tribune All-Area team...averaged 26.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals for a team that finished 19-5 and advanced to the Class C-2 state semifinals in his junior season...shot 53.4 percent from the floor...tallied 45 points in a game as a junior...averaged 22.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals as a sophomore...chose ISU over Creighton and Northern Iowa...committed to the Cyclones prior to his junior season.

Justin Hamilton
C, 6-11, 220, Freshman
Alpine, Utah (Lone Peak)
High School: A skilled post player who did not start playing basketball until he was 15 years old...a late-bloomer who only played varsity in his senior season...helped lead his Lone Peak High School team to a 23-2 record and the Class 5A state title his senior year...his prep team was ranked in the top-25 nationally, earning a ranking of No. 22...averaged 10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game while earning first-team all-state honors in Class 5A from the Deseret Morning News...his 77 blocks set a single-season school mark...scored 10 points, grabbed six boards and blocked a school-record 10 shots in the state championship game win over Bingham...voted as the state of Utah's most improved player in 2007-08...two of his teammates also received Division I offers...Bracken Funk will attend Fresno State and Josh Sharp will play at Utah...impressed recruiters with his play in the AAU summer circuit...received offers from Pepperdine, Weber State, UC Davis and St. Mary's...has size 17 shoes.

Clinton Mann
F, 6-7, 220, Freshman
Overland Park, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
High School: An athletic and hard working power forward who was one of the top players in Kansas...a first-team Class 5A all-state selection by the Wichita Eagle and Kansas Basketball Coaches Association (KBCA) as a senior...was a first-team all-class selection by the Wichita Eagle...named to the Kansas City Star's all-Metro team...led his St. Thomas Aquinas team to a 16-9 mark and a third-place finish in Class 5A in 2007-08...averaged 18.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and shot 52 percent from the field as a senior...scored 17 points in the substate win over No. 1-ranked Bishop Miege to advance to state, ending Kansas recruit Travis Releford's prep career...scored a game-high 20 points in the state tournament win over Sumner...tallied 20 points in the consolation game win over Emporia...averaged 15.1 points and 10.2 rebounds as a junior...second-team all-state in Class 5A by the KBCA and a Kansas City all-Metro pick as a junior...brother, Nathan, played basketball at William & Mary, scoring over 1,000 points and recording the second-most 3-pointers in school history (215)...chose Iowa State over Iowa, Creighton and Loyola Chicago.

L.A. Pomlee
F, 6-8, 230, Freshman
Davenport, Iowa (Central)
High School: An intimidating athletic forward who was ranked as the 38th-best power forward in the class of 2008 by Scout.com...was a first-team Class 4A all-state selection by both the Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) and the Des Moines Register as a senior...was a also a Quad City Times all-Metro pick...averaged 15.4 points and led the Mississippi Athletic Conference (MAC) in both rebounding (10.1 rpg) and field goal percentage (63.8 percent) as a senior...his Central team went undefeated in the conference (16-0) and 23-3 overall...prep team advanced to the state championship game, falling to Iowa City High 64-54 in the Class 4A state title game...scored 14 points and grabbed 12 boards in the state title game...missed his entire junior season after developing a blood clot in his leg...was a third-team all-state selection (INA) in his sophomore campaign after averaging 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds...chose ISU over Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Jamie Vanderbeken
F, 6-11, 240, Junior
Belleville, Ontario, Canada (Quinte/Tyler J.C.)
Tyler J.C.: A skilled big man who can step out and shoot from the perimeter...helped his Tyler squad earn a top-10 national ranking and win its first outright conference title in 21 years in his sophomore season...averaged 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds to guide Tyler to a 25-3 overall mark...led the team in field goal percentage (56.7 percent) and was second on the squad in 3-pointers made with 40...earned second-team all-Region XIV honors...helped Tyler clinch the conference title by scoring a career-high 29 points in a win over Panola, going 10-for-10 from the field, including a 6-of-6 effort from beyond the arc...invited to play in the NJCAA All-Star game...averaged 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds as a junior...named the 53rd-best junior college prospect by Juco Junction at the beginning of the season.
High School: One of the best players from Canada...averaged 25.0 points, 12.1 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game while earning all-region honors...invited to the Nike All-Canada National Team camp tryouts...ranked as the 148th-best player nationally in the class of 2006 by Hoopmasters...originally signed with Iowa, but went to junior college after some of his core courses did not transfer.

Cyclones Add Three In Late Signing Period

Players Mentioned

Dominique Buckley

Scott Christopherson

Wes Eikmeier

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Justin Hamilton

Clinton Mann

L.A. Pomlee

Jamie Vanderbeken

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Iowa State University Athletics

Cyclones Add Three In Late Signing Period

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Players Mentioned

Dominique Buckley

Scott Christopherson

Wes Eikmeier

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Justin Hamilton

Clinton Mann

L.A. Pomlee

Jamie Vanderbeken

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