Doug Wojcik completed his signing class for 2008. |
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Tulsa's Wojcik Signs Houston Forward
May 8, 2008
Tulsa, Oklahoma - University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach Doug Wojcik announced today the signing of Houston prep senior Bassel (Baze-Sull) Bawji (Bah-Gee) to a national letter-of-intent to play basketball for the Golden Hurricane.
The 6'7", 225-pound forward, from Beirut, Lebanon, played this past season at Houston's Klein Collins High School where he averaged 12 points and 10.5 rebounds. Bawji also shot 52-percent from the field and 40-percent from three-point range as a senior.
"Bassel fits our needs. He's a skilled four-man with a lot of toughness," said Wojcik.
Bawji was a first-team all-District 16-5A selection while helping lead his team to an overall 31-5 record, a top-5 ranking in the state during the entire regular season and a top-50 ranking in the nation for 10 weeks. His team posted a 3-2 record against teams ranked among the top-50 teams in the country.
Bawji tallied 14 points and 18 rebounds in the Houston All-Star Game, a contest where 18 of the 24 players had already signed Division I scholarships.
"We first heard about Bassel after his performance in the Houston all-star game, coached by Joey Kieval's grandfather. Joey's dad called us after that game because he knew we were potentially looking for a four-man. Bassel was the leading rebounder in that game featuring the best players in the Houston-area. Assistant coaches David (Cason) and Dave (Wojcik) watched Bassel in an AAU tournament in Houston that weekend and came away impressed," said Wojcik.
"He plays extremely hard and has a very good IQ for the game. He has very good skills and he really pursues the basketball well as a rebounder," said Wojcik. "We continued to watch him and recruited him for the last four weeks. He came up for a visit on Tuesday and really fit in well with our team. We're excited to have Bassel join our basketball program."
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"In all my years of coaching on the high school level I've never had a kid before average a double-double," said Klein Collins Head Coach Tim Schumacher. "Bassel's strength is his rebounding. Although he has the ability to shoot the three, can score in the low post and has good ball-handling skills on the perimeter, being able to go get a rebound is his strength. He received a lot of attention from recruiters late, and they all commented what great ability he had for rebounding the basketball. Bassel has a certain toughness and mean streak that every coach loves to have on a team."
Bawji chose Tulsa over Seton Hall. Bawji's father was a great basketball player in Lebanon and his mother was a top volleyball athlete.
Tulsa Basketball Signees Name Pos Ht Wt Cl. Hometown/Previous School PPG RPG Armond Battle F 6-7 180 Fr. Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret 21.8 7.2 Bassel Bawji F 6-7 225 Fr. Beirut, Lebanon/Klein Collins (Texas) 12.0 10.5 Brandon Jackson G 6-5 170 Fr. Putnam City, Okla./Putnam City 9.0 4.4 apg Adrian HernandezG 6-3 185 Jr-JC Quebradillas, PR/Monterrey Peninsula Coll. 12.0 7.0 apg Joe Richard F 6-7 230 Fr. San Bernardino, Calif./Arroyo Valley 14.5 15.9
