The West Virginia Wesleyan men’s basketball team signed three highly touted recruits – Keshawn Creighton, Ryan Hoehner, and Greg Price – to national letters-of-intent, announced head coach Bill Lilly.

Lilly, in his first year of guiding the Bobcats, made major strides in rebuilding the basketball program during the 2005-06 season. The Bobcats finished this past season with a flourish, winning five of their final eight games and pulling off two upsets in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, advancing all the way to the semi-finals.

“It was a tough season, but we made progress as the year went on,” said Lilly. “Still, we need to make significant improvements for next year. I think it is safe to say these three recruits are well thought of and have the potential of a very bright future in college basketball.”

Creighton is a forward from Wheeling, WV. As a senior at Wheeling Park High School, the 6-6 Creighton averaged 19.1 points per game. He helped guide Wheeling Park to a quarter-final appearance in the West Virginia State High School Basketball Tournament. He was also named to the West Virginia Class AAA All-State First Team and honored as a selection on the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference First Team. As a junior, he averaged 16.6 point per game and was named to the West Virginia All-State Second Team.

“When I first saw Keshawn, I was very impressed,” stated Lilly. “He plays the game hard, runs the floor well, and rebounds the ball on both ends of the court. He really does all the little things well and I think he will be a great fit for our team.”

Hoehner averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and blocked 36 shots as a senior at Bowling Green High School in Ohio. The 6-5 forward was selected to the Ohio Division I All-State Honorable Mention list and to the First Team All-State Academic Team. He was selected to play in the prestigious Ohio North-South All-Star game in Columbus. He led the Northern Lakes League in scoring. He was a First Team All-League selection, a First Team member on the All-District Team, and a Second Team selection on the Northwest District Team. He was a three-sport standout at Bowling Green, playing football and running track as well as basketball. He is also a 4.0 student and ranked first in his graduating class of 257 students.

“Ryan is a tremendous player,” commented Lilly. “I fell in love with his game immediately. He is very skilled in shooting the ball and will fight you for a rebound. And he is a fantastic student as well.”

Price is a guard from Urbana High School, MD, who averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists his senior season. The 6-1 Price led Urbana to a 23-2 record and was named to First Team All-MBC 25, First Team All-Monocacy Valley Athletic League – Chesapeake, and was a First-Team All-Area selection.

“Greg is a true guard with shooting, set up and finish skills,” remarked Lilly. “He rarely will turn the ball over. He is a student of the game and relishes the role of floor general.”

Lilly expects all three could see playing time and be a contributor this upcoming season. “It could be a situation where we are going to be extremely young,” Lilly concluded. “But I think the people we have in our program are really going to be dedicated and want to play and do things the right way.”