Six Blinn College basketball players have signed national letters of intent to continue their playing careers at four-year colleges and universities.
Darrell Combs signed with Eastern Michigan University, Donald Moore signed with Eastern Illinois University, T.J. Berry and DeQuentin Greer each pledged to Our Lady of the Lake University, Martaveous Smith signed with Southern Polytechnic State University and Marquise Hines signed with St. Augustine's University. Team manager Stacey Strickland earned a student assistant scholarship from Sam Houston State University.
"One of our goals was to get Martaveous back home and playing college basketball in Georgia," Blinn men's basketball coach Scott Schumacher said. "Marquise wanted to play basketball in North Carolina. Darrell and Donald both wanted to play near their hometowns, and T.J. and DQ both wanted to stay in Texas. I'm glad it worked out for all those guys, because they really played their hearts out for us this season."
Combs, a 6-1 freshman guard from South Holland, Ill., led the Buccaneers with 16.8 points per game in 23 contests. He averaged 3.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game on his way to all-Region XIV South Zone Conference honors. Eastern Michigan plays in the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference.
Moore, a 6-1 freshman point guard from Chicago Heights, Ill., averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 25 games. Eastern Illinois plays in the NCAA Division I Ohio Valley Conference.
Combs and Moore were both academic qualifiers.
Berry, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Spring, Texas, was an all-conference selection for the Buccaneers after averaging 9.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 26 games. Greer, a 6-3 sophomore guard from La Marque, Texas, averaged 8.7 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Our Lady of the Lake plays in the NAIA's Red River Athletic Conference.
Smith, a 6-9 sophomore forward from Waynesboro, Ga., will return to his home state after averaging 3.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for the Buccaneers. Southern Polytechnic State plays in the NAIA's Southern States Athletic Conference.
Hines, a 6-7 sophomore forward from Fayetteville, N.C., will also return to his home state after averaging 4.1 points and 4.0 rebounds in 26 games. St. Augustine's plays in the NCAA Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Blinn went 12-19 last season, defeating Coastal Bend College in the first round of the Region XIV Conference Tournament.
