May 16, 2012

MILWAUKEE - Jordan Aaron of the Bronx, NY, Thierno "Bobo" Niang of Dakar, Senegal, and Donald Thomas of Reserve, La., have signed National Letters of Intent to play men's basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, head coach Rob Jeter announced today.

The trio of standouts will come to UWM this summer and be eligible to play immediately in the 2012-13 season.

Aaron is a 5-foot-11 point guard who played each of the past two years at Southeastern Community College in Iowa. As a freshman at SCC, Aaron averaged 9.4 points per game and made 38 three-pointers. He added 2.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest. That season, he scored 32 points, including the game-winning three-pointer, to seal SCC's District 11 victory at Williston (ND) State. This past season, the standout averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per contest. He also added 23 three-pointers in 16 games.

Aaron was a standout prep player in New York. As a senior at Wings Academy in The Bronx, he averaged 17 points per game and led his squad to the PSAL Class AA semifinals.

"Jordan is a true point guard who really fills a need for us," Jeter said. "He can score when needed but his main focus is working hard to make everyone on the court better. He will also bring us more speed at the position and will be a great addition to our backcourt."

Niang comes to Milwaukee after spending the past two seasons at Triton College in suburban Chicago. The 6-foot-1 guard came to the U.S. three years ago, spending a year at Bridgton Academy in Maine before heading to Triton.

As a freshman at Triton, Niang averaged 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. This past season, he added 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. His efforts helped Triton to a 27-5 mark this past year.

Niang is also is on Senegal's national team and played in the 2011 African Championships.

"Bobo is a strong, athletic guard and will be a great piece for us," Jeter said. "He takes great pride in his defense and he'll really be able to help us on that end of the floor. On offense, he is unselfish and gets all of his teammates involved. He's a very team-oriented player and will also add great leadership to our group."

Thomas, a 6-foot-7 wing player, played his high school basketball at Riverside Academy just outside of New Orleans. He earned second-team all-state honors this season from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and claimed a spot on the Times-Picayune All-Metro Team. He helped his Riverside team to a 36-10 record this season and a runner-up finish in the state. He was a part of state championship teams in each of the two previous seasons.

Thomas is rated as a two-star recruit by Scout.com and is the seventh-ranked player from the state of Louisiana. He is one of four players from his team planning to play at Division I schools next season.

He is also a standout in the long jump, placing eighth in the state this spring.

"Donald is a true wing who is really starting to grow into his body," Jeter said. "He is already a very good player and he has the potential to get a lot better. He shoots the ball well and his track background shows what a great athlete is he. He also has great leadership qualities and it's exciting to add him to our group."

The three new players join fall signee Austin Arians (Stoughton, Wis.) as members of the incoming recruiting class. Arians was an all-state honoree at Edgewood High School this past season.