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Over the course of the past week or so, there may not be any hotter trend in recruiting than that of URI and head coach Danny Hurley.
Hurley, who takes over the Rams’ program this season after the school parted ways with Jim Baron, is looking to make every move possible to get Rhode Island back into contention in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Just last week, the Rams received an instant boost from Northeastern transfer Alwayne Bigby, who is eligible to play immediately due to his status as a graduate student. Bibgy has one season of eligibility remaining.
In addition, URI landed a late commitment and addition from Nigerian native Ifeanyi Onyekaba. Onyekaba is reportedly enrolled at URI for the time being, but the Rams will need a waiver to have him for this season while he awaits full clearance from the NCAA.
While the Rams will have their struggles with a depleted roster in 2012-13, Hurley remains focused on building a power in Kingston. Over the weekend, URI landed two huge commitments from the class of 2013 as both E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin pledged their decisions.
Matthews, who hails from Romulus, Mich., might just be the biggest commitment that Hurley has landed to date, given his status as a top-100 recruit. ESPN lists Matthews as the No. 86 prospect within the class of 2013, while Rivals pins him at No. 92. Matthews should undoubtedly impact the URI program once he arrives on campus next season.
The Michigan native is a 6-foot-4 combo guard.
As for Martin, he comes to URI by way of Staten Island, N.Y., where he currently attends Curtis H.S. (NY). Martin pledged his decision following a weekend visit to the campus. Rivals lists Martin at No. 134 overall in their top-150. The forward stands at 6-foot-6.
The addition of not one, but two highly regarded prospects certainly allows for the Rams’ future potential to soar.
Fellow New York native, Jon Severe, who is listed at No. 150 overall by Rivals, also visited the URI campus this past weekend, and although the 6-foot-2 guard has not made any decision just yet, pure speculation pins the Rams as one of the frontrunners for his services.
Be sure to follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @TheArenaPulse
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