SILVER CITY, N.M. - Western New Mexico University's Men's Basketball Head Coach Zane Gibson has announced the team's seven newest signees.
"We think our 2022 class is a very balanced and deep class that will do great things for our program this upcoming year!" said Gibson. "Coach Gilliam did an outstanding job organizing our recruiting board and putting this class together. We really like the makeup of this group and are looking forward to these guys arriving in Silver City."
DJ Heath (Anniston, AL): 6'0 Guard | Anniston, AL | Graduate transfer from Alabama State
2020-2021 Season: Averaged 9.0ppg and 2.5apg. Started 17 of the 18 games played that season.
"I feel like I have been recruiting DJ forever (Coach Gibson says with a chuckle). I offered him out of High School and out of Junior College so I'm fired up that we have DJ coming out to Silver City to be a Mustang. He is an explosive guard, who knows how to put the ball in the basket. He's got a great skill set that allows him to really put his defender on their heels because DJ plays in attack mode for most of the night. DJ is also a very good play maker. He led ASU in assists. The next closest player was 20 assists behind DJ. We look forward to DJ bringing his veteran leadership and experience to WNMU."
Dane Quest (Ontario, Canada): 6'6 Forward | Ontario, Canada | Junior from Tennessee Tech
Played in 70 total games at Tennessee Tech. During the 2021-2022 Season he played in 19 games averaging 7.4mpg, 1.8ppg and 1.2rpg.
"Dane is one of those guys with unlimited potential. When he's put in the right situation, he could flourish. Dane doesn't have any weakness in his game. He's athletic, he's skilled, he can play a lot of different positions. It's our job to get Dane comfortable and get him out of his shell and reach the high ceiling he is capable of getting to. Dane is also one of the greatest young men I've ever recruited. He is very smart and funny. He can talk basketball for days. It was a lot of fun getting to know Dane during the recruiting process and I'm so excited to have him at WNMU."
Isaiah Lewis (Mansfield, TX): 6'7 Forward | Mansfield, TX | Junior transfer from Northern Arizona
2021-2022 Season: Played in all 31 games last year at NAU making 8 starts. Averaged 14.5mpg 2.2ppg, 2.4rpg, with 27 assists.
"Isaiah is the new wave of basketball players. He's a point forward is what he is. For his size he has a great handle of the ball and can really make his teammates better. He's a strong physical driver, good shooter and tough rebounder. I think Isaiah's versatility is going to allow us to use him all over the court and in a ton of different situations. But after all that what I love most about Isaiah is I believe he's got leadership intangibles. He knows how to build relationships with his teammates in a positive way so when the situations present themselves he can try and get his teammates to raise their level of play. Isaiah is also very driven and a hard worker. Those guys tend to have success on and off the court."
Emmanuel White (Katy, TX): 6'5 Wing | Katy, TX | Senior transfer from UTEP
2021-2022 Season: Played in 26 games making three starts. Averaged 8.5mpg, 1.5ppg on 35% 3FG
"Emmanuel will greatly help us in an area I thought we struggled with last year and that's shooting. He can shoot the 3, he can shoot in the midrange, he can shoot it all over the court. His shooting ability will open up his driving game and also create great spacing for his teammates. Emmanuel has great length and a toughness to himself on the defensive end. He's a guy who loves basketball. He's a gym rat! Guys who work the hardest normally see the best results and that's Emmanuel. He's also got a great personality. I believe he will bring a lot of humor to the Mustangs during the 2021-2022 season."
Keith Littles (Augusta, GA): 6'4 Guard | Augusta, GA | Graduate transfer Florida A&M University
2021-2022 Season: Played in all 30 games making 15 starts. Averaged 22.5mpg 5.8ppg 2.0rpg with 48 assists on 36% 3FG.
"Keith is a hard nosed old school basketball player. He loves to compete. Keith is the type of player that wants to pick his man up full court and work him 94 feet all night. You want to have a bunch of options when it comes to guarding the other team's best player and I think Keith will definitely be one of those options for us. I believe his competitive juices will spread to his teammates and make us a competitive team! Keith, like Emmanuel, is a very good shooter who will help us get more spacing on the floor because he's a threat to knock it down from outside. Keith is also a very good driver who should be at the free throw line a lot for the Mustangs. I know Keith has been working really hard with Coach Moss this summer and will come into Silver City ready to go!"
Jaylin McFadden (Rockford, IL): 6'4 Wing/Forward | Rockford, IL | Senior transfer from CSU San Bernardino
2021-2022 Season: Played in 26 of 28 games. Averaged 9.0mpg, 2.8ppg 1.9rpg
"Jaylin is another really tough basketball player. He's got good size and length with his arms. He loves to defend. He's a very good shooter who like both Keith and Emmanuel will help with spacing this season. The thing I love most about Jaylin is how he goes and rebounds with two hands. He attacks the ball when its in the air and more times than not comes down with the ball. Jaylin is also a winner! He was a member of the 2018 Ferris State National Championship team and his Bernardino team last year was nationally ranked each week of the season. Before Jaylin got hurt at Ferris State he was leading their team in scoring at 18ppg. We believe Jaylin is healthy and hungry to show the player we all know he is."
De'Angelo Ware (Evansville, IN): 6'0 Guard | Evansville, IN | Junior transfer from Prairie View A&M
2021-2022 Season: Played in 22 games. Averaged 8.2mpg, 1.1ppg, and 1.2rpg
"De'Angelo is a big physical guard. He's very strong and can get by you with his quickness or his strength. That's a great combination to have. Sometimes defenders are strong enough to stay in front and sometimes they are fast enough to stay in front but De'Angelo has the counter to both. He's going to put a lot of pressure on the rim and make his teammates better by constantly getting downhill. The other thing he does that I love, is as a guard he can really go and rebound the ball and I think a lot of that has to do with how strong he is. Big guys can't knock him out of the way. He gets physical and goes and gets the ball! If your guards can rebound the ball it makes your team play even faster and we really want to play fast so De'Angelo fits great with our play style."
"These seven young men have high character and their values line up with what we are doing here at Western New Mexico," said Gibson. "We took some great strides last year as a program and I love our returning cast. These seven guys will come in and gel immediately with those returners. We cannot wait to get to work!"
This announcement is presented by First American Bank. Thank you First American Bank for you support in Western New Mexico University Athletics!
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Western New Mexico University is a member of the NCAA Division II, and the Lone Star Conference (LSC). For additional information regarding Mustang Athletics, visit www.wnmumustangs.com; visit wnmu.edu for more information about Western New Mexico University. Follow the Mustangs on social media: @WNMUathletics (Twitter & Instagram).
