Bobby Steinburg Moves to Kent State

Motlow head men's basketball coach Bobby Steinburg has been hired to join Geno Ford's staff at Kent State.

After stints at Middle Tennessee, Motlow, Idaho, Bellarmine, and UC Davis, Steinburg returned to Motlow in the capacity of head coach in mid-July of 2006 to rebuild the Buck program. With little time to recruit, Steinburg guided a makeshift group to a share of the TJCCAA Eastern Division championship. In only his second season, Motlow spent a great deal of time in the NJCAA top 20 while breaking the all time single season win total with a 28-5 record. In addition to Motlow's team success, Steinburg sent 6 of his sophomores to NCAA Division I schools in 2007-2008; the most in Motlow's history since the previous season when 2 of his student athletes signed Division I letters of intent.

Steinburg joins Ford's inaugural staff at Kent State. He will have the opportunity to continue coaching Motlow 2008 graduate, Frank Henry-Ala, who signed with Kent in April. The Golden Flash own the distinction of being one of only 7 Division I programs to win 20 plus games for 10 straight seasons. The 2007-2008 MAC Champions finished the season at 28-7.

Jones, Kirk Sign With Southeast Missouri State

Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Scott Edgar has announced the signing of Motlow State Community College teammates, Bijon Jones and Israel Kirk.

"I am proud to announce two new Redhawks," Edgar said. "As I was putting the finishing touches on my 2008 recruiting class, I was looking for young men with basketball ability who also had great character. I feel I have fulfilled what I was looking for in our two new recruits."

Bijon Jones is a 5-10 point guard who led his team to a record of 28-5 and a national ranking. Jones was one of six Motlow players to sign with a Division I program. He averaged seven points, four assists and two steals per game while shooting 47% from 3-point range. As a freshman, Jones averaged ten points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds for the Buck program.

Rated as one of the top on ball defenders in the country, Jones led Liberty High School in Jackson, Tenn., to the 2006 Tennessee Class AA state championship. "Bijon is a fearless player with a high basketball IQ" said his junior college coach, Bobby Steinburg. "I think he will be a terrific player in the OVC."

Edgar said he loved the attitude and toughness of Jones. "He has been a winner everywhere he has played."

Jones was also recruited by Montana State, Eastern Illinois, Cal Poly and Louisiana-Monroe.

Edgar said he was impressed with the athleticism and character displayed by Kirk who attended Lipscomb for two years before transferring to Motlow. "He will improve our athletic ability up front and will be able to defend both forwards and centers."

Kirk was also recruited by Troy State, Eastern Illinois, Southern University and Alabama A & M.

Demarco Stepter Signs With UTSA

University of Texas-San Antonio head coach, Brooks Thompson announced the signing of Motlow State CC center, Demarco Stepter. The 6'7" 270 pound Stepter anchored the post for the past two seasons helping lead the Bucks to a school best 28-5 record and national ranking in 2007-2008.

"We are truly excited about adding such a talented young man," said Thompson. "He has phenomenal hands and extremely quick feet for his size."

Stepter averaged 12.2 points and a league leading 11.3 rebounds per contest for the talented Motlow program this season. On January 26, 2008 Stepter put up what has been considered to be the top performance by a Motlow men's basketball player in the program's history scoring 40 points and grabbing 28 rebounds in a 76-47 victory over league foe Cleveland State.

A pre-season 2nd team NJCAA All American, Stepter averaged 10.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocked shots as a freshman. After being courted by Southeast Missouri State, Middle Tennessee, Kent State, George Mason, Western Kentucky, East Tennessee State, and several others, Stepter decided that UTSA was the perfect fit for him to continue his career.

"Demarco has been a vital part of our program for 2 years," said Motlow head coach Bobby Steinburg. "His skill level and mobility will be an enormous asset for UTSA."

Anthony Sally Will Be a Hilltopper

Western Kentucky University head basketball coach Ken McDonald announced Friday that Anthony Sally has signed a National Letter-of-Intent.

A transfer from Motlow State Community College, Sally will have two seasons of eligibility remaining. "I'm thrilled that we've been able to add a quality player at this point in the year," McDonald commented. "I'm excited about Anthony's potential. He's a tremendous ballhandler with great vision, and he's going to bring toughness to the Hill. Anthony is a well-coached player who has been tested on a very good junior-college team and in an excellent league."

A 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard who originally hails from Richmond, Va., Sally averaged 8 points, 7.6 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game while helping lead the Bucks to a 28-5 finish overall and a 13-3 mark in the Tennessee Junior and Community College Athletic Association. He added 101 steals and nine blocked shots, was credited with a 2.23 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio and shot 71.7 percent at the foul line.

Sally ranked 10th in the National Junior College Athletic Association in assists and was 14th with 3.4 steals per outing.

In Motlow State's season record books, he finished second in steals and thefts per game, third in both assists (227) and assists per contest and 10th in rebounding average. In fact, Sally's 227 assists are the third-highest total in school history while he is one of four players to record 100 or more steals in a career.

Sally handed out 10 or more assists on five different occasions during the 2007-08 campaign as MSCC advanced to the championship game of the TJCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Tournament. His 13 assists in a 76-47 victory over Cleveland (Tenn.) State on Jan. 26 were the second-highest game total in school history.

"Anthony is a crafty floor leader with the ability to break down defenses with his strength, quickness and vision," said Motlow head coach Bobby Steinburg. "The WKU coaches got a steal so late in the game."

He played at Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College as a freshman in 2006-07, averaging 5.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per outing as the Eagles posted a 24-7 record - which included a victory over top-ranked Chipola Junior College as part of a season-best 14-game win streak - while going 9-3 in the Panhandle Conference. TCC claimed five regular-season tournament championships during the course of the year.

Sally led the team with an 81.6 free-throw percentage, and he was second with both 71 assists and 43 steals.

As a senior at Chesterfield Community High, Sally earned all-state honors after recording 22.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Frank Henry-Ala Signs With Kent State

Kent State has added one of the nation's top junior-college forwards to its 2008 recruiting class when Frank Henry-Ala signed a letter of intent to play basketball for the Golden Flashes.

Jerry Mullen's Roundball Review lists the 6-foot-5 Henry-Ala as the best "combo" forward available to sign with a Division I program this spring.

For those who are not familiar with Mullen's ability to spot talent, he is considered the nation's top recruiting guru.

"We are really excited to add a real quality player like Frank to the Kent State family," said KSU head coach Geno Ford. "He is exactly what we try to recruit here " a great student, a great athlete and a very versatile basketball player who gets a lot of different statistics."

Henry-Ala wasn't so sure about the Golden Flashes prior to agreeing to visit Kent this past weekend. He had already spent time on the campuses of Southern Illinois, Texas-San Antonio and Indiana State. He was strongly considering the idea of playing for one of those schools his junior-college coach Bobby Steinburg convinced him to take a look at Kent State.

"Once I got to Kent, I was blown away right out of the gate, right from the very first dinner," said Henry-Ala. "I got to know some of the guys, Jordan (Mincy) and Al (Fisher), and they were great. But mainly I decided I wanted to play for Kent State because of Coach Ford. He and his staff are just really good people. Coach Ford made me feel like I could trust him. He is a very honest guy. That along with Coach Steinburg's recommendation made the decision very apparent."

His 7-foot wing span and 40-inch vertical leap made him a dominant rebounder for a Motlow squad that ranked as the 15th best JUCO team in the nation with a 28-5 record last season. In his one season with the Bucks, Henry-Ala averaged 10 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game, while shooting 40 percent from the 3-point arc.

"Frank is the quintessential student-athlete and has been a pleasure to coach," said Motlow head coach, Bobby Steinburg. He is a winner that will help Kent State continue to compete in the national top 25."

Butler and Drake both offered Henry-Ala scholarships last season, but wanted him to sign early. Henry-Ala made the decision to wait until the current signing period.