Jeff Bzdelik continues to add more players to try and right the ship, this time it is JUCO transfer Marcus Relphorde. Relphorde, the 6'7" 225 pound wing/guard combo, played at Indian Hills Community College last season and will have three years to play two at Colorado. Relphorde was being recruited by Arkansas, TCU and Colorado. Marcus would be the fifth incomer this year to go along with 6-11 Shane Harris-Tunks from Australia, 6-6 Keegan Hornbuckle of Los Angeles and 6-5 Alec Burks of Grandview (Mo.) and 6-0 Shannon Sharpe of Corona (CA). And we thought last year's team was young. This should end this year's recruitment for Bzdelik as this most recent scholarship was opened up by the departure of freshman G Ryan Kelley.
In 2007, Relphorde officially signed a letter of intent with the St. Louis Billikens and played one year there. Here is how the article from the St. Louis website described Relphorde at the time of his commitment:
Relphorde played at Homewood-Flossmoor in Chicago before attending American Christian School in Alston, Pa. last year. He scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out 3.5 assists per game. At Flossmoor, Relphorde helped the Vikings to a 27-4 record and a spot in the Illinois Supersectionals in 2004-05. He played on that team with current Kansas sophomore Julian Wright, who has declared for the NBA Draft this summer.
"Marcus is a tremendous signee for this program," Soderberg said. "He has the `hard to find' combination of size, skill and agility. I am not exaggerating when I say he has the ability to play all four perimeter positions equally well and, if necessary, could probably do some damage in the post. Marcus is unique in that he has the size and strength necessary to defend lane players yet quick enough feet to defend perimeter players. He poses match-up problems for opposing defenses because he can score both inside and out. He is a great passer with a very good feel on the offensive end."
I like the versatility that Relphorde brings to the program and hopefully his 6'7" size can cause matchup problems on the perimeter. Last year at Indian Hills C.C., he averaged 10.6 ppg and shot a +40% from downtown. He was named honorable mention All-Region team in the 2008 - 2009 season and Indian Hills, considered a powerhouse in the community college ranks, finished 30 - 3.
In 2007/2008, his freshman year at St.. Louis University, Relphorde played sparingly in 21 games, averaging 4.3 min/game and 1.0 point/game. Relphorde transferred from St. Louis around the time that Rick Majerus took over the helm, along with three other St. Louis players.
The good thing about this signing was it continues to fill in the gaps for each class, something that both Dan Hawkins and Jeff Bzdelik say is important in developing a successful program. Both football and basketball are really one year away from getting the right distribution of players between classes. Here is how the Buffs current roster will breakdown:
Incoming Freshmen: Shane Harris-Tunks, Keegan Hornbuckle, Alec Burks and Shannon Sharpe.
Sophomores: Nate Tomlinson, Austin DuFault, Toby Veal and Trey Eckloff
Juniors: Casey Crawford, Levi Knutson, Cory Higgins and Marcus Relaphorde
Senior: Dwight Thorne
Here are a few short videos of Relphorde after the jump...