A big help
By Jesse Newell
Originally published 02:47 p.m., April 18, 2008
Updated 04:18 p.m., April 18, 2008
Emporia State has a new big man on campus.
Shang Ping, a 6-foot-10 forward from Haerbin, China, has chosen to transfer to ESU to play basketball next season.
The name and face might be familiar. Ping transfers to ESU from Division-I Nebraska, where he could be seen this season on television matching up against both Kansas and Kansas State.
In 21 games for the Cornhuskers, Ping averaged three points and 1.4 rebounds per game. He also shot 55 percent from the floor.
“He was heavily recruited,” ESU assistant coach Ben McCollum said. “There’s not a Division-II school in the nation that wouldn’t take him.”
Ping is one of a four-person recruiting class — including Lamar Wilbern, Jeremiah Box and Tim Niles — brought in by ESU coach David Moe and his staff. All four will join the Hornets as transfers.
Ping should make an immediate impact on the inside, helping to fill the hole left by graduating forwards Jordan Fithian and Caleb Tegtmeier.
“When I saw coach Moe, I really liked his style and the way he runs offense,” Ping said. “I think I can really fit in his offense.”
Though he stands 6-10, Ping has a strong mid-range game and said he preferred to be able to play some on the perimeter — a place he will be often in Moe’s fast-paced motion offense.
“I just want to help the team,” said Ping, who will be a senior next year. “I think coach Moe is a great coach. He always develops a lot of players.
“... It’s a good opportunity for me to show my outside skills.”
Ping was recruited by 30 to 40 schools this offseason, and during his junior-college days at Illinois Central College, he was visited by coaches from Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue, Iowa, Texas Tech, Tennessee and Texas A&M, among others.
He also chose ESU over the option of trying to go back to China to play professionally.
“We were the first school to meet him face-to-face (this year), and I think that meant a lot to him,” McCollum said. “He’s an unbelievable kid and an unbelievable person. He plays extremely hard and has an unmatched passion for basketball.”
Last year, Ping was one of only three known Chinese-born players in Division-I basketball.
He said his decision to transfer from Nebraska came from a desire to get more playing time.
After visiting ESU’s campus, he also said he was happy to see the school’s foreign exchange students.
“I saw a lot of Chinese students over there. I think I will have a good time,” Ping said. “You can always talk Chinese to Chinese students, so that’s nice.”
Wilbern looking
forward to playing
days at ESU
Lamar Wilbern might be a big-city guy, but it was the comforts of White Auditorium that helped draw him to ESU.
“Once I saw the gym and thought of the possibilities,” Wilbern said, “I was excited about it.”
Wilbern, who lived in Milwaukee before attending school at Kaplan University in Lincoln, Neb., said the small-town atmosphere in Emporia would be an adjustment.
It would also be a nice change.
“That gym can get pretty tight, man,” Wilbern said. “And me knowing it’s a town, I know they’re going to have a lot of students there, which is important and will make the games live and loud and fun.”
Wilbern hopes to make some noise of his own once attending ESU, as the 6-foot-1 guard averaged 23.2 points, 9.4 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game as a sophomore for Kaplan.
“We feel like he’s a big-time steal,” McCollum said. “He went under the radar a little bit, and we were fortunate to get in contact with him.”
Wilbern also was recruited by Nebraska and Youngstown State, but once he learned he would have only one year of eligibility in Division I, he chose to go Division II.
Washburn and Metro State also were in on Wilbern.
As a combination guard, Wilbern is comfortable running the point. He also is known to have a good feel for the game.
“It doesn’t have to be flashy all the time,” Wilbern said, “but I can make the right pass at the right time.”
McCollum described Wilbern as a player who could do a lot of things well.
“He’s a scorer, an excellent passer and a good rebounder at the guard spot,” McCollum said. “He’s shown a lot of the leadership qualities we’re looking for.”
As a sophomore, Wilbern earned first-team All-Region honors for Kaplan.
He said he felt comfortable with both the players and coaches at ESU.
“I saw that they recruit good guys, and I want to be around some good guys for the next few years of my career,” Wilbern said. “Also, the coaching staff, they seemed very knowledgeable and easy to get along with.
“It was pretty much an easy decision for me.”
Box could bring
highlights
Jeremiah Box is ready to bring some excitement to ESU.
“I love driving and dunking,” Box said. “That’s the great part about my game.”
If his past is any indication, the 6-foot-5 guard from Sauk Valley (Ill.) Community College shouldn’t have any trouble bringing ESU fans to their feet.
Last year, Box said he averaged four dunks per game. Two per game came his favorite way — off a dunk tip.
The junior-to-be has a vertical jump between 40 and 41 inches.
“He’s the most versatile player we’ve had in a while,” McCollum said. “He’s extremely athletic and has a passion for the game of basketball.”
Box isn’t just a one-dimensional player, though.
In addition to averaging 18.5 points per game last year, he also was a force on the defensive end, earning his Region’s defensive player of the year.
Box also has the quickness to defend point guards and the strength and versatility to go against players in the post.
Because he played so much zone at Sauk Valley, Box has been trying to improve his man-to-man defense over the last few months. To do that, he has been training and playing pickup games with the Rockford Fury semipro basketball team, which is a member of the Premier Basketball League.
Box has been defending the point-guard position to try to help with his quickness.
Box came in contact with ESU because his brother, Joel, played at Quincy University with ESU assistant coach Ryan Walker.
“When I went to visit and talk to coaches, I just realized that was the place for me and the place I wanted to be,” Box said. “Out of all the visits I went on, I enjoyed myself so much there and I just loved that school.”
Box also said he was impressed by those he met while on his visit.
“They really are set there to help the players after college.” Box said. “It wasn’t just about basketball. They care about the players.
“All the people were very nice people. I just could tell it was a place that really cared about their students, and not just the athletes. I really liked that about it.”
Box has bulked up some, saying he has added 20 pounds of muscle over the last year.
Most of the motivation came from his brother Joel, who at 6-foot-9 now plays professionally in Turkey.
“He comes down here and beats me up, so I realize I’ve got to get stronger,” Jeremiah said. “ ... He’d always make fun of me and pound me in the post. I had to change that a little bit.”
Box was a first-team All-Conference selection during his sophomore year at Sauk Valley.
Niles impressed by
city of Emporia
The trip to Emporia from the airport was a memorable one for Tim Niles.
“The drive from where I was at, all I saw was a bunch of corn fields,” said Niles, a native of DesPlains, Ill. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ That was my first reaction.”
Just a few blocks into Emporia, though, Niles said he became sold on the city itself.
“Driving around town, I saw houses with American flags, but they’d also be waving Emporia State flags as well,” Niles said. “I could tell the college was really important there.”
Niles, a 5-foot-9 guard, will join ESU next year as a transfer from College of Dupage.
He was a first-team Division-III Junior College All-American last year, averaging 16.6 points, four assists, 3.4 rebounds and two steals per contest last year.
Niles also helped his team to a third-place national finish.
“He’s a powerful, fast, penetrate-first guard,” McCollum said. “He’s extremely competitive and tough.”
Though Niles likes to think of himself as a good passer, he said the ESU coaches had already talked to him about becoming more aggressive.
“I guess I’m going to have to change my game a little bit,” Niles said, “but I think I can do it.”
Niles also was known for his versatility, as he rotated into the post some despite having a height disadvantage at 5-9.
The guard was a second-team All-America selection his freshman year and ended his two-year career with 1,039 points at Dupage.
Still wanting more?
McCollum said even with the four new athletes coming in, the ESU coaches would continue to recruit, with the hope of bringing at least one more scholarship athlete in.
Still, he said he was pleased with the players and people they were able to bring in so far.
“All these kids are great kids,” McCollum said. “All are very athletic, and all are unselfish.
“Our guys did a great job of helping recruit these players to our school. They sealed the deal.”
ESU loses six seniors off this year’s team that advanced to the MIAA Tournament Championship game. Those six players also were ESU’s top six scorers, combining for 90 percent of the Hornets’ scoring last year.
“This recruiting class was extremely important,” McCollum said. “Some years it seems like it’s impossible to find guys, and some years they just pop up. This is one of the years a lot of guys popped up.”
Comments
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)