April 15, 2010
University of New Mexico men’s basketball head coach Steve Alford has announced the signing of two student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent.
CAMERON BAIRSTOW 6-9 230 Forward Fr-HS Brisbane, Australia Australian Institute of Sport
Last name is pronounced bear-stow…the third Australian to play at UNM, following Luc Longley (1987-91) from Perth and Ryan Kersten (2005-07) from Modbury Heights…since January of 2009, Bairstow has attended the well-know Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra…the AIS is the country’s national center of sports excellence designed for the training and development of elite athletes and teams…the AIS has churned out numerous standout collegiate players, including Andrew Bogut (Utah) and Patrick Mills (St. Mary’s)…Bairstow was a member of the Queensland team that won the 2009 Under 20 Australian national championship and he played on the Australian Under 19 team that took the 2009 FIBA Oceania title…played for head coach Marty Clarke at the AIS…seen a lot of the world, traveling with AIS to Italy and to the Basketball Without Borders Camp Asia in 2009…also a member of the 2010 South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) Select Team that visited Qatar…PERSONAL…born Dec. 7, 1990, in Brisbane, Australia…age is 19…full name is Cameron David Bairstow…son of Ian and Penny…has four brothers (Kieran, Jarred, Daniel and Sean) and two sisters (Melissa and Stephanie)…not sure about a major, but is interested in physiotherapy.
Head Coach Steve Alford on Cameron Bairstow
“We really tried to address our lack of size in this recruiting class. Cameron is 6-9, a real blue-collar, hard-working kid who is from a great program in Australia. I think he will continue to develop and get better and better.”
KENDALL WILLIAMS 6-3 170 Guard Fr-HS Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Los Osos HS
First team all-state and two-time all-CIF selection at Los Osos HS in Rancho Cucamonga…Los Osos is Spanish for “The Bears”…a three-year starter who averaged more than 21 points a game in his final three seasons…led the Grizzlies in scoring (22.5 ppg), assists (4.7 apg) and steals (2.9 spg) as a senior…also averaged 7.7 rebounds a game…played for head coach Dave Smith…top scoring game was 40 points against Upland when he was 14 of 26 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the line…10 games with double-figure rebounds, including a high of 13 against Vista Murrieta and Arcadia…had 4 or more steals 10 times…Los Osos was 20-9 last season…excellent in the classroom with a 3.7 cumulative GPA…interested in journalism or broadcasting after playing days are over…PERSONAL…born July 3, 1991, in Upland, Calif…age is 18…full name is Kendall T. Williams…the “T” is just an initial…son of Robert and Debbie…father is a private investigator and mother is a math professor at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif…oldest sister Chelsea attends UC Irvine while another sister, Britni, is a record-setting goalkeeper for the University of Arkansas soccer team…she will be a senior in the fall…Kendall is an avid chess player.
Head Coach Steve Alford on Kendall Williams
“Kendall gives us a very athletic guard. He can score. He’s a very good rebounding guard, an athletic guard. He has a great basketball IQ and a lot of passion to play. We’re real excited about what Kendall will add to our backcourt.”
UPDATING THE LOBOS’ NOVEMBER SIGNEES
ALEX KIRK 6-11 230 Post Fr-HS Los Alamos, N.M. Los Alamos HS
Rated No. 97 overall prospect and the 7th-best center in the ESPNU 100 entering his senior season…three-time first team all-state pick at nearby Los Alamos HS…three-year averages of 23.8 points, 12.7 rebounds and 6.7 blocks…has a wingspan of 7-foot-2…head coach is his father, Alan…played in the Jack Jones Shootout in Memphis, Tenn., on April 10…will also play in the Academic All-American Classic in Los Angeles on May 1 and the New Mexico North/South game in July…New Mexico Gatorade player of the year and district 2AAAA Player of the Year as a senior when he averaged 25.2 points, 13.7 rebounds and an astounding 8.1 blocks per game for the Hilltoppers…shot 61% from the floor and 76% from the line…averaged 27.6 points, 14.2 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 assists as a junior…PERSONAL…born Nov. 14, 1991, in Los Alamos…age is 18…full name is Alex Ryan Kirk…son of Alan and Pat Kirk…interested in business as a major.
Head Coach Steve Alford on Alex Kirk
“Alex put up huge numbers this season. There were some games where he had 40 (points) and 20 (rebounds). He gives us that big presence that we need. We think Alex will be able to do a lot of things for us very quickly. He is strong with an incredible wingspan. He has a great touch, can shoot the 3 and has good moves with his back to the basket.”
TONY SNELL 6-7 195 Guard Fr-HS Riverside, Calif. Westwind Prep Academy
Averaged 19.5 points, 10 rebounds and 8.8 assists this season at Westwind Prep Academy in Phoenix, Ariz…head coach is Bobby Bossman…also had 71 steals and 48 blocks…ESPN.com called Snell “one of the top sleepers on the West Coast” and a “diamond in the rough”…averaged 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists as a senior at King HS in Riverside, Calif., in 2008-09..the Wolves were 30-3 that season, and finished seventh nationally in the MaxPreps/National Guard computer rankings…played for head coach Tim Sweeney…King teammate Kawhi Leonard was the Los Angeles Times’ Player of the Year and just completed his freshman season at San Diego State…PERSONAL…born Nov. 10, 1991…age is 18…favorite color is red.
Head Coach Steve Alford on Tony Snell
“Tony put up nearly triple-double numbers this year. He is a very versatile guard, a lot like Darington (Hobson), just a younger version who can play the 1, 2 or 3. He brings a lot of versatility to our backcourt.”
DREW GORDON 6-9 245 Forward Jr-Tr San Jose, Calif. UCLA
Transfer from UCLA who enrolled at UNM prior to the 2010 spring semester…per NCAA transfer rules, Gordon has to sit out one year (two full semesters)…he will be eligible to participate the day after the end of UNM’s 2010 fall semester, which is Dec. 19, 2010…has a year-and-a-half of eligibility as a Lobo, so through the 2011-12 season.
2009-10 – SOPHOMORE / UCLA
Played and started 6 games for the Bruins last fall…averaged 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds…shot 57% (29-51) from the floor…half of his rebounds (16 or 32) were on the offensive end…19 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes against Cal State Bakersfield…18 points and 9 boards against Pepperdine.
2008-09 – FRESHMAN / UCLA
Played in 34 of 35 games, missing the Bruins’ first round game in the NCAA Tournament against VCU with a concussion…averaged 10.9 minutes per contest without making any starts…scored in 26 of 34 games, reaching double figures twice…tied for 4th on the team in rebounding at 3.4 per game…3rd in offensive rebounds with 45 (1.3 per game)…led the team and was one of nine Bruins that shot 50 percent or better from the field, connecting on 56.5 percent of his shots (52-for-92)…1st double-double of his career with season-highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds in the home win over Wyoming…scored his Pac-10 high of 11 points in the league-opening win at Oregon State…2nd on the team in dunks with 19…3rd on the team with 15 blocks…a season-high-tying 3 steals with 2 points and 1 rebound in 11 minutes in the home win over Washington…6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in 10 minutes in the win over Oregon (March 7)…4 points, 2 rebounds and a block while going 2-for-2 from the FT line and making his only FG try in the Bruins’ second-round loss to Villanova in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL
A 2008 graduate of Archbishop Mitty HS in San Jose, Calif…a four-year varsity letterwinner…registered career highs of 29 points, 21 rebounds, 11 blocks shots (three times) and 7 assists…listed as the No. 15 power forward and the No. 42 overall prospect in the Class of 2008 by Rivals.com…was invited to play in the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic on April 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York…named to the 2008 Long Beach Press-Telegram’s Best in the West first team…named the most valuable player of the 2007-08 Les Schwab Invitational…was a three-time (2005-07) all-West Catholic Athletic League first team selection…played in 11 games as a senior (2007-08), averaging 17.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg before being sidelined by an ankle injury; Archbishop Mitty lost in the state championship game…as a junior, averaged 15.1 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.3 spg and 4.1 bpg, shooting 63.8 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent from 3-point range and 70.2 percent from the line…helped Archbishop Mitty to a 29-6 record, a No. 9 ranking in the West Region by USA Today and to the state championship game…named the 2007 San Jose Mercury News Player of the Year…earned 2007 EA Sports second-team All-America honors…named the 2007 Cal-Hi Sports Athlete of the Year in addition to being named a 2007 All-California State first-team selection… as a sophomore in 2005-06, averaged 14.7 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.7 apg, 2.4 spg and 3.9 bpg as Archbishop Mitty finished the season with a 29-7 record and 3rd-place finish in the state tournament…named the 2006 Cal State Sophomore Player of the Year, All-CIF third team, All-Northern California first team, All-CCS first team and All-WCAL first team selection in 2005-06…also named to the 2006 Pangos All-American Camp top-20 “Cream of the Crop”…as a freshman in 2004-05, averaged 9.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 3.0 spg and 4.5 bpg…named a 2005 Freshman All-America selection in addition to earning CIF Central Coast Section (CCS) Freshman of the Year honors; All-WCAL first-team selection and All-CCS second-team honoree in 2004-05..attended the 2005 and 2006 ABCD Camps and ranked among the top 10 both years.
USA BASKETBALL
Was a member of the 2007 USA Basketball Men’s Youth Development Festival Red Team that finished with a 5-0 record and the gold medal…started in three of five games played, averaging 10.0 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg and 1.4 bpg…among 2007 Festival participants, ranked 4th in blocks, 8th in rebounding and 21st in scoring…accepted an invitation to attend the 2007 and 2009 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials but was injured both times and was unable to compete…named a finalist for the 2006 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team on June 18, 2006; was the only member of the class of 2008 at the USA U18 National Team Trials.
PERSONAL
Born July 12, 1990, in San Jose…age is 19…full name is Drew Edward Gordon… son of Ed Gordon and Shelly Davis …his mother also attended UCLA…has a younger brother, Aaron (14) and a younger sister, Elisabeth (17)…lists competing as a thrower in track and field as things he likes to do…interested in Business as a major.
Head Coach Steve Alford on Drew Gordon
“Drew maybe gets forgotten in this class, but he is definitely a headliner. He’s a UCLA transfer who has a lot of good experience in the Pac-10. He brings us a post presence. He’s very explosive inside and a great passing big man. I think he will make an immediate impact.”