Murray State University Athletics
Cronin, Racers Sign Two Recruits Wednesday
11/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Losing eight seniors from his roster after this season, first-year Murray State head basketball coach Mick Cronin eased that loss some on Wednesday by signing two players to national letters of intent on the first day of the early signing period.
Cronin on Wednesday announced the signing of Shane Dansby of Harpeth High School in Kingston Springs, Tenn., and Mike McCoy of Pike High School in Indianapolis, Ind.
"These are two players we pin-pointed when we got to Murray State in the spring, because we knew if we could sign them early they would be steals for our program," Cronin said of his first two high school signees. "Mike and Shane could both play in high-profile conferences, and they were recruited by schools in those conferences, so we're extremely excited that they decided to come to Murray State where they thought they could win championships."
Cronin said the Racers expect to sign two more players during the early signing period.
Dansby, a 6-5, 190-pound senior from Kingston Springs, Tenn., averaged 20.0 ppg and 11.0 rpg as a junior last season at Harpeth High School.
"Shane is a big-time recruit for us because we consider him a local product in that he's from the Nashville area," Cronin said of Dansby. "He's a 6-5 shooter with great athleticism and those guys are rare. He's a hard worker, a good student and the kind of person we want representing our program."
Dansby's coach, Jamie Wilson, considers his star player a workhorse who can do it all.
"He's a great kid and a tremendous athlete with a lot of up-side," said Wilson. "He's 17-years old and won't turn 18 until March, so he's still growing and still maturing. Coach Cronin got an absolute steal with Shane. When people see him next season, they're going to be wondering how he slipped through the cracks.
"He's not a great shooter yet, but he's a good shooter," Wilson continued. "The best thing about Shane is that he can shoot it from deep or put it on the floor and go over you and score. Defensively, he just locks you up."
McCoy, a 6-7, 195-pound senior, comes to MSU from one of the top high school programs in the nation. Ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today at the end of last season, Pike High School has won back-to-back Indiana state championships and finished last season 29-0.
"Mike McCoy comes from a great program. He has two state championships and he's working on a third," said Cronin. "Mike brings size, aggressiveness and athleticism to the court. He's a shot-blocker and rebounder whose offense is still developing. Like Shane, his best basketball is definitely ahead of him."
Pike High School head coach Larry Bullington said McCoy has a wingspan of a 7-footer and runs the floor very well. McCoy's numbers from last season were down because of the talent ahead of him, according to Bullington.
"Mike really didn't get to play much because we had six guys who were recruited by Division I schools," said Bullington. "But he had a good spring and summer, and we expect him to have a really good senior season."
