Eastern adds JC scorer; UI signs two

Eastern Washington has added some offensive punch to its men’s basketball team.

Coach Kirk Earlywine announced Monday that Chris Busch, a 6-foot-6 forward at Merritt College, a junior college in his hometown of Oakland, Calif., has signed a letter of intent with the Eagles.

Busch led the Bay Valley League in scoring with a 20.9 average, shooting 51 percent from the field, and also averaged 8.9 rebounds in earning all-league honors. His scoring average ranked in the top 10 among junior college players in California.

“He’s a more face-the-basket-type player and is a very, very good shooter,” Earlywine was quoted as saying in the release announcing Busch’s signing. “He’s strong and is a good athlete.”

Busch attended Santa Rosa Junior College out of San Leandro High School and played in 10 games as a freshman, averaging 16 points and eight rebounds a game. He redshirted in 2006-07 after transferring to Merritt.

•New Idaho men’s coach Don Verlin went after inside muscle with his first two recruits.

Verlin announced that Marvin Jefferson, a 6-10, 235-pound center at Modesto, Calif., Junior College, and Kyle Barone, a 6-10, 215-pound high school forward from Garden Grove, Calif., have signed letters of intent with the Vandals.

Jefferson was first-team All-Big Eight Conference after leading it in scoring (18.8 average), rebounding (10.6) and blocked shots (4.6) this past season.

Barone was a three-time first-team all-league selection at Pacifica High School, where he averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and five assists during his career. This past season he attended Summit Prep School in Redwood City, Calif., where he averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Verlin said both should help the Vandals immediately. In the release announcing their signings, the coach said Jefferson’s size “will give us an immediate post presence around the basket,” and that Barone has the “ability to run the floor and shoot the 3-point shot.”