New Coach Annouces First Signees

July 19, 2006

WEATHERFORD –New Southwestern Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach Todd Thurman announced the first two players to sign scholarship agreements with the written commitments from forward Jose Garcia and point guard Clark Hale on Thursday.

Garcia, of Charlottesville, Va., and Hale of Azle, Texas, will join the Bulldog program for the 2006-07 season. Both players bring impressive credentials at the prep level and are expected to make immediate contributions to the SWOSU program, according to Thurman.

Garcia (6-5, 200, So.) played last season at College of Charleston, an NCAA Division I school in West Virginia. He played in nine games for the Cougars who finished the season with a 17-11 record and advanced to the Southern Conference semifinals.

He was considered one of the top 100 high school players in the nation prior to his senior year at Saint Anne’s Belfield before injuries slowed his development. He averaged 21.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists as a junior in high school and had gained the interest of several Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schools including North Carolina State, Virginia, Wake Forrest and Florida State.

Garcia is a relative newcomer to the sport having picked up the game only five years ago while living with his sister in Belgium. He moved to the United States in 2002 and began playing high school basketball in Virginia.

Originally born in Luanda, Angola, Garcia speaks seven different languages.

Hale (6-2, 185, So.) played last season at Collin County Junior College in Plano, Texas. He played in 21 of the team’s 30 games and averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 assists a game. Hale originally spent his first year at college as a redshirt for Louisiana Tech, an NCAA Division I school.

 “Both of these players are outstanding young college prospects. First of all, they are very fine students and quality young men,” said Thurman. “Their individual success and the team’s success they have been a part of speaks for itself. Both will be a great addition to our program.”