April 28, 2011
BLOG: Rebel Hoops Goes Global
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss bolstered the future of its basketball program by signing 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard Maurice Aniefiok to a national letter of intent, head coach Andy Kennedy announced on Thursday.
Aniefiok, a native of Nigeria, attended Huntington (W. Va.) Prep last year and averaged 13.7 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. He led Huntington to a 24-3 record, and the Express were ranked as high as No. 14 nationally by MaxPreps and 18th in the final Rivals.com rankings. He was coached there by Rob Fulford.
Rated a three-star prospect by the major recruiting services, he chose the Rebels over Rutgers, USC, Indiana, James Madison, Arizona State and Duquesne.
"During this time of year when there are not a lot of high level players still on the board, Ole Miss won a big time recruiting battle when they received a commitment from one of the top remaining players available," said Mike LaPlante, a basketball recruiting analyst for ESPN. "Andy Kennedy must be excited to have secured the services of Maurice Aniefiok who, because of his physical attributes combined with his ability to shoot the ball, has drawn favorable comparisons to former NBA scorer Mitch Richmond."
"We are very pleased that Maurice has elected to join our program," Kennedy said. "Mo is a big, strong, athletic scoring guard that will fill an immediate need in our backcourt. This young man has traveled a long way in pursuit of his dream to play college basketball in America, and I know our fans will be excited to see him play."
Aniefiok is the fifth member of the Rebels' 2010-11 signing class, joining forward Aaron Jones (Pascagoula, Miss.), forward Jamal Jones (Searcy, Ark.), guard Jarvis Summers (Jackson, Miss.) and guard Ladarius White (McComb, Miss.), who signed in the fall. Ole Miss will also welcome Memphis transfer and former McDonald's All-American Jelan Kendrick, as well as South Carolina transfer and former Rebel Murphy Holloway.
