GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Three student-athletes have committed to attend Tusculum University and play basketball for the Pioneers announced TU head men's coach JT Burton. Joining the Tusculum program beginning in the 2020-21 campaign are Ray Tyler, James West IV and Inady Legiste.
Tyler, a 6-0 point guard from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, comes to Greeneville from Blackman High School. He emerged as one of Tennessee's Top-100 players for the Class of 2020 after a stellar junior campaign at Oakland High School where he earned TSSAA D7AAA Tournament Most Valuable Player accolades. He transferred to Blackman HS where he led the Blaze to a 26-3 overall record including 13-1 against district competition.
He averaged 13.5 points and 2.7 assists per game while shooting over 41 percent from three-point territory. He guided Blackman to the District AAA Championship and a No. 12 state ranking before the season was halted prematurely due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Tyler is a skill and crafty point guard who has exceptional court vision and plays with an excellent pace and high IQ," Burton said. "He looks to be an immediate impact player for us as an incoming freshman."
West is a 6-1 guard from Woodbridge, Virginia and played his prep career at Freedom High School where he was coached by his father (James West III). He averaged 19.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.5 steals per game at Freedom while shooting over 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc. He garnered All-Region and All-Conference first team honors during his senior campaign.
He committed to Mount St. Mary's University out of high school and was being recruited by Maryland, Wake Forest, Holy Cross, James Madison, Kansas State, MTSU, Radford, Rice and UNC Greensboro. West redshirted as a freshman at Mount St. Mary's due to injury in the 2017-18 season. He remained with the program and is expected to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in education this spring from Mount St. Mary's.
"He is small in height, but he is a terrific shooter from three-point territory and plays with a scorer's mentality," said Burton. "He possesses great intelligence for the game and can help distribute the ball with his sharp passing skills."
West will be enrolling in Tusculum's graduate program in teaching and will have two year's eligibility remaining.
Legiste, a 6-7 center from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, comes to Tusculum from Stranahan High School. He also played for the South Florida Rockets AAU squad last summer and became one of the most improved post players in the State of Florida.
Legiste was the only member of the Stranahan's Class 4A State Championship team to average double figure scoring las year. He led his team to a 24-9 record including his 16-point, eight-rebound performance against Tampa Catholic in the state title game. He earned Florida Class 4A All-State first team honors and also garnered All-County recognition.
He averaged 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game as a senior and was a member of back-to-back Class 4A State Championship teams.
"Inady was a lengthy, yet skilled post player with a great body frame," added Burton. "He can step out and shoot the ball from three-point range, while using his skill to score over tall defenders in the post."
Legiste will have four years of eligibility and plans to enroll in TU's award-winning College of Business.
Tusculum is coming off a 19-13 campaign as the Pioneers finished fourth in the league standings in back-to-back seasons and finished the year as a South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinalist.
