PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A solid defensive player, a thousand point scorer and a Division II All-American transfer to Duquesne.
Dukes got a guard from Mercer, a forward from Indiana State and one from Division II.
6’6” 180 pound guard Leon Ayers III (Mercer University)-averaged 12.2 points and 3.8 rebounds and named to the Southern Conference All-Tournament Team as Mercer made the conference tournament championship, losing to UNC-Greensboro. Ayers was a Second Team All-American as a sophomore at Henry Ford College (a junior college in Dearborn, Michigan) before attending Mercer.
"I think Leon can be a real good scorer for us," said Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot in a statement.
"He's terrific with the ball and can shoot it at a high level. He adjusted well to his first year of Division I basketball - shooting 39 percent from 3-point - and really finished strong. He's another good-sized wing who can play at the one, two or three for us. He has a great upside."
6’7” 255 pound forward Tre Williams (Indiana State)-averaged 8.1 points, 5 rebounds in two seasons. Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive team as a sophomore and blocked 74 shots in 55 career games.
"Tre is a very, very experienced player who will be a great addition to our frontcourt," said Dambrot.
"His numbers at Indiana State - in a very good conference - were very similar to Marcus Weathers' at Miami before he transferred in.
"Tre can score on the low block and has the ability to play both the power forward and center positions. He is also an outstanding defensive player which should help ease the loss of Mike Hughes. With our philosophy of getting the ball to the post, I look for his offensive numbers to make a real jump."
6’7”, 230 pound forward Rodney Gunn, Jr. (Lenoir-Rhyne)-93 games in Division II scoring 1,183 points, averaging 19.6ppg as a junior, 16.6ppg as a senior. Gunn has 380 career made threes.
"R.J. to me is a real sleeper," said Dambrot. "He's a big, strong, athletic inside-out guy with terrific range on his jump shot who can play multiple positions for us.
Some may judge a Division II player a little differently, but as someone who has coached at that level, I know how many quality players there are in D-II.
R.J. is a talented guy who has been a winner everywhere he's been."
This trio joins 6’6” forward Andy Barba from the International Sports Academy in Cleveland as part of the incoming class.