Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Announces Three Early Signees for 2012-13
12/1/2011 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Head men's basketball coach Dave Paulsen has announced his fourth Bucknell recruiting class, as 6-4 guard Chris Hass (Pellston, Mich./Pellston), 6-8 forward Dom Hoffman (Hawthorne, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's) and 6-0 guard Ryan Frazier (Silver Spring, Md./Salisbury School (Conn.)) have all signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Bison next season.
"We are thrilled to secure commitments from three high-quality individuals who will represent Bucknell University with the highest degree of integrity and commitment to both academics and the men's basketball program," said Paulsen. "While we like the versatility that each of them bring, they also fill specific needs looking forward. We have a hard-working, frontcourt banger in Dom Hoffman, a penetrating guard who will also be a significant defensive presence in Ryan Frazier, and a guy who can score in bunches from the perimeter in Chris Hass."
Hass has piled up some mind-boggling offensive numbers at Pellston High School, and he has been ranked as one of the top players in the state of Michigan. With his senior year still to come, Hass is already the all-time leading scorer at Pellston with 1,777 career points in 66 games. For his career he is shooting 52.3 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from 3-point range and 81.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Last season he broke the school record with a 57-point game against Mancelona High, which is one of five 40-plus-point performances in his career.
Hass has been a first team all-conference selection in each of his first three seasons, and last year after leading the state in scoring, he was a first team all-state choice by the Associated Press, the Detroit Free Press, and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. Hass was named the Class D Player of the Year by BankHoops.com, and he was ranked No. 32 on the Free Press' list of the top 100 players in Michigan. BankHoops.com listed Hass as the No. 1 shooting guard in the state.
Hass, who was also a second team all-state pick as a sophomore, helped lead his team to a 19-4 record last season, with the 19 wins tying a school record.
"First and foremost, Chris is just a terrific scorer," said Paulsen. "He is an excellent shooter with great range, but he is also athletic and `bouncy' and can get to the rim. We expect that Chris will be able to give us a real explosive offensive presence from the perimeter."
Hoffman has been a force in the low post for Gill St. Bernard's School for the last three seasons, averaging 16.5 points and 11.4 rebounds as a junior, 14.9 points and 12.0 rebounds as a junior and 16.8 points and 13.0 rebounds as a freshman. He has been an all-conference selection every year so far, and last year he was picked as a second team all-area and the Most Unselfish Player by the Courier News. He was a seventh-team all-state pick and an all-county selection by NJ Hoops.
The Star-Ledger has named Hoffman to its All-Somerset County Team twice and to its Rebound Team three times. Last January, Hoffman scored his 1,000th career point against Blair Academy, and a week later he was named the MSG Varsity "A Quick 60" Tri-State Player of the Week.
As a junior, Hoffman also earned second team all-area plaudits from the Courier News, he was a First Team All-Prep-B selection, and he earned a Player of the Week nod from the Star-Ledger.
"Dom is a tremendous frontcourt player with great versatility," said Paulsen. "He has as high a basketball IQ for a frontcourt player as I've seen at his stage of development. He is terrific stepping out in the pick-and-roll game, he is an outstanding passer and he has an excellent low-post game. On top of all of that, he has great hands and has been a dominant rebounder. Most impressively, he is an incredibly fierce competitor. He showed that competitiveness not only with his Gill St. Bernard's team, but also with his Hoop Heaven team that we saw outplay many bigger teams over the summer."
Two seasons ago, Frazier was first team all-county, first team All-Gazette and Honorable Mention All-Met at Blake High School in Silver Spring, Md. A year ago he moved to the Salisbury School in Connecticut, where he was the No. 9 ranked player in the state for the Class of 2012 by the New England Recruiting Report.
Frazier was a Second Team All-NEPSAC Class A selection at Salisbury last season. In addition, he is his class Vice President, sings in the Gospel Choir, and is a Harvard Prize Book winner, which is awarded to "the outstanding student in the next to graduating class who displays excellence in scholarship and high character, combined with achievement in other fields."
"Ryan has all the characteristics of a tremendous point guard," said Paulsen. "He is very quick, unselfish and sees the floor well. But he also has the ability to score. He can shoot from anywhere, and he can penetrate and put pressure on the defense. Ryan is also an excellent on-ball defender, and his leadership qualities and intangibles are just through the roof."
Paulsen's first three recruiting classes have been extremely successful. His first class at Bucknell immediately netted three Patriot League All-Rookie Team selections in Bryson Johnson, Mike Muscala and Joe Willman. All three, along with classmate Colin Klebon, were major factors in Bucknell's Patriot League championship last season, with Muscala earning PL Player of the Year honors and Johnson Second Team All-PL honors.
The Bison boasted another Patriot League All-Rookie honoree last season in Cameron Ayers, who also earned Patriot League All-Tournament honors. This year's freshman class of Steven Kaspar, Joshea Singleton and Cory Starkey also appears promising, with Kaspar already a key member of the rotation at point guard and Singleton also garnering some minutes on the wing.
The Bison are now 5-3 on the season and head to Philadelphia on Saturday to face La Salle at 4 p.m.
