Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Basketball Announces Three Early Signees
11/14/2014 3:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Promising student-athletes Nate Jones, Kimbal Mackenzie and Nate Sestina have taken advantage of the early signing period to ink National Letters of Intent with the Bucknell basketball program. All three will join the Bison next fall as members of the Bucknell Class of 2019.
Mackenzie is a 6'1” guard from Oakville, Ontario, who is currently attending The John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland. Jones, who is the son of Radford head men's basketball coach Mike Jones, is a 6'4” guard at Radford (Va.) High School. The 6'8” Sestina will join the Bison frontcourt after graduating from Cameron County High School in his hometown of Emporium, Pennsylvania.
“We are very excited to add these three young men to our program,” said head coach Dave Paulsen. “Collectively, they embody the values and attributes we find to be important. First, they are excellent students who embrace the value of a Bucknell education. They are all young men of high character, and they will come to our program with the proper blend of humility and confidence in their own abilities. They all possess a high skill level and tremendous work ethic.”
Jones comes from outstanding basketball bloodlines, as his grandfather Jimmy Jones had a 10-year professional career in the ABA and with the NBA's Washington Bullets, and his father Mike played collegiately at Howard University before embarking on his coaching career. Nate Jones is entering his senior year at Radford High School, which captured a state championship in 2013 and was state runner-up in 2014.
Last season he averaged 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals per game while shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range, and he tallied 25 points and 10 rebounds in the state title game. Jones earned first team all-state honors and was the region and conference player of the year. He was a second team all-district selection as a sophomore, when Radford captured district, region and state titles.
“Nate Jones is a big wing player who has a diverse skill set offensively,” said Paulsen. “He is an excellent three-point shooter, has the ability to get to the rim, and is a capable offensive rebounder. He will have the potential to guard multiple positions defensively, and he has an exceptionally high basketball IQ.”
Mackenzie began his high school career at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in Canada, where he was team captain, MVP and Rookie Athlete of the Year as a freshman. Mackenzie enrolled at John Carroll prior to his 10th-grade year and earned All-Baltimore Catholic League Honorable Mention and made the BCL All-Tournament Team. Last season he was the team's leading scorer at 16 points per game, and he earned First Team All-BCL, All-MIAA A Conference and Second Team Baltimore Sun All-Metro honors. He earned all-tournament honors at the Sleepy Thompson Invitational, the Stop DWI Invitational and the Gonzaga Invitational.
Mackenzie has already topped the 1,000-point plateau in only two seasons at John Carroll, and he helped lead the team to back-to-back 25-win seasons. Back in Canada, Mackenzie played for the powerful CIA Bounce AAU program that produced Andrew Wiggins, among other stars.
“Kimbal exudes leadership, charisma, and a heady approach to the game,” said Paulsen. “He is a skilled guard capable of playing both on and off the ball. He is an excellent perimeter shooter and has a great feel for his own game and that of his teammates.”
At 6'8” and 245 pounds, Sestina will bring excellent size to the Bison frontcourt. He averaged 22.6 points and over 10 rebounds per game last season, while leading Cameron County High to a 20-3 record and the North Tier League championship. Sestina was the NTL Player of the Year and a First Team All-District 9 selection after leading the district in scoring. With one season still to play, he has already surpassed the 1,000-point mark and is his school's No. 5 all-time scorer.
Sestina comes from a small school in a small town in northern Pennsylvania – he is the first Division I recruit from his high school since the 1970s -- but he also played AAU basketball at a national level, averaging 24 points and 12 rebounds for Basketball Stars of America last summer.
“Nate Sestina was flying a little under the radar until this summer,” Paulsen said. “He is a very versatile frontcourt player, capable of posting up, stepping out to shoot or driving to the basket. He is big, strong and deceptively athletic for his size. I am excited about his potential to develop in all facets of his game.”
