DeAndre Hersey Picks the Jags

The USA coaching staff received good news recently when forward DeAndre Hersey of Pickens County chose the Jags over a conditional offer from Mississippi State.

Hersey, who is 6’6”, 210lbs, led his team to a 21-9 record against a very difficult schedule, culminating in an Elite Eight loss to the eventual 2A state champion. Along the way Hersey averaged 20.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game. Despite his size, Hersey was one of his teams leading three point shooters, hitting 34% of attempts from that distance, 56% overall and 72% from the free throw line. When he’s a around the rim, his seven-foot wingspan allows him to play bigger than his actual height and his athleticism enables him to play above the rim. All told, Hersey was responsible for 40% of his team’s scoring on offense and is the school‘s all-time leading shot blocker on defense.

According to his coach, Russell Wallace, Hersey is poised to blossom on the next level. His high school doesn’t have the facilities to offer year-round conditioning for it’s athletes, so he anticipates Hersey excelling once he gets into a collegiate program.

“I don’t think he’s come anywhere near his potential,” he said. “South Alabama, I believe, is going to get something real, real special.”

The Mississippi State Bulldogs recognized this potential and were very interested in Hersey, but because of a shortage of available scholarships at his position, they wanted him to spend a year at Three Rivers Community College and then join them for the 2009-2010 season. Hersey, who is fully qualified academically, chose instead to take up the Jag on their four year offer.

“He’s a 100% committed to South Alabama,” said Wallace. “I think that’s where he wants to go because they’ve shown the most interest in him. They’ve came to watch him more than once and he appreciates that. That shows you what kind of character he’s got. He’s a super, super kid. I’ve left messages about him for schools all over this country the last two years and South Alabama made an effort to come watch him play. If this kid would have played AAU ball and been on the AAU circuit, he’s be known all over the country. He’s be a four-star player, or somewhere in that range, I believe and everyone in the country would have been recruiting him. He didn’t want to get involved in that AAU stuff so I think that South Alabama is getting a diamond in the rough.”

According to Wallace, the very successful season that USA just included also played a major role in landing Hersey.

“The fact that Coach Arrow and his staff came in with someone else’s players, although Coach Pelphrey did a good job of recruiting, and put their system in and won 26 games and win their regular season conference, that says something. That’s a what I was telling DeAndre - ‘Those guys are going to have a chance to win their conference every year and be in the Big Dance every year, no doubt.”

With the versatile and talented DeAndre Hersey on the roster, it looks like the odds of return trips to the NCAA Tournament just went up considerably.