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Forward Evan Bailey becomes College of Charleston’s second 2014 commit

Doug Wojcik

College of Charleston head coach Doug Wojcik, right, watches during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Davidson during the Southern Conference tournament, Monday, March 11, 2013, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

AP

With two players at the small forward position out of eligibility when the 2013-14 season ends, College of Charleston head coach Doug Wojcik needed to land another wing on the recruiting trail. On Friday the head coach received a verbal pledge from 6-6 small forward Evan Bailey, the Cougars’ second commitment in the 2014 class.

Bailey, a native Massillon, Ohio, committed to the Colonial Athletic Association school without taking an official visit and did so despite holding offers from programs such as Harvard, Princeton and Kent State. Bailey joins power forward Donovan Gilmore, a native of Greensboro, N.C., in Charleston’s 2014 recruiting class. In Bailey, the Cougars get a versatile player who has the ability to play multiple positions at the collegiate level.

“He plays all five positions for us from point guard to center,” Jackson High School head coach Tim Debevec told Andrew Miller of the Charleston Post and Courier. “Evan is a gym rat. You’ve got to kick him out of the gym. He’s a very good shooter and he’s a good all-round player. He wanted to go to the ACC or the Big Ten, but I think he’ll have a chance to play his freshman year down in Charleston.”

With Bailey on board, Charleston has a player who can help account for the eventual departures of current seniors Nori Johnson and Anthony Thomas. Johnson averaged just 4.5 points per contest last season, while Thomas accounted for 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

With guard Andrew Lawrence and forward Trent Wiedeman no longer a part of the program, Johnson and Thomas will be two of the players (along with guard Anthony Stitt and forwards Adjehi Baru and Willis Hall) expected to lead the way for the Cougars as they begin play in the CAA.

Charleston adds four newcomers to the program this season, center Glen Pierre Jr., power forward Terrance O’Donohue and guards Joe Chealey and Johnathan Cook.

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