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Flames Sign Chattanooga Player of Year |
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Written by Andre Whitehead
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Wednesday, 12 April 2006 |
Coach Tommy Brown carved off a big slice of the recruiting pie on Thursday afternoon when he traveled just 25-miles from the Lee University campus to sign Grace Academy's Davis Eldridge, the Chattanooga Player of the Year.
Brown is coming off his first season as head coach of the Flames. He directed Lee to the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and a spot in the NAIA National Tournament, but he's working overtime to replace seven seniors from this year's squad.
Eldridge, a 6-foot-2 wing player has just been named to the Tennessee Sports Writers All-State Team and he helped direct the Golden Eagles basketball team of coach Jon Mattheiss to 77 wins against just 30 defeats over the past three years. Those Grace teams reached the final game of the TSSAA State Class A Tournament two of the past three years.
In three state tournament games in March, Eldridge scored 27, 35 and 20 points. He completed his Grace basketball career with 1905 points and holds the Golden Eagles' 3-point record with eight treys in a single game.
"He can score from anywhere on the court," said Mattheiss, who coached Grace to a 32-6 record this past season. "He's a very relaxed and confident young man. He's always been a shooter. I've really enjoyed coaching him. He'll be a great fit for Lee and coach Brown."
Mattheiss noted that the Golden Eagles had a lot of good players, "but we would not have been able to accomplish everything we did without his scoring ability. Because of the kind of young man he is, I just appreciate being able to be a part of his life, even away from the basketball court."
Brown was all smiles after the signing. "It is a great honor for Lee to get the Chattanooga player of the year. We have followed Davis all year. The more I saw of him, the more I liked him. Davis is not afraid to take the big shot and he really seems to enjoy playing in the big games."
The latest Lee signee for the 2006-07 season was also flashing a huge smile during Thursday's official signing. "I'm really excited about the opportunity to play for Lee," said Eldridge, who garnered the Region 3-A district and region player of the year honors. "I think it is where the Lord wants me to be. I love coach Brown. The campus is great and the fan support at the games I saw was tremendous. I'll do what the coach and the team wants me to do. I'm going to work hard on getting stronger and improving my game. I believe I can help the team with my perimeter shooting."
The son of David and Abby Eldridge says he is uncertain about his college major. "I'd say it would be somewhere in the field of business." His goals are simple. He wants to come in as a freshman and contribute to the team and do well in the classroom.
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