by RENALDO DORSETT
The early signing period for NCAA basketball has paid dividends for another Bahamian student athlete as he signed a letter of intent this week.
Grand Bahama native Nathan Bain signed his letter of intent to join the Stephen F. Austin University Jacks programme for the Fall 2015 semester.
Bain a 6’5” wing player out of Sunrise Christian Academy, is a three-star recruit according to rivals.com.
He is currently enrolled in the prep program under head coach Kyle Lindsted for the Buffaloes at the renown institution in Bel Aire, Kansas.
Currently ranked as one of the top 50 prospects in the United States, Bain has posted a 69-9 record through three years with the Buffaloes. Entering the season, SCA is ranked as one of the top five schools in the country at the prep level.
Jacks Head Coach Brad Underwood highlighted what he thought Bain would bring to the program.
“Nathan is a young man that I’ve seen for quite some time in the Sunrise Academy in Wichita, Kansas. He was playing a great deal of his AAU ball with Kansas City and Wichita area teams back when I was at Kansas state, so I’m very familiar with him. He’s been extremely well coached. He’s extremely high-motored and an elite athlete at 6-6,” he said, “He scores the ball a variety of ways, but his energy and his motor are second to none. I think it is very hard to find a player like him today that plays with his energy level and passion. He is very dedicated to the game and a very mature young man when it comes to knowing what he wants out of basketball and what he wants out of school. He is also a young man that, in my opinion, can be an impact guy as a freshman. I’m very excited to get and to have him in this program, because he is a multi-talented, multi-position guy. He can literally play anywhere on the court, and, more importantly, he can guard anywhere on the court. He fits our system, and I’m very excited about him and his upside.”
Nathan is the son of nationally renowned Head Coach and Administrator for the Tabernacle Baptist Falcons, Norris Bain.
“He’s got a very special family. It was a pleasure to go to Freeport, Bahamas, and meet his mom and dad,” Underwood said, “He has a terrific family environment at home and we are excited to have him and his parents as a part of our family.”
The versatile Bain, at 6’ 6”, is a high flying wing player whose jumping skills netted a silver medal in the high jump at the 2011 CARIFTA Track and Field Championships.
Bain is one of three members of a signing class that also includes Lasani Johnson (Dallas, Texas; Bishop Dunne High School), and Coris “CJ” Williams, Jr. (Powder Springs, Georgia; Hill College).
“We are elated about these three young men, because they meet the needs that we have. I think that offensively, we’ve got some very talented players. Having a skill set that fits our system is vital, so we’ve earmarked these young men from, really, since we first got the job. They really meet needs that fit us and it’s a tribute to my staff and their hard work. They’ve done a great job of evaluating and recruiting these young men and finding the pieces that need to be replaced. That’s a part of college basketball, we lose seniors and you’ve got to fill in with guys that can replace those guys,” Underwood said, “This is a very talented group. They’re athletic. They’ve got tremendous offensive firepower. They have a tremendous skill set, which I am very excited about being able to coach when they join our program next season, but more importantly, they have extremely high character. These guys are good kids. They’re devoted to basketball. They’re committed to being great, and they’re young men that fit. They fit the SFA culture and the environment that we want here in our basketball program, so I’m elated about having them.”
Bain originally signed an offer to attend Colorado State this fall, but chose to return to Sunrise Christian and its prep program for the upcoming season.