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Men's Basketball Announces Late Signees
Three Additional Players Set to Join AU Program

June 21, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. — American University men’s basketball coach Jeff Jones has announced that four additional student-athletes have signed national letters of intent and are set to join the program with the start of the Fall 2001 semester.

Matej Cresnik (Velenje, Slovenia/Univerza V Ljubljani), Patrick Okpwae (Yaounde, Cameroon/Berkshire School [Fla.]) and Glenn Stokes (Silver Spring, Md./Tallahassee CC [Fla.]) will join early-period signee Nick Boyd (West Orange, N.J./Essex CC [N.J.]).

“We are very excited about our recruiting class,” commented Jones, who enters his second season at the helm of the Eagles’ program. “We addressed all of our major needs, and specifically, this class will help improve our ballhandling, shooting and knowledge of the game.”

Cresnik is a 6-9, 225-pound forward/center. He is transferring from the Univerza V Ljubljani in Slovenia, where he studied for the past year.

“Matej really knows how to play the game,” said Jones. “He has been extremely well coached, and is very smart and tough. He will be able to blend in immediately and help us from day one.”

Okpwae, a 6-7, 210-pound forward, comes to AU from The Berkshire School in Homestead, Fla. The nationally renowned program, which went 16-2 and was ranked fifth nationally by ESPN last season, sent players on to such schools as DePaul, Louisville, Missouri and Wake Forest. Playing for Coach Rolondo Deleberrara, Okpwae averaged 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

“Number one, Patrick is a tremendous young man with a refreshing outlook on life,” Jones offered. “As a basketball player, Patrick is raw, but has exceptional athletic ability. He has the potential to be an outstanding player in the Patriot League.”

Stokes is joining the AU program from Tallahassee CC. A 5-8, 165-pound point guard, Stokes averaged 9.7 points, 4.1 assists and was selected First-Team All-Panhandle Conference as a sophomore. He started 30-of-31 games last season for Coach Mike Gillespie, and led the program to a 29-2 record, including its second straight appearance in the FCCAA/NJCAA Region VIII championship.

“Glenn does a lot of good things on the court,” said Jones. The greatest ability that he will bring to the program, though, is his ability to lead. He is a very mature player, and has great court awareness.”

American University, founded in 1893, fields a 19-sport NCAA Division I athletics program, featuring 10 women’s sports and nine for men. American will become a full member of the Patriot League with the start of the coming 2001-02 academic calendar.

The Eagles will open the 2001-02 campaign on Saturday, November 17, when it travels to the University of Maryland for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. American will play its inaugural Patriot League contest at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., on Wednesday, January 9, at 7:30 p.m.