LIVINGSTON, Ala. —First-year head men’s basketball coach Eddie McCarter announced ten newcomers to University of West Alabama basketball program on Friday.

The new class includes seven junior college transfers, two freshmen and a transfer from Stillman College.  Bobby Clark, Brian Murphy, Kevin Johnson, Glenn Miles, Cavin Payton, Maurice Naylor and Ejikeme “Stan” Ndefo come to campus by way of the junior college ranks.

Clark, a 6’6” forward from Jackson, Miss., played two seasons at Iowa Western Community College.  He averaged 14.4 points a game along with five rebounds as a sophomore.  As a freshman, he lead IWCC to a 30-8 overall record en route to a district and Region XI championship.  The squad placed fourth in the NJCAA National Tournament.

Murphy and Johnson join the Red and White after a stint at Tuscaloosa, Ala-based Shelton State Community College.  The 6’4” Murphy hails from Birmingham, Ala. and prepped at John Carroll Catholic High School.  Murphy played for head coach Barry Mohun at SSCC and averaged 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.  Johnson is a power forward who attended Akron (Ala.) High School prior to enrolling at SSCC.  He pulled down 8.8 rebounds a contest in junior college.

Payton and Naylor join UWA after attending Meridian (Miss.) Community College.  The duo was under the tutelage of George Brooks at MCC.  Payton, a wing forward, averaged double figures with 12 points.  Naylor tallied 12 points and eight boards per contest.  He posted a season-high 21 points last year against Gulf Coast (Miss.) Community College.

Ndefo, a native of Enugu State, Nigeria, played at Georgia Perimeter College prior to inking with the Tigers.  The 7’0”, post player helped lead GPC to the GJCAA Region XVII Championship in 2006-07.

Miles competed at Bevill State Community College - Sumiton for the past two seasons.  The Birmingham, Ala. product scored at a 10.5 clip and dished out 5.6 assists per game.  He posted double figure scoring in 15 games last season, including a double-double against Snead State.   

McCarter’s freshmen class includes Damascus King and Ryan Cross – both from the Alabama prep ranks.  King, a 6’3” guard from Huntsville, Ala. attended Tanner High School.  As a senior at THS, King was tabbed All-Limestone County with a 17-point average along with four rebounds and assists per game for head coach Chris Whitt.  Cross, a native of Gurley, Ala., prepped at Madison County High School.  The 6'6" forward averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Chris Malone joins the program after playing a year at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala.  The sophomore from Birmingham, Ala. was named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2005-06.  At Ramsay High School, Malone earned Regional All-Tournament team honors in 2004-05.  That same season, he was named Honorable Mention All-State and ranked 22^nd in the state in scoring.  Malone received the RHS Offensive Player of the Year Award following his senior season with the Rams.