Zeigler adds two from junior colleges

Ernie Zeigler already expects one of his two new additions to be the most athletic player on his team.

The men’s basketball coach said junior college transfer Antonio Weary, a 6-foot, 2-inch guard, should bring a new intensity to CMU. Zeigler also announced the signing of fellow junior college transfer Jacolby Hardiman on Monday to a national letter of intent.

“Antonio is probably one of the most athletic kids in the junior college ranks,” Zeigler said. “Once he steps foot on campus here, he’ll probably be the most athletic player on our team. His ability to score in transition and put pressure on the defense by attacking the defense and his ability to defend and to understand to fit in and his experience on a winning team is what I was looking for.”

Zeigler said the two scholarships became available with the departures of freshman Chase Simon in February and junior Nate Minnoy, both of whom will not return to the team next season.

“It was a combination of a lot of things, but also it was just a situation that things didn’t come together in a manner that I want things to be done,” Zeigler said about Minnoy. “Nate is a good kid and a kid that I know that will be successful as he moves forward in his career.”

Successful team

members

Both Weary and Hardiman were starters on successful teams last season. Weary’s team went 23-9, while Hardiman’s went 28-4.

“I think both will have ample opportunity to compete for minutes in our rotation,” Zeigler said. “They come from winning programs and have understanding of intangibles that it takes for a team to be successful.”

Weary will join the Chippewas in the fall from Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan., where he averaged 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds in one season. He attended high school in Lynwood, Calif., and peaked the interest of Zeigler three years ago as an assistant at UCLA, when he was recruiting high school teammate Davon Jefferson, a freshman at Southern California.

“He’s built like a linebacker. He’s extremely athletic and tough, so he’s going to be effective,” said HCC head coach Ryan Swanson. “He’s 6-2, but he probably plays about 6-5, 6-6. He always guarded the best defensive player on the other team and usually shut them down. His jump shot has probably been his weakest point, but he’s working on it and it’s getting better.”

The 6-foot, 4-inch, 195-pound Hardiman comes to CMU by way of the University of Arkansas Fort Smith in Fort Smith, Ark., where he averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in two years. He attended Bradley Tech High School in Milwaukee.

“He is a tremendously gifted athlete. He’s extremely tough – he was the best defender on my team the last two years,” said UAFS head coach Josh Newman. “Jacolby guarded the best player night in and night out. It didn’t matter if it was a point guard, a wing, a forward or a low post player. The intangibles that he gave my team was just that sense toughness from a physical and emotional standpoint.”

Hardiman qualified for a Division I scholarship out of high school, but was shown little interest. However, he has shown plenty after two years of junior college, recruited by Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Eastern Illinois, Texas State, North Texas and Loyola-Chicago.

Stripe struggles

Another similarity the two players share is their ineptitude from the free throw line. Both shot better than 50 percent from the field, but struggled with free throws. Hardiman shot 39.8 percent last season, while Weary shot 59.3.

“When we’re recruiting all guys, you can look at the statistics, but eventually it’s about working with them and developing their areas of weakness,” Zeigler said. “Recruiting is such a science in that you’re never going to get a complete package, and even if you do, there’s always something that you have to work on.”

Weary and Hardiman become the third and fourth players signed by Zeigler from junior colleges, joining Minnoy (Schoolcraft) and Marcus Van (Wabash Valley Community College). Weary will have sophomore status and Hardiman will be a junior.

“We want to try continue to try and keep a balance in our recruiting in terms of junior college kids and high school kids,” Zeigler said. “We’ve had that here up to this point. These are both kids that academically fit here at CMU. It’s always about the CMU fit and what we are building here for student-athletes. Both of these kids are very high character and will represent CMU basketball in a manner that we all expect.”

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