INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Athletics Department and Head Basketball Coach Ron Hunter announced the signings of two more student-athletes as he continues to build his most recent recruiting class. The duo of Aaron Morris (Richmond, Ky./Madison Central) and Anthony Williams (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region) recently returned their National Letters of Intent to join the Jaguars in 2008-09.

Morris and Williams become IUPUI’s fourth and fifth signees for next season, respectively.

Morris, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound swingman will be a true freshman next season while Williams, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward, is transferring from Iowa Western Community College and will have three seasons of eligibility left. 

"With these signings, we instantly become a really deep basketball team," Hunter said. "Aaron Morris has a really smooth game. He’s a good scorer and shoots the ball pretty well for his size. He’ll be a hard matchup on the wing in our league.

"Anthony brings some muscle to our front line. I really like the depth we have with some longer kids up front like a Jon Avery or a Robert Glenn. But Anthony gives us another dimension with his size around the basket.


"Plus, he’s got three years of eligibility left, so he’s just going to continue to get better." 

Morris brings an extensive prep resume to the table after being named to the Kentucky All-Star team and Second Team All-State by The Associated Press this past season. As a senior, Morris averaged 22.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game and hit 53.5 percent from the floor for Head Coach Allen Feldhaus. His junior year, he netted 18.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. 

He participated in the Kentucky/Ohio All-Star Game and was named among KentuckyPreps.com’s Top 12 prospects the past two years. He finished his career as Madison Central’s all-time leader in points (1,980) and rebounds (904) and was a McDonald’s All-America candidate. 

His sophomore year, he helped Madison Central to an 11th Region title and a 26-8 overall record. He chose IUPUI over similar offers from Morehead State, Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee Tech and Chattanooga.

"Aaron’s a great pickup for us," Hunter said. "We’ve had success with long, rangy athletes in the past and we’re going to continue to go that route. Aaron’s fits right along in that mold."

Williams played last season at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, helping Head Coach Jim Morris’s Reivers to a school record 27 wins and No. 11 national ranking. Williams contributed 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting a team-high 64.8 percent from the floor.

He scored in double-figures four times including a season-high 14 versus Northeastern Community College on Jan. 12. This past season at IWCC, he teamed with First Team All-American and former AAU teammate Dewin Kitchen (Florida State) and Illinois State-signee Lloyd Phillips. 

Williams arrived at Iowa Western from Winthrop University, where he was recruited by Gregg Marshall in 2006. In his lone season in Rock Hill, Williams redshirted for the Eagles. He practiced with a team that won the Big South Conference crown and upset No. 6 seed Notre Dame to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He attended one season of postgraduate preparatory school at Charis Prep in Goldsboro, NC in 2005-06. That year, he averaged 17.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per contest. 

He was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at Lake Region High School, where he averaged 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds a game his senior year. He finished his career ranked second on the school’s career list in rebounds (554) and eighth in scoring (666 points). He helped Lake Region to consecutive 25 win seasons and a final four appearance in the state tournament. He racked up 11 double-doubles in his high school career and a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds in the district championship win over Haines City. 

Williams chose IUPUI over continued interest from Campbell, UC-Riverside, Gardner-Webb and Idaho. 

"One thing we loved about Anthony is his maturity," Hunter said. "He’s a little older than your typical college sophomore. He’s a good student and he’s going to be a leader for our basketball team. He’s definitely going to help us on the boards and defend the post, and he shoots a high percentage from the field. He’s really a rock solid kid."

Hunter’s squad is coming off a 26-7 campaign and finished as The Summit League’s runner-up in both the regular season and tournament in 2008. Led by George Hill and guard Gary Patterson, the Jaguars will return three starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s squad.

Hill, who recently declared for the 2008 NBA Draft, was named Honorable Mention All-America by the AP and Mid-Major All-America by CollegeInsider.com and CollegeHoops.net. In addition, Patterson was a Second Team All-Conference pick and hit 44.5 percent of his three-point attempts this past season. 

IUPUI also returns a pair of 6-foot-7 juniors along the front line in Jon Avery and Billy Pettiford. Avery was IUPUI’s fourth leading scorer at 10.7 points per game while Pettiford ranked second on the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg), assists (92), steals (42) and had a team-high 21 blocked shots.