Recruiting heats up for Nova Southeastern University and Barry men’s basketball

The NSU Sharks and Barry Bucs are both putting together what appear to be strong recruiting classes for their NCAA Division II men’s basketball programs.

Barry coach Butch Estes has signed a pair of NCAA Division I transfers: 6-9, 195-pound junior Amari Haynes (University of New Orleans) and 6-8, 215-pound sophomore T.J. Smith (Toledo). Haynes has two more years of eligibility remaining. Smith has three, and Estes said he expects to sign one or two more players to complete the class.

NSU coach Jim Crutchfield could ultimately bring in four players, although he could only confirm the two who have signed. The best athlete on NSU’s wish list may be Sekou Sylla, who has yet to sign but announced on Twitter that he has committed to the Sharks.

Sylla, a 6-4 forward, has two years of eligibility remaining. As a sophomore at College of Saint Rose, an NCAA Division II program in New York, Sylla put up impressive numbers, averaging 21.9 points and 11.6 rebounds.

NSU also has a commitment from Sebastian Griffin, a 6-3 incoming freshman guard from Australia who is adept at scoring at the rim.

The two players NSU has already signed are incoming freshmen Alex Mangold and Dallas Graziani.

Mangold, a 6-8, 230-pound forward from Ohio, is a smart player who fits the NSU program, Crutchfield said.

“He’s multi-skilled,” Crutchfield said. “He can handle, pass and shoot from the perimeter.”

Graziani, a 5-9 lefty point guard, played for three Broward high schools and was one of the most prolific scorers in county history. As a senior, he led Pembroke Pines Charter to the first state final in school history, although the season ended in a 67-60 loss to Tallahassee Rickards.

“I like his toughness,” Crutchfield said of Graziani. “He’s listed at 5-9, but he’s probably 5-7 if he’s lucky, and he’s had to prove himself his whole life. He’s an outstanding shooter and scorer.”

Graziani’s shooting touch left him in that game against Rickards, which held him to five points on 2-for-17 shooting, including 1-for-13 on three-pointers.

At NSU, Graziani will likely have to distribute a bit more and also learn to fight through screens on defense.

Either way, though, Crutchfield – who lost four seniors off last season’s team – feels good about his program. Hired in March of 2017, Crutchfield immediately turned around a program that went 6-20 in the season before he arrived.

The Sharks made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history last year, reaching the Elite Eight. This year, the Sharks went 23-6 and were about to start their second straight NCAA Tournament when the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to all sports.

Going forward, Crutchfield believes NSU can become similar to the West Liberty program he built into an NCAA D-2 power before arriving in Broward.

“For the first time since I got here, we are to the point where we can build from within,” Crutchfield said. “At West Liberty, our backups could beat our starters half the time. I like a program where we develop players and don’t have to bring in all transfers.

“When you bring in one transfer, he has to adapt to our program. When you bring in four transfers, it’s the other way around.”

Meanwhile, Estes, hired by Barry in April of 2013, has taken the Bucs to the NCAA Tournament five times, reaching the Elite Eight twice.

But while NSU has gone 52-10 with two NCAA Tournament berths the past two years, the Bucs are 36-21 with none in that span.

To help remedy that slight downturn, the Bucs are bringing in Haynes and Smith.

“Amari is not a knock-down shooter, but he jumps out of the gym, runs like a gazelle and can guard multiple positions,” Estes said. “He’s the shot-blocking presence we haven’t had for a couple of years.”

Estes said Smith is versatile enough to play wing, power forward and center.

“He’s a great rebounder who was highly recruited out of high school,” Estes said. “He can play inside and out.”