ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia has signed seven newcomers who will join the Bulldogs for the 2022-23 season, head coach Mike White announced on Monday.
The group includes a fifth-year player (Mardrez McBride from North Texas), a senior (Terry Roberts from Bradley), three juniors (Frank Anselem from Syracuse, Justin Hill from Longwood and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe from Oklahoma State), a sophomore (Jusaun Holt from Alabama) and a true freshman (KyeRon Lindsay from Denton, Texas). Because of eligibility extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Anselem, Hill, Holt, Moncrieffe and Roberts could play one more season than their classifications would traditionally indicate.
“We’re very excited about this group of signees,” White said. “These young men represent different positions and skill sets individually. Collectively, they represent versatility and an excitement to be at Georgia. All of these young men have been a part of winning at at least one spot along their journey.”
Of the transfers, five (Anselem, Hill, Holt, McBride and Moncrieffe) played on teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in either 2021 or 2022 and the sixth (Roberts) helped lead Florida SouthWestern to a No. 1 ranking in junior college during 2020. The freshman, Lindsay, played for two top-10 ranked teams in Texas 6A at Denton Guyer High School.
Four of the newcomers have strong ties to the state of Georgia. Anselem, Holt and McBride played high school basketball in the Peach State, and Lindsay’s father is originally from Savannah.
Anselem, a 6-10 center from Lagos, Nigeria, has played for Syracuse during the past two seasons. Anselem logged action in 32 games during the 2021-22 season, including six starts. He averaged 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore, with season highs of nine points and 15 boards against Florida State second round of the ACC Tournament. Anselem’s playing time increased significantly late in the season. After averaging 9.7 minutes in the first 22 games, he logged 23.9 mpg in the last 10 outings.
Anselem was originally ranked as one of the top-100 prospects overall and the No. 9 center in the Class or 2021 before reclassifying to the Class of 2020. He played three seasons of high school basketball in the U.S., competing at Westlake High School in Atlanta as a freshman, Lincoln Academy in Suwanee, Ga., as a sophomore and Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., as a junior. Anselem helped Prolific compile a 32-3 record while playing with Jalen Green, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and eight future Division I players.
Hill, a 6-0, guard from Houston, Texas, was a first-team All-Big South performer during the 2021-22 season while leading Longwood to a 26-7 overall record and a 15-1 mark in league play. He was also named to the All-Big South Conference Tournament team after helping the Lancers to the tourney title to secure the program’s first Division I NCAA Tournament bid. Hill paced the Lancers offensively, averaging 14.2 points per game, and among league leaders he ranked No. 11 in scoring, No. 3 in free throw percentage (.797), No. 3 in assists (4.2 apg), No. 5 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6) and No. 6 in steals (1.5 mpg).
During the 2020-21 campaign, Hill was named the Big South All-Freshman team and was a three-time honoree as Big South Freshman of the Week when he averaged 11.0 points, 4.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Lancers. He was named All-State for Class 6A as a senior at Fort Bend Travis High School, which finished 31-7 and captured the District 20-6A title in 2020.
Holt is a 6-6, guard from Tacoma, Wash., who played his prep basketball at St. Francis High School in Atlanta. Last season, he appeared in 22 games at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide record a 19-14 record and earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Holt scored a season-high seven points against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.
A consensus four-star prospect, Holt was tabbed as the No. 81 overall prospect in the Class of 2021 by Rivals.com, as well as No. 96 recruit by 247Sports.com. He was rated as the No. 5 player in Georgia by both ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. Holt helped St. Francis compile a 100-21 record over four seasons, including back-to-back Georgia Class A Private state titles as a sophomore in 2019 and as a junior in 2020. He was named Georgia’s Class A Private Player of the Year and first-team all-state as a senior in 2021 after he averaged 21.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals. Holt was a second-team all-state pick as a junior when he contributed 12.9 points, 7.9 boards and 3.1 assists.
Lindsay, a 6-8, forward from Denton, Texas, has been tabbed as a four-star prospect by ESPN.com, rivals.com, 247Sports.com and On3.com. Nationally, he was ranked as the No. 87 prospect by 247Sports.com, as well as No. 103 by On3.com and No. 112 by rivals.com. Among rankings for recruits from Texas in the Class of 2022, Lindsay was listed at No. 7 by 247Sports.com, No. 11 by On3.com and in the 247Sports.com composite, No. 13 by the Texas Basketball Review and No. 16 by ESPN.com.
Lindsay, who scored 1,418 points and grabbed 847 rebounds during his career at Denton Guyer High School, was tabbed All-State for Class 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) after averaging a double-double of 23.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per game last season. In addition, he was named MVP for District 5-6A and All-Area MVP by the Denton Record Chronicle after leading the Wildcats to a 30-6 finish. As a junior, Lindsay averaged a double-double of 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game and was a first-team All-District 5-6A selection.
McBride is a 6-2, guard from Augusta, Ga., who has played the last two seasons at North Texas. He was one of only two players to start all 60 games for the Mean Green during that span, helping UNT earn bids to the 2021 NCAA Tournament and the 2022 NIT. McBride averaged 11.3 points per game last season for North Texas, which finished 25-7 and reached the second round of the 2022 NIT. He was a major contributor in UNT’s 2021 postseason run that included the Mean Green’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win. After averaging 6.7 points and scoring in double figures in four of 28 regular-season outings, McBride contributed 11.3 points per game and posted five double-digit outputs in six postseason contests.
McBride also played two seasons of junior college basketball at USC Salkehatchie in 2019-20 and McCook (Nebraska) College in 2018-19. He was the Most Valuable Player of both the basketball and football teams as a senior at Butler High School and led the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the Georgia Class AA state basketball tournament in 2017 and 2018.
Moncrieffe is a 6-7 forward from Toronto who spent the previous two seasons at Oklahoma State. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 57 games with 21 starts for the Cowboys. Moncrieffe recorded 13 double-figure scoring outputs and five double-digit rebound counts, leading to a trio of double-doubles. He started 14 games as a freshman, including all five of Oklahoma State’s postseason games in the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments.
Moncrieffe was the first-ever two-time honoree as the BioSteel All-Canadian Player of the Year, an award previously won by future NBA lottery picks R.J. Barrett and Thon Maker. Rated as a four-start recruit by ESPN.com, rivals.com and 247Sports.com, Moncrieffe was ranked as high as the No. 64 overall prospect by 247Sports.com. As a senior, he averaged 21.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while leading Orangeville Prep to a perfect 15-0 record and the Ontario championship. Moncrieffe also represented Canada at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup and the 2017 FIBA U12 World Cup.
Roberts is a 6-3 guard from North Amityville, N.Y. He played at Bradley last season, where he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year and voted first-team All-MVC after averaging 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Roberts was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 27 after averaging 24.5 points en route to capturing MVP honors at the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. Roberts also was tabbed MVC Newcomer of the Week four times.
Roberts was teammates with current Bulldog Kario Oquendo at Florida SouthWestern State during the 2020-21 season, helping lead the Buccaneers to an 18-6. Roberts average team highs of 15.0 points, 5.7 assists and 2.7 steals per game and was named to the FCSAA all-state and all-tournament teams. He was named first-team all-conference in 2021 after receiving second team accolades in 2020. Roberts finished his career as the Buccaneers’ all-time leader in steals (122) and also ranks among the program’s top-10 leaders in points (No. 8 with 524) and assists (No. 3 with 214).
White was named Georgia’s head coach in March after averaging more than 22 wins per year in combined 11 seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech (2012-15) and Florida (2015-22). White led the Bulldogs and Gators to postseason competition during nine of 10 possible seasons and were also a consensus pick to earn a bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled.
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