Catching up

The national signing period opens tomorrow and runs through May 19. One of MU's first signees is expected to be D.J. Newbill from Philadelphia. The 6'4" guard turned in a spectacular senior season, leading his squad to the state title game while averaging about 25 points per game along the way. Newbill was named the Pennsylvania AA State Player of the Year.

The Philadelphia Daily News caught up with Newbill who expects to be on campus in July to enroll in summer classes and begin his work with the MU program. Check out the full article here.

In other news from the program:

• 2010 big man Maurice Walker committed to Minnesota after considering MU among other programs.
• Heading into the spring signing period, ESPN has MU ranked with the 16th best recruiting class in the nation.
• Rob Demovsky of the Green Bay Press Gazette named Buzz Williams the coach of the year in his annual recap of all Division One teams in the state. Demovsky found plenty of love for the Marquette hoops program in his rundown of the state's best.
• After turning in a series of fine performances during Final Four weekend, Lazar Hayward opted to skip the Portsmouth Invitational.
• Jerel McNeal's first professional season ended in embarrassing fashion. The Marquette graduate was booted from his team after testing positive for marijuana.
• Dominic James is closing out a strong season in Turkey. The point guard is averaging better than 14 points and 4 assists per game, scoring in double figures in 10 of his last 11 outings. Mersin has won six of their last eight, their best stretch of the season.
• The Marquette basketball team banquet will be held tomorrow night on campus.