America East Basketball News & Notes: Additions to UNH Roster

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When last season came to an end, UNH head basketball coach Bill Herrion already knew that one thing needed to change for his team to become an America East championship team. That one thing was to become a better perimeter shooting team. The additions made to the Wildcats roster are designed to solve that problem. Marco Foster, a transfer and incoming freshman A.J. Lopez, have been brought in to improve the shooting woes that haunted UNH a season ago. Coach Herrion believes it is the one part of the team that is stopping them from reaching their goal of winning an America East conference championship.

Foster is a Division II transfer from Oklahoma Christian. He will have four full years at New Hampshire. He led the Lone Star Conference with 62 made three-pointers a season ago. It tied him for first among all D II freshmen. In 18 games played, Foster averaged 15.4 points per game, second on the team. He averaged 3.44 made three per night, which ranked him number one in the league, and number eight in the country. His best night came vs Arkansas Fort Smith when Foster knocked down nine three-point shots on his way to a season-high 29 points for the game. The 6-2 guard could be the long-range answer coach Herrion has been searching for this off-season.

Lopez played at Mount Zion Prep in Lanham, MD. He showed an ability to knock down shots from behind the arc by shooting 45 percent from deep and averaged 16.1 points a night. Lopez has also played at Schoolhouse Prep in Miami, Fla. where he scored 20.8 a game to go along with four rebounds and two assists. Those numbers earned him team MVP honors, as well as second-team All-Dade County. He also spent a year playing in Queens, N.Y. for St.Francis Prep where he dropped 18 a night. For his effort, he was named to the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens All-Star first team. The 6-5 guard adds size to the Wildcats backcourt.

As a team, the UNH Wildcats shot 31.8% from deep a year ago, while averaging 67 points a game. These two players, along with another transfer Sloan Seymour coming in from George Washington, should help make the Wildcats offense much more difficult to defend next season.