CARBONDALE, Ill. – The SIU men’s basketball program signed three highly-touted players on the first day of the fall signing period, head coach Bryan Mullins announced today. Troy D’Amico (Niles Notre Dame HS), Scottie Ebube (Mundelein HS), and Foster Wonders (Iron Mountain HS) will all be freshmen for the Salukis in 2021-22.
“I’m extremely excited about this year’s class,” Mullins said. “We have gotten to know Troy, Foster and Scottie, and their families, for over a year. They are going to bring instant credibility because they all come from winning programs. Scottie gives us an up-front presence. He has a great motor and great toughness. Troy and Foster are very versatile. They can pass, shoot, and dribble. As we continue to build this program with toughness and character, these guys check all of those boxes.”
D’Amico (6-7, 205, F) was a first-team All-State selection as a junior after he averaged 15.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game for Niles Notre Dame. He is ranked as as high as the No. 6 player in the state of Illinois class of 2021 and is SIU’s highest-rated in-state signee since Kevin Dillard in 2008. He helped lead Niles Notre Dame to a 29-5 record as a junior in 2019-20.
Mullins on D’Amico: “I can’t wait to start coaching Troy,” Mullins said. “He has that chip on his shoulder, and he plays with that every single time he’s on the court. When you look at Troy, you see productivity. He has an impact in so many different areas of the game. Every single year, he has continued to get better. He wanted to be a Saluki. He’s extremely excited to get down here, and he’s going to have an unbelievable career.”
Ebube (6-8, 225, C) is also ranked as a top-10 player in Illinois this year. He led Mundelein High School to a 30-4 record in 2019-20 and was an All-State selection. He averaged a double-double as a junior and is a two-time All-Area honoree. Ebube was the MVP of the 2018 Carbondale Holiday Tournament and had 27 points and 15 rebounds in the championship-plus game.
Mullins on Ebube: “Scottie is an outstanding person. He comes from a great family, and his best basketball is in front of him. He comes from a great high school program with a great high school coach. He has toughness and physicality. He never makes excuses on the court, and he wants to win. He has won every single year in high school and his AAU program. I think he has a chance to be a really good player in this league. He’s one of those post guys who knows how to score. He’s very productive. He can make and maintain contact. He can duck in. As he continues to develop his body, the sky is the limit for him.”
Wonders (6-5, 190, G), a three-star prospect by 247 Sports, is ranked as a top-10 player in the state of Michigan and was a first-team All-State selection by the Associated Press as a junior last season. He’s a two-time Upper Peninsula Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. He averaged 27.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He has led Iron Mountain High School to a 64-4 record since he joined the program, including a state championship game appearance in 2019.
Mullins on Wonders: “Foster and I really connected. He lives all the way up in Iron Mountain, Michigan. For him and his mom to come all the way here for an unofficial visit, driving 10 hours, that showed the level of interest they had in our program. Over the last year and a half, getting to know their family, I’m extremely excited to welcome them to the program. Foster is someone I want representing this program on and off the court every single day. His work ethic and maturity, for a high school kid, are exceptional, and his best basketball is ahead of him. He continues to put the work in every single day. He will make a big impact as soon as he steps on campus.”
More from Mullins: “This class is so important for our future. For them, it was an unusual recruiting process because of COVID. They weren’t able to take official visits. Over the last six months, we have kept in touch with them, and they have not wavered in terms of their commitment to this program and how excited they are to be Salukis. That means everything. As much as we want people to be a part of our program, we also want them to be excited to be here. These three guys will be perfect fits for SIU.”