April 18, 2011
EASTON, Pa. -
Coming off a second straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament championship game, head coach Fran O'Hanlon and the Lafayette men's basketball program have signed four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent.
Dan Trist (Sydney, Australia/North Sydney Boys') is a 6-9, 220-pound power forward who will join 6-6, 205-pound Alan Flannigan (Dexter, Mo./Dexter) in the frontcourt. Seth Hinrichs (Clara City, Minn./Maccray) and Joey Ptasinski (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Regis Jesuit/New Hampton) are the guard members of the class of 2015. Hinrichs is 6-6, 185, and Ptasinki checks in at 6-3, 175.
"We're very excited about our recruiting class. It covers a lot of areas for us, but certainly there was a focus on rebounding," O'Hanlon said. "We have four players with high basketball IQ's, and academically this is the best class (in terms of academic index) we've had during my time at Lafayette."
Trist will make the longest journey to College Hill, coming from Australia. He has significant playing experience, honing his skills with the Australian U-19 National Team. He will be playing for the same team which will compete in the U-19 World Championships in Latvia later this year.
He was selected to the New South Wales All High School Team in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, Trist was one of three Australians selected to the Nike All-Asia Team to play at the Nike Global Challenge in Portland, Ore. In 2009, he was one of five of his countrymen tabbed for inclusion at the Nike Development Camp in Beijing, China.
Trist has been lauded for his academic pursuits at Sydney North by the Secondary Sports Association for representing his school in sport while maintaining outstanding academics. He is planning to major in Biology at Lafayette, an interest that he shares with his twin brother, Benjamin, who is studying advanced science at the University of New South Wales.
"Dan is a very good rebounder who is good around the hoop, but can also step outside," O'Hanlon said. "He has a lot of international experience that will has benefit him in making a quick transition to the college game."
Hinrichs is an All-State selection from Minnesota, joining fellow Minnesotan and rising sophomore Jake Kreuser (Mendota Heights, Minn./Sibley) on the roster.
The guard led his squad to a 28-4 mark in 2010-11, averaging 21.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 30 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. As a junior, Hinrichs contributed 15.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. He plans to major in Economics at Lafayette.
"Seth has a very good feel for the game," O'Hanlon said. "He's an excellent three-point shooter who will be a very versatile player on the floor for us."
Flannigan is the second player in a short time span to come to Lafayette from Missouri, joining rising senior Ryan Willen (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame) on the roster. Flannigan played his high school ball at Dexter which competes against Willen's alma mater Notre Dame in conference play. Both suited up for the same AAU program.
As a senior, Flannigan averaged 23.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.9 steals per game, up from his junior (20.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 1.0 spg) and sophomore (13.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.6 bpg) season statistics. He finished with more than 1,400 career points and 700 rebounds in his time at Dexter.
He earned First Team All-State honors in 2010-11 from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and the Missouri sportswriters while garnering First Team Academic All-State laurels as a senior.
Flannigan served as a captain for his junior and senior campaigns during which he earned All-SCAA First-Team, All-SEMO Conference First-Team, Team All-District and All-Region honors in each season. He was also tabbed as the SCAA Player of the Year in 2009-10 and the SEMO Conference Player of the Year in 2010-11.
A member of the Dexter Honor Society and four-year honor roll awardee, Flannigan also played on the baseball and golf teams while serving as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He intends to major in Economics. Flannigan's father, Charlie, played collegiate football and was a high jumper at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. He also played basketball for the Coburg Giants, the 1977 Australian national champions.
"Alan is an athletic guard/forward," O'Hanlon said. "He has the ability to play outside or inside and averaged a double-double in high school."
Ptasinski is coming off a prep year at New Hampton School in New Hampshire, helping guide his squad to a 21-13 record and its first NEPSAC final since 2002. That followed a stellar playing career at Regis Jesuit in Aurora, Colo. Ptasinki guided his team to consecutive Colorado 5A state titles in 2009 and 2010 while also collecting Continental League championships in the process. During Colorado State Tournament play, he averaged 19 points per game and shot 59 percent from the floor and 94 percent from the line.
In 2010, he averaged 19 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals per game, earning Colorado State Tournament MVP honors as part of a 27-1 team. As a junior, his team posted a 26-2 mark when he contributed 15 points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds per game.
Ptasinski garnered All-State and Academic All-State selections in 2009 and 2010 to go along with conference MVP plaudits. He plans on majoring in either Biology or Computer Science at Lafayette.
"Joey is a terrific shooter who won two state titles in Colorado," O'Hanlon said. "He really knows how to play the game."
The Leopards return three starters including Willen, senior shooting guard Jim Mower and junior point guard Tony Johnson.
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