San Antonio – Adding to its Heartland Conference championship crown, the St. Mary’s men’s basketball team signed some class as former Division-I recruit Fred Wilson will get fitted for a Rattler jersey next season.

The 6-foot-3 combo guard hailing from Seattle, WA enters the St. Mary’s basketball system as a junior, primed with his previous experiences to help the Rattlers to further success.

Wilson spent his sophomore year at State Fair Community College in Missouri under the direction of head coach Kevin Thomas after transferring from D-I Seattle University, where he treaded the courts as a freshman. Picking up on what Thomas saw in Wilson in his sophomore season, head coach Jim Zeleznak has found the right placement for Wilson’s skills.

“Fred is an energy type guy,” says Zeleznak, who will be in his eighth season as head coach next season. “He can provide that energy starting or coming off the bench; he can do a little bit of everything. He’s a good midrange player, which would add some much-needed depth on the perimeter where we lost of the majority of our kids.”

As a guard for State Fair Community College, Wilson hit the boards hard to average 9.5 points per game and shot 72 percent from the line. The 205-pound newbie looks to be key for the Rattlers as he has a keen eye for the bucket and a mind for defense that fits into the talented pair of Moses Sundufu (Sr., Hopkins, Minn.) and Daryell Taylor (Sr., Houston), who shined in their first year as Rattlers this season.

“Fred is a good defender and has a really good midrange game much like Moses does,” Zeleznak said. “He is a solid midrange player and can get out and defend. That’s the kind of guy we like to have. He goes and rebounds, and he can distribute the ball and shoot. He’s just a guy that is multi-talented. That’s kind of like Moses and DT for us – both have their strengths but have that versatility to do a lot of things well and be secondary ball handlers. He can provide us with a spark offensively.”

Before lacing up for D-I Seattle University and State Fair Community College, Wilson played at West Wind Prep in Arizona and graduated from Franklin High School in Seattle. Highly recruited after four years of successful high school ball, Wilson has made rounds in collegiate play that led him to finish his college career as a Rattler in perfect positioning.

“When Fred is in the lineup he really creates some stability from a ball-handling standpoint,” says Zeleznak, “no matter whether he’s playing the two or three.”

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