Long Beach State University Athletics
Nick Shepherd willl redshirt
11/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Long Beach State men's basketball coach Dan Monson announced today that freshman forward Nick Shepherd will redshirt during the 2010-11 season.
"Nick is the most athletic big man we have had in our program since my arrival," Monson said. "His upside is tremendous and he has the potential to be a dominant player in the Big West. Our staff, along with Nick and his mother have come to the consensus that redshirting this season will give him a year to become stronger, develop his skill package, and have a better opportunity to maximize his career at The Beach. Although Nick could have been a valuable cog in this year's team, I think this symbolizes growth in our program in that we are finally at the point where we can afford to redshirt a player of Nick's caliber. I am excited for both Nick and the program for the possibilities of the future."
Shepherd (6-9, 225) was ranked No. 139 on the Rivals.com list of the top 150 recruits in the nation coming out of high school. As a senior, he was named first-team all-state and first-team all-district while playing at Westbury Christian High School in Missouri City, Texas. He averaged 9.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots per game during his senior year and made 58 percent of his field goal attempts. He also led his team to the 2008-09 Texas 4A State Championship as junior.
Long Beach State returns four starters including starting posts T.J. Robinson and Eugene Phelps. The Beach also has junior college transfer Edis Dervisevic, sophomore Kyle Richardson, junior Lin Chang and sophomore Mike Vantrimpont battling for minutes behind Phelps and Robinson.
