Men's Basketball Signs 2
11/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Central Michigan men's basketball coach Keno Davis has announced the signing of Matthew Beachler of Lowell, Mich., and AJ Bullard of Houston to National Letters of Intent.
Beachler and Bullard will join the program for the 2017-18 season.
Beachler is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound shooting guard from Lowell High School; Bullard a 6-9, 190-pound small forward who plays at The Woodlands High School.
Beachler, who maintains a 4.0 grade point average, was the Ottawa-Kent Conference White Division scoring champ (18.1 points per game) in 2015-16, when he led Lowell to its first district championship in 32 years.
He was named Class A Second Team All-State by the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News and the Associated Press. He holds Lowell school records for points in a game (44), 3-pointers in a game (nine) and career 3-pointers (160). He chose CMU over more than two dozen schools, including DePaul, VCU, Illinois State and Akron.
"Our staff identified Matt at an early age as someone who can make a big impact on the game with his shooting ability from 3-point range and beyond," Davis said. "When you add Matt's drive to become a great all-around player, it only elevated our evaluation of him during the recruitment process."
Bullard, who maintains a 3.6 GPA, has averaged 10 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes per game over the past two seasons at The Woodlands. He helped lead the Highlanders to a 25-8 record and a runner-up finish in their district behind Atascocita, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation according to USA Today.
Bullard, who chose CMU over Colorado, St. Mary's and Gonzaga, is the son of Matt Bullard, who played 11 NBA seasons, primarily with the Houston Rockets. He helped the Rockets to NBA titles in 1994 and '95.
"AJ's 3-point shooting ability and his size help make him an ideal fit in our pro-style offense," Davis said. "His background of being around NBA players as well as his father's basketball career has helped and continue to help his development."
 | Matt Beachler • Guard • 6-4, 195 • Lowell, Mich./Lowell HS Three-year varsity letterwinner ... Lowell's record holder for points in a game (44), 3-pointers in a game (9) and career 3-pointers (160) ... with 1,149, sits 101 points shy of school scoring record entering senior year ... as a junior, led the Red Arrows in scoring (18.1 ppg), 3-pointers (51) and rebounds per game (3.83) ... also averaged 2.96 assists and 1.67 steals ... led LHS to its first district championship in 32 years and most wins since 1978 ... earned Ottawa-Kent All-Conference honors, after leading the conference in scoring ... named to Detroit Free Press, AP and Detroit News All-State Class A Second Team and to the MIive Grand Rapids Dream Team ... selected to High School Sports Scene First Team All-State, Bank Hoops All-State Class A Second Team, Prep Hoops Michigan All-State Class A Third Team ... won the Mlive fan vote as area's Most Versatile Player ... named Fox Motors Prep Player of the Week ... received BCAM Individual Academic All-State and Class A Team Academic All-State (top GPA in state) recognition ... as a sophomore, led Lowell in scoring (19.4 ppg), 3-pointers (59), rebounding (3.55) and steals (1.59) ... ranked No. 5 in the Class A in the state of Michigan in scoring ... named to the Class A Detroit Free Press All-State 6th Team ... earned AP, BCAM and Detroit News All-State Honorable Mention and Mlive All-Area (Grand Rapids) Team Honorable Mention ... selected to Prep Ball Report All-State First Team, Prep Hoops Michigan Class A All-State Fourth Team, Bank Hoops Class A All-State Fifth Team and earned Sports Scene State Dream Team Honorable Mention ... named OK White All-Conference after leading the league in scoring ... named WBBL Player of the Game, District Game 1 (37 points) ... selected to play in the Reaching Higher Showcase (as a sophomore and junior) ... as a freshman, named OK White All-Conference Honorable Mention ... averaged 14 ppg as a varsity starter ... named to the All-State Freshman team by Bank Hoops and Prep Ball Report ... named to Michigan Elite 25. | |
 | AJ Bullard • Forward • 6-9, 190 • Houston, Texas/The Woodlands HS Four-year varsity letterwinner ... as a junior, averaged 10 ppg, 6 rpg, and 3 bpg ... earned second team all-district honors in 2015-16 ... was the high scorer and named to the all-tournament team at the 2015 Tuluso Midway Tournament ... selected as the MVP of the China 18U vs. Houston Area All-Stars game in 2015, averaging 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals per game ... as a sophomore, averaged 10 ppg, 6 rpg and 2.5 bpg, earning honorable mention all-district recognition ... nine-time Students Achieving Excellence Award winner. | |