Alton Guard Ruben Cotto Signs NLI With Billikens
April 16, 2008
Saint Louis University head men's basketball coach Rick Majerus today announced that 6-foot guard Ruben Cotto (Alton, Ill. / Alton) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University and play basketball for the Billikens. Cotto will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2008-09 academic year. "We are excited about Ruben because he is someone to whom the game means a great deal," Majerus said. "He and his family have sacrificed a lot to make quality education available to Ruben as well as playing opportunities. Ruben's speed and quickness are especially attractive, and he is a superb competitor. Ruben has the ability to run the floor and push the ball in transition. He is a contact, physical player who enjoys using his body as a screen to take a charge as well as shielding the opposition on a drive. "Ruben is someone who places a premium on his education, and the fact that he is bilingual speaks volumes about the kind of student that he is," Majerus said. "We are excited because it is not often you find yourself as physical and strong of a player who is athletic, skilled and yet genuinely tough. He is tenacious on both sides of the ball, which is indicative of his heart, character and temperament. The skill set is there, but best of all the psychological profile is one of a winner with Ruben. He is a real competitor and plays a man's game." This past season, Cotto was a first-team All-Metro selection by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He averaged 22.3 ppg along with 5.0 rpg for the Redbirds. Cotto also handed out 92 assists and notched 119 steals. He hit 72 3-pointers as a senior and shot 51.2 percent from the field. Cotto led Alton, which was ranked No. 10 in the area, to a 24-7 record and a third-place finish in the rugged Southwestern Conference. Before his family moved to Alton, Ill., Cotto was a second-team All-State performer in Class 3A at Immaculata-La Salle High School in Florida. As a sophomore, he set the school record for single-season scoring with 709 points in 2005-06, and he also holds the single-season assist record with 211 and steals mark with 102 which he set as a junior.
Also signing with the Billikens during the spring signing period is 6-foot-4 guard Kyle Cassity (Pinckneyville, Ill. / Pinckneyville). Last fall, SLU signed an outstanding class comprised of 6-foot-8 power forward Brian Conklin (North Eugene, Ore. / North Eugene), 6-foot-4 guard Femi John (St. Louis, Mo. / McCluer North), 6-foot point guard Kwamain Mitchell (Whitefish Bay, Wis. / Dominican), 6-11 forward Willie Reed (Kansas City, Mo. / Bishop Miege) and 6-foot-11 center Brett Thompson (Vienna, Ill. / Vienna). |
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