Two Recruits Added To 2006 Class

After picking up their first recruit from Western Pennsylvania, Danny Nee and company added a Bishop Canevin player and one of the top junior college sophomore prospects to the Dukes' class of 2006.

Two weeks ago, Steve McNees, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior point guard at Shenango High School in New Castle, Pa., announced he had verbally committed to Duquesne.

This past Wednesday, Bishop Canevin's Antonio DiMaria, a teammate of Danny's son Kevin, picked the Dukes over some top programs including Syracuse and Tennessee which were looking for a prep school season from the 6-foot-6 shooting guard. DiMaria will apparently have a redshirt year to develop at Duquesne, a option utilized in previous seasons for big forward Sean McKeon and combo forward Brian Kelly.

But the big scoop was getting an oral pledge from Hernol Hall, a 6-foot-10 junior college center at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Fla. who's originally from Limon, Costa Rico.

Fans remember that last season, it was between Nebraska and Duquesne for highly regarded point guard Marcus Walker from Kansas City, Missouri. That one went to the Big 12 school. This year, the Duquesne coaches are smiling.

Here's what TexasSports.com wrote about Hall's decision:

"It's a steal for the Dukes as they beat out all sorts of big-time programs for one of the top junior college players in the country. But it just goes to show that if you work hard, you can achieve just about anything in the world of recruiting."

Speaking of Kelly, Jeremy Price, a center/power forward from his and DeVario Hudson's Decatur High School, committed to Georgia in mid-September. The Dukes were on his early list, primarily because of his ex-teammates' experience at Duquesne.

Stay tuned for more on each of these players.

Our thanks to ScoutHoops.com's Dave Telep
for keeping fans up-to-date.