Saturday, February 7, 2009

Tanner Kerry of Australia signs letters-of-intent with Pepperdine men's basketball for 2009-10 season

Men's Basketball Signs Two Recruits for 2009-10
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information

Release: 11/20/2008

MALIBU, Calif. ­ Pepperdine men's basketball coach Tom Asbury announced
today that the Waves have signed two players -- guard Josh Lowery of Phoenix
and forward/center Tanner Kerry of Australia -- to letters-of-intent for the
2009-10 season.

Lowery is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard who attends Desert Vista High School,
while Kerry is a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward/center from Sydney, Australia.

Following are capsule biographies with quotes on each player:

Tanner Kerry
Played the last four years on the varsity at Cranbrook High School ... Also
has played with an Under-22 Youth League club team called the Northern
Suburbs Bears for two seasons ... Averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds for
Cranbrook as a senior and made the CAS all-conference team ... Helped the
school to its first-ever conference championship as a junior and was on the
all-conference squad ... Averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Northern
Suburbs Bears last season ... An excellent all-around athlete who has also
won awards in track and field (high jump, 200 meters, discus and shot put),
swimming and rugby ... A dual citizen of Australia and the USA, as he was
born in Newport Beach, Calif., and moved to Australia when he was 5 years
old ... His father, Mark, was an Olympic swimmer for Australia and won one
gold and two bronze medals.

Quote from Asbury: ³I saw Tanner play in a tournament in Denver in the
spring and just fell in love with him. He plays hard, he¹s tough, he¹s got
good athletic ability and has a tremendous upside. He has a really bright
future. He has some great family genes. I would expect him to play
immediately.²

Quote from Stephen Whitebread, head coach, Cranbrook High: ³Tanner is
extremely athletic and strong. He is very enthusiastic, respectful and easy
to coach. Tanner plays the 5 for us but can easily play the 4 and I believe
with some work he can play the 3 spot. It has been a joy to watch Tanner
develop and I look forward to seeing him progress in the years to come. I
believe Tanner is a promising talent and with his existing tools, attitude
and commitment to improve, in addition to his physical presence continuing
to develop, I believe his future is boundless.²

Quote from Rob Beveridge, former head coach of the National Junior Team and
an assistant coach with the Olympic Team: ³Tanner has been a late developer
to the game of basketball and when I first saw Tanner play I was very
excited with the potential that he possesses. He is a big, strong and
athletic player with a great work ethic who wants to get better every time
he is on the floor. These attributes along with his great attitude will
ensure that he will have a very successful college career.²

Quote from Chris McKibbins, NSBA development officer: ³As a player, Tanner
is as hard working and honest as they come. A super-strong athletic big who
is as fast as any guard out on the court. Tanner has the ability to rebound
on the defensive end, throw an outlet, then beat the ball down the court. He
is a genuine inside player but with some refining of his perimeter moves he
could easily be a dominant swingman with his speed and tenacity. It has been
a real pleasure seeing Tanner develop and I look forward to seeing him take
on a big role at Pepperdine.²

Josh Lowery
Won the 2008 5A Division I state championship as a junior with Desert Vista
High School, which went 26-5 overall ... Averaged 12.8 points, 4.0 rebounds,
3.2 assists and 1.7 steals in 2007-08 ... Scored a season-high 21 points in
a 63-50 win over Phoenix St. Mary¹s in the state championship game ...
Pepperdine assistant Damin Lopez was the associate head coach at Phoenix St.
Mary¹s before joining the Waves as an assistant this season ... Josh has
been ruled ineligible to play his senior season by the Arizona
Interscholastic Association ... After moving from Washington to Arizona,
last season was his first at Desert Vista ... Had previously played three
years of high school basketball in the state of Washington (including one
year when he was home-schooled prior to the ninth grade), but Arizona¹s
rules allow no more than four seasons of play ... Is currently finishing up
his coursework at Desert Vista ... Plays with the club team Arizona Premier
Academy.

Quote from Asbury: ³Josh is a consummate point guard. He¹s a great leader
and has good size. He¹s quick and he really knows how to run the court. He
can play offguard, but he¹s a true point guard. He¹ll compete for playing
time right away as a freshman.²

The Waves have three seniors on the 2008-09 squad, all of them guards.

³We lose a couple of point guards, and you can never have too many good
ones, so Josh will help us there,² Asbury said. ³It¹s also clear that we
need more size, more big men who can play with their back to the basket and
rebound, and Tanner will help us there.²

The Waves (1-2) make their first road trip this weekend and are at New
Mexico State on Friday (Nov. 21) and #15 Arizona State on Sunday (Nov. 23).

https://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=90183&SPID=10851&DB_OEM_

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