Yonas Berhe to the rescue at the point in Ruston?

We haven't a clue if LA Tech's new player -- point Yonas Berhe -- has the ability and experience to help in 2008-2009 but Kerry Rupp was short in that department with the dismissals earlier of J.C. Clark and Jamel White. We fully expect Berhe to be immediately 'adopted' as a best friend by Kyle Gibson because Gibson can primarily remain at the 2 or the 3 if Berhe can produce immediately.

Here's some cut-n-pastes we located on Berhe:

First, comes the Louisiana Tech official announcement -- "...The Bulldogs have also added Yonas Berhe out of Father Henry Carr School in Toronto. Berhe is a point guard who graduated in 2007 after averaging 18 points, six assists and three steals per game his senior season. He also led FHC to the No. 1 ranking in Canada two years in a row.

"Yonas is an outstanding point guard who possesses excellent speed and quickness, along with the ability to handle and distribute the basketball," Rupp said. "He will be a tremendous leader both on and off the court."

Berhe also was coached by Russell during his AAU days and is described as an "under recruited, hungry player."

"It's an anomaly that he was passed over for couple of years," Russell said. "He always played with other really good players that over shadowed him. He's getting a great opportunity to prove himself, and he's very excited to take it by the horns. He's a very good, crafty point guard who makes good plays..."

and

Here's something from a message board and dated from back in 2006 -- "Yonas is one of the top ranked senior point guards in Canada. As a junior, Yonas averaged 19 points, 8 assists, 8 steals and 5 rebounds. Last season, he was named to the Tournament All Star Teams at 7 tournaments: the adidas Early Bird, Southern Ontario Shootout, the Xavier Rimrocker, the CityTV-Jarvis Invitational, the Guy Vetrie Invitational, the Ontario Catholic Classic, and the St Mikes Invitational, where he was also named Tournament MVP. Post season accolades: 2006 Toronto High School All Star Team 2006 Canada West High School All Star Team During the summer AAU season, Yonas played for the Toronto Mission AAU team that played in the Washington Charlie Webber Classic and the Indiana Hoosier Classic. Yonas is being recruited by East Tennessee State, Montana State, North Dakota University, and Bluefield College..."

and

Here's a scouting report on Berhe --

"Jeff Borzello
NBE Basketball Report
July 15, 2008

Yonas Berhe: Berhe is extremely quick with the ball, but he also tends to make mistakes by trying to do too much. He beat his defender on multiple occasions, but also was out of control inside the lane and committed turnovers and offensive fouls. Still, he has a very good handle and is really quick when driving to the lane. He has a decent shooting stroke and pushes the ball in transition effectively..."

and

From a November 13, 2008 article by Jim Thomas who operates the premiere Canadian basketball information site -- "...Former Henry Carr H. S. players Yonas Berhe, Amen Osayande and Curtis Trotter are still looking for scholarships south of the border...Berhe has interest from several Division I schools and is qualified but will have to wait for a scholarship opportunity to open in January..."