Montreat Men's Basketball adds two state champions to their 2012-13 roster. Justin Ashford and James Logan signed on the dotted line this past Friday to transition from Knights to Cavaliers. The Northside Christian Academy Knights in Charlotte, North Carolina dominated the NCISAA 2A league this year finishing with a nearly perfect season at 31-1. In the first three games of the 2A state play-offs they won by an impressive 40+ points so it comes as no surprise that all five starters signed to play college basketball. Three of them are headed to Division 1 institutions and two are coming to Montreat.

Justin Ashford a 5'10" point guard was ranked towards the top of the state in assists this year averaging 9.2 per game. "Justin, in my opinion, is one of the best point guards in the state at any level," says Coach Walters. "We watched him play in the state championship game last year as a junior, and we were extremely impressed with his ball control, decision making, and his ability to defend larger opponents." Ashford averaged 10.1 points per game and 4.3 steals per game. Coach Byron Dinkins, Ashford's high school coach said, "Justin does a great job of controlling the game. We are going to miss the impact that he had on our program over these past few years." Justin finished his high school career as a 1^st Team All-Conference player as he was instrumental in leading his Knights to back to back state finals and winning it his senior year.

James Logan is a 6'3" shooting guard who was the Defensive Player of the Year for Northside two years in a row. He was also on the All-Conference Team as a sophomore. "In our scouting report we always had James matching up against our opponents best player," says NCA Head Coach Byron Dinkins. Not only is Logan a great defensive presence, but he also had a career high of 29 points in one game last season.

"This past year we (Montreat) finished second in the nation in field goal percentage so we knew how to score, but we struggled stopping opponents. That's one of the main reasons we recruited James," says Coach Walters. "He's a great defender that is extremely athletic."

Montreat now adds Ashford and Logan to their ever growing list of solid recruits and plans to bring in three more commitments by the end of the week. You won't want to miss this new class of student-athletes. It should be an exciting year for the Cavaliers!