Colorado University Athletics
MBB Signs Relphorde to NLI
BOULDER ? University of Colorado men’s basketball head coach Jeff Bzdelik announced Wednesday that Marcus Relphorde (REL-ford) from Homewood, Ill. (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his education and play basketball at CU beginning in the fall of 2009.
The addition of Relphorde (6’7", 220-pound, forward) completes the Colorado 2009-10 men’s basketball roster with 13 scholarship student-athletes.
Relphorde, a junior-transfer, has two years of eligibility remaining.
“The signing of Marcus Relphorde completes an excellent recruiting class for the Buffs,” Bzdelik said. “His addition should have an immediate positive impact on our team because of the much needed maturity and experience that he brings. Marcus combines size and strength with an overall skill package that makes him a difficult match up defensively.”
Relphorde is the second NLI signee to join the Buffaloes in the last two weeks and comes on the heels of incoming freshman Shannon Sharpe (point guard, 6’0", 190-pound, Corona, Calif./Centennial HS), who signed with the Buffs on April 15.
Relphorde averaged 12 points and five rebounds per game as a sophomore during the 2008-09 season at Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. The Warriors finished the season at 30-3.
Originally signing with Saint Louis University under then-head coach Brad Soderberg, Relphorde averaged 4.3 minutes in 21 games (no starts), scored 22 points (1.0 ppg.) with 10 rebounds (0.5 rpg.). Relphorde left school after the 2007-08 campaign as a freshman under current Billikens head coach Rick Majerus.
Relphorde, a Chicago native, helped Homewood-Flossmoor High School to a 27-4 record in 2004-05, and then transferred to American Christian School in Alston, Pa., where he averaged 13 points, six rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
In addition to visiting CU, Relphorde also took official visits to TCU and Arkansas this spring.
“My best attribute would probably be my versatility,” Relphorde said. “I cause matchup problems. I play on the wing, either the two or the three. I am able to handle the ball and I can post up the smaller defenders and drive around the bigger defenders.”
With the addition of Relphorde and Sharpe, the pair joins fellow freshman teammates Alec Burks (Guard, 6’5", 180, Grandview, Mo./Grandview HS); Shane Harris-Tunks (Center/Forward, 6’11", 240, Sydney, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport); and Keegan Hornbuckle (Forward, 6’6", 190, Fr., Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall HS).
Burks, Harris-Tunks and Hornbuckle signed last November during the early signing period.
The CU 2009-10 roster is now comprised of 13 scholarships consisting of one senior (Dwight Thorne II); three juniors (Casey Crawford, Levi Knutson, Cory Higgins); one junior-transfer (Relphorde); four sophomores (Austin Dufault, Trey Eckloff, Nate Tomlinson, Toby Veal) and four freshmen (Burks, Harris-Tunks, Hornbuckle, Sharpe).
Juniors Trent Beckley and Javon Coney round out the roster as non-scholarship student-athletes next season.