San Jose State men鈥檚 basketball welcomes five new additions
SAN JOSE, Calif. (BVM) 鈥� The Tim Miles era is officially underway for San Jose State men鈥檚 basketball after he was hired as the program鈥檚 head coach in early April, and less than two months later, the first five new additions to the Spartans鈥� roster have been announced.
Myron Amey, Alvaro Cardenas Torre, Tibet Gorener, Majok Kuath and Joshua O鈥橤arro have all officially signed their letters of intent and will join SJSU for the 2021-22 season. Of the five new faces, a pair are Power 5 transfers, one is a JUCO transfer and two are freshmen.
After one season of prep school experience at Scotland Campus in Pennsylvania where he averaged 20.3 points, Amey is returning to his home state. The Vacaville High School (CA) graduate starred on both the gridiron and hardwood as a prep athlete and will have four years of eligibility remaining.
“Myron is a classic late bloomer,鈥� Miles said of Amey in a. 鈥淚 feel his year of postgrad did him a world of good. I also love having a local product wearing the blue and gold. He is a young man that plays with great heart and intensity.”
Cardenas Torre is a native of Spain but comes to San Jose from the Czech Republic where he played last season at the Get Better Academy in the Czech Republic Liga I (2nd division). He also played for the U19 Division where he averaged 10.3 points per game, and the freshman will have four years of academic eligibility remaining.
“I love this point guard,鈥� Miles said of Cardenas Torres in a press release. 鈥淎lvaro plays with flair and has an unbelievable feel for the game. He has played against good competition overseas. He has been well-coached and is a coach’s son. I expect him to make an immediate impact.”
Gorener is a 6-foot-9 forward joining the Spartans after spending his freshman season at the University of Arizona. The Istanbul, Turkey native made eight appearances off the bench last season, scoring nine points on the year. He led Turkey in scoring at 14.4 points per game on the way to a third-place finish at the 2018 FIBA U16A European Championships, shooting nearly 40 % from deep during the tournament.
Prior to his junior season of high school, Gorener made the jump to the United States and spent one season at Montverde Academy (FL) before transferring to Orange Lutheran High School (CA). He was rated as a four-star recruit and the country鈥檚 No. 142 player by 247Sports.
“When I see Tibet I see great upside,鈥� Miles said of Gorener, who will have four years of eligibility remaining, in a press release. 鈥淗e is a tall, athletic, high IQ player that will be one of our best shooters from day one. He has extensive international experience with the FIBA game. We cannot wait to get in the gym with him.”
Another lengthy forward, Kuath comes to South Bay at 6-foot-7 from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas where he averaged 12.7 points in two seasons with the Blue Dragons. He started 24 of 25 contests last season, averaging 13 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 61.3 % from the floor.
Kuath鈥檚 brother, Kur, played last season for the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Marquette.
“Majok comes from a highly successful program at Hutchinson Community College, and helped lead them to a NJCAA Tournament berth,鈥� Miles said in a press release. 鈥淗e understands winning and has great DNA, with his brother, Kur, playing at Oklahoma last season. He’s a versatile front court player with a nose for the basketball and plays hard on every possession.”
O鈥橤arro was teammates with Kur last season at Oklahoma but played sparingly in his lone season with the Sooners, appearing in just two games off the bench. The Cayman Islands native moved to the United States in 2016 where he starred at Santa Clarita Christian School (CA).
He averaged 17.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 2019-20 as a junior en route to first team all-state honors. O鈥橤arro reclassified to the class of 2021 to join Oklahoma early as the nation鈥檚 No. 132 overall prospect and the No. 14 recruit in California.
“Joshua is an electric athlete that is just scratching the surface of his potential,鈥� Miles said of O鈥橤arro, who will have four years of eligibility remaining, in a press release. 鈥淗e has an infectious personality and a great attitude. He’s coming from a great program in Oklahoma where he reclassified up to college one year early, and we can’t wait to get him in the blue and gold.”
The Spartans will look to improve upon their 5-16 season with a new head coach and influx of fresh faces.
