Men's Basketball

November 24, 1998

CORAL GABLES, Fla. –Head men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamiltonannounces the signing of 6-10 center/forward Tomas Ress (HialeahChampagnat Catholic) and 6-7 forward Djahue Rodrique (Miami NorthwestChristian Academy) to letters of intent to attend the University ofMiami next fall.

Ress, a foreign exchangestudent from Bologna, Italy, is amember of the Italian Junior National Team.

“Ress is an extremely versatileathlete,” said Hamilton. “Webelieve he fits in with the direction of our program.”

Ress arrived in the UnitedStates this summer and is fluent infive languages: Italian, Spanish, French and German.

“His knowledge of the gameat his age is outstanding,” commentedChampagnat head coach Gaston Rodriguez. “He is a good shooter withtremendous passing skills and can put the ball on the floor with eitherhand.”

Rodrique, a native of theAfrican nation of Ivory Coast,averaged 17.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game last seasonas a junior.

“Rodrique is a big, strong,aggressive youngster who has beenvery well coached,” commented Hamilton. “He has tremendous size andstrength and will certainly help with our interior depth.”

Rodrique and Ress are thesecond and third players to commit tothe Hurricanes during the early signing period. Earlier in the weekMiami signed 6-8 forward James Jones (Miami American) to a nationalletter of intent.