May 11, 2007

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - The St. Bonaventure men's basketball program picked up its second player in as many days, signing Hillary Haley to a National Letter of Intent on Friday.

The 6-foot-6 Haley spent last year at North Atlanta Prep after a successful high school career at Friendly High School in Fort Washington, Md. Haley will be a freshman in the fall.

"Hillary is an extremely athletic player who will fit in perfectly with our up-tempo style of play," said head coach Mark Schmidt. "He already has a lot of the offensive tools that are ideal to how we play so he will get a lot of playing time right away. Hillary is another high-character kid who will help us rebuild this program."

At Friendly, Haley averaged 20 points and eight rebounds per game as a senior under head coach Brian Walker. He was named All-Prince County first team and to the Washington Post All-Metro second team. Haley also played in the 2006 Capital Classic and scored 14 points in 16 minutes.

"Hillary is a great kid who will embrace the Bonaventure fans and community right away," said Walker. "There's no question he will provide some highlight film plays and play hard every day."

The Waldorf, Md. native attended North Atlanta Prep last season. There he averaged 13 points per game and shot 53 percent from the field and 86 percent from the free throw line.

Schmidt announced on Thursday that shooting guard Chris Matthews will transfer from Washington St. to St. Bonaventure. Matthews has two years of eligibility and will have to sit out the 2007-08 season per NCAA transfer guidelines.