Skyhawk skipper drives for five with latest recruiting class

Posted: Friday, May 18, 2012 12:00 pm

UT Martin head men’s basketball coach Jason James has announced the signings of Dee Oldham, Bobby Jones, Justin Childs, Orlando Rutledge and Tobias Dowdell for the 2012-13 season.
Oldham will have four years of eligibility, Dowdell will have three years, and Jones, Childs and Rutledge will have two years.
“With this year’s recruiting class, we improved ourselves in every facet of the game,” said James, who will enter his fourth season at the helm next season. “There were a few areas that we really wanted to address in the offseason and with these five young men, we did that. One of the things I am most encouraged about is the fact these guys want to win. All five of them come from success and they want to continue that success to continue into their years at UT Martin. I also love the fact that all of these young men are team-first guys.”
In three seasons, Oldham became Wilson Central’s all-time leading scorer, pouring in 1,260 points for head coach Troy Bond.
Oldham was a big part of the Wildcats’ run to the TSSAA Class AAA state tournament this past season, when Wilson Central posted a 26-6 record.
In his final season at WCHS, he averaged 17.5 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals per game.
Willingly accepting the team’s sixth man role, Jones averaged 14.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest at Eastern Oklahoma last season, earning All-Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference third team accolades.
As a prep, Jones attended Trezevant in Memphis, where he averaged 16.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game his senior year when the Bears went 19-12.
A member of the Memphis Commercial Appeal “Best of the Preps” Class A-AA team as a senior, Jones had a knack for big scoring games, including a game-high 24 points over Manassas in the Region 8-AA semifinals.
Childs was a member of back-to-back Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges conference championships in his two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Childs was voted as the team’s MVP after he averaged 7.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Childs averaged 16.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game his senior prep season.
Rutledge was the leading scorer (16.6 points) and rebounder (6.8) in 2011-12 for Lake Land College.
Rutledge averaged close to 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as a prep senior and poured in 16 points per game as a junior.
Dowdell played one season at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, averaging 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while making 56 percent of his shot attempts from the floor. Published in The WCP 5.17.12