MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR SULTAN TOLES-BEY AND STATE TOURNEY MVP DAVID NORRIS
5/1/2009
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento State men’s basketball program added its fifth and sixth players of the 2009-10 recruiting class Friday after signing point guard Sultan Toles-Bey and guard/forward David Norris, it was announced today by Hornet head coach Brian Katz. Both Toles-Bey and Norris will enroll at Sacramento State as juniors in the fall.
The two players join Highland Community College forward Duro Bjegovic (signed April 16), San Joaquin Delta College guard/forward Walter Jackson (April 16), Fairfield High School guard/forward John Dickson (April 15) and South Elgin High School center Dani Lopez (early signing period) as the six players to sign with Sacramento State thus far.
SULTAN TOLES-BEY
Toles-Bey, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound native of Compton, Calif., spent the last three years (redshirt in 2007-08) at Fresno City College. Last year, he was named the state co-player of the year and first team all-conference after leading Fresno City to a Central Valley Conference championship, a 34-1 overall record and a perfect 12-0 league mark. Toles-Bey averaged 17.4 points, 5.1 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 44.9 percent (198-441) from the field, 43.6 percent (113-259) from the three-point line and 78.7 percent (100-127) from the free throw line. Fresno City won its first 34 games of the season and was ranked No. 1 in the state heading into the state tournament, but lost in the quarterfinals to Riverside Community College, 71-67.
Also during the 2008-09 season, Toles-Bey had 13 games with at least 20 points, including two games with better than 30 points. He led the team in scoring, assists, field goals made, three-pointers made and free throws made. As a freshman in 2006-07, he played with current Hornet Mike Marcial in the Rams’ backcourt and helped the team to a 2007 California Community College State Tournament championship. That season, he averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 44.5 percent (117-263) from the floor, 41.1 percent (51-124) from the three-point line and 71.2 percent (47-66) from the free throw line. He was named to the all-tournament team at the state tournament after averaging 17.7 points during the team’s final three games. Spanning parts of his freshman (2006-07) and sophomore (2008-09) seasons, Toles-Bey helped lead Fresno City to 47 consecutive victories.
Toles-Bey prepped at Los Angeles’ King Drew Magnet High School. He was a first team all-conference and all-city selection during both his junior and senior seasons when he led the team to conference titles both years. During his senior season, he averaged 14.1 points, 6.5 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game.
“Sultan is a proven winner with a very good feel and understanding of the game,” Katz said. “He makes the game very easy for his teammates, and is an excellent perimeter shooter and scoring point guard.”
DAVID NORRIS
Norris, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound native of Norco, Calif., can play the point guard, shooting guard, small forward and power forward positions. He helped lead Riverside Community College to last year’s state championship where he was named the tournament’s MVP. In fact, it was Norris’ Riverside team that upset Toles-Bey’s Fresno City team in the quarterfinals. During the tournament, Norris averaged 12.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 32.0 minutes per game. In the championship game against Saddleback College, he scored five of his team-high 18 points in overtime to lead the Tigers to a 69-60 victory. He was also a first team all-Orange Empire League selection after helping the team to a 30-7 overall record while averaging 10.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game He shot 40.5 percent (135-333) from the field and got to the free throw line 142 times, converting on 102 (.718) of those attempts.
As a freshman in 2007-08, he appeared in 32 of the team’s 33 games while averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds for a Riverside squad that finished 25-8 overall and 9-3 in conference. That year, he shot 50.4 percent (60-119) from the field while scoring in double figures seven times.
Norris prepped at Norco High School, where he was a three-year member of the varsity squad. He was named all-league and all-CIF during his senior season after averaging 20.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.
“David is tremendously versatile in that he can play four different positions,” Katz said. “He is a very skilled player who is long, athletic and can defend bigger players. He played point guard in high school, and appeared at four different positions with Riverside (Community College).”
SULTAN TOLES-BEY
DAVID NORRIS
