J. T. Riddle, a 6-foot-3, 180 pound, guard from Hopkins Central High School in Mortons Gap, Ky., will attend Kentucky Wesleyan College and play basketball as a walk-on for the seven-time NCAA Division II National Champions according to KWC head coach Ray Harper.

"We are pleased the J.T. will be coming to KWC," said Harper. "He's a tremendous shooter and he comes from a winning program. It is very important to have kids on the team who know how to win.

J. T. will be a redshirt next season where he can further develop his basketball skills. His best basketball is ahead of him."

Riddle, a three-year starter, finished his career as the second leading scorer in school history with 1,142 points and holds the career records for most assists (653), most rebounds (395), most steals (222), best field goal percentage (53.2%), best three-point percentage (33.1%) and best free-throw percentage (76.1%).

Kentucky Wesleyan returns 11 letterwinners including three starters from this past season’s 31-3 squad that finished as NCAA National Runner-Up.

BASKETBALL SIGNS JUNIOR COLLEGE STANDOUT (April 13, 2000) 

Ronald Evans, a 6-foot-7 forward from Shelby State Community College in Memphis, Tennessee, has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Kentucky Wesleyan College and play basketball for the seven-time NCAA Division II National Champions according to KWC head coach Ray Harper.

Evans, an honorable-mention junior college All-American, led the Salukis in scoring (16.4 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg) enroute to a 31-5 record and a national third-place finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) tournament this season. He shot a second-best 59.1 percent from the field while shooting 43.8 percent from three-point territory and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line.

"Ronald brings a tremendous amount of athletism and versatility to our program," said Harper. "He can run, jump, play defense, handles the ball, rebound and score from anywhere including hitting the open three-pointer. Ronald’s a thoroughbred who can play on the wing or inside at both ends of the floor."

The native of Memphis, Tenn., earned first-team all-Region recognition, voted to the NJCAA South Region all-tournament team and chosen as co-Player of the Year in the state of Tennessee junior colleges with teammate John Grice.

Evans will be reunited with former Shelby State teammate and current KWC All-American guard Lorico Duncan next season. Evans joins November signee Nathan Fortner, a 6-foot-6 forward from Ohio County (Ky.) High School, as the first two recruits for the 2000-2001 season.

Kentucky Wesleyan returns 11 letterwinners including three starters from this past season’s 31-3 squad that finished as NCAA National Runner-Up.

JOHN AND DUNCAN NAMED ALL-AMERICAN (April 11, 2000) 

Kentucky Wesleyan's Leroy John and Lorico Duncan have been named All-Americans by Basketball Times and Division II Bulletin.

John, a 6-foot-8 senior forward from Port of Spain, Trinidad, made first-team by both publications to become a consensus first-team All-American selection this season. He led the Panthers in rebounding with a 10.2 average and finished second in scoring with 13.7 points per game. The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Daktronics named John to their first-team All-America squads in March.

Duncan, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Memphis, Tennessee, earned third-team honors by both magazines. He led Kentucky Wesleyan with 19.6 points, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Duncan also earned third-team All-American honors by Daktronics in March.

HARPER NAMED NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR (April 11, 2000) 

Ray Harper, who set Division II history by leading Kentucky Wesleyan to a third consecutive 30-plus win season and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA championship game this past season, has been named Division II National Coach of the Year for the second straight season by Basketball Times magazine.

"Actually, I’m amazed at the accomplishments of Ray Harper and the Panthers this season," said Basketball Times Div. II editor Chuck Mistovich. "No way would I have dreamed that he would once again have the elite team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference - the best NCAA II league in the country - and then get into the championship game with zero starters returning from last season. Personally, I believe Ray Harper has been the best coach in NCAA II basketball the last three years."

Harper led the Panthers to a 31-3 record enroute to their third straight Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and the NCAA Division II National Championship game where they lost to Metropolitan State. He also earned Coach of the Year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season.

Harper also set two NCAA coaching records (I, II or III) this season. He became the fastest coach to reach 100 career wins in NCAA modern history by reaching the milestone in 114 games and broke the best career start in four seasons with 117 wins.

In four seasons at Kentucky Wesleyan, Harper has compiled a 117-16 record for a 87.9 winning percentage or an average of 29.3 wins per season. He has won 13 of a possible 17 championships including the 1999 NCAA Championship.