Benson, Eagles add three to 2012-2013 signing class

JEFFRSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman basketball has signed three student-athletes for the 2012-2013 season, head coach Chuck Benson announced on Thursday.

Guard Jay Lane (Manassas, Va.), guard Andrew Barnett (Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) and forward Josh Rogers (Bristol, England) have all signed to play for Benson and the Eagles in the upcoming season. The group joins Knoxville-product Carson Brooks (Knoxville, Tenn./West High School) in this year's class.

"I am very excited about this class," Benson said Thursday. "All four of these young men are quality student-athletes and will represent our institution in a first-class manner."

Lane joins the Eagles as the all-time leading scorer in Osbourn High School history. The combo guard led his team to the Virginia 3A State Quarterfinals in his junior and senior seasons. He was named to the VHSCA 3A All-State First Team and was a three-year co-captain at OHS. His mother, Terry Sutton, played basketball at East Carolina University.

"Jay (Lane) is going to be a very versatile player for us," Benson said. "He is a great on-ball defender and is very physical on both ends. He is a good lefty shooter with a smooth stroke from beyond the arc."

Barnett comes to C-N from nearby Pigeon Forge High School where he scored over 1,000 career points and was twice named his team's MVP. He was a two-time all-district selection, and was named all-Region as a senior.

In the classroom, Barnett was a four-year member of the school's honor roll and was involved in Beta Club and Student Government.

"Andrew (Barnett) is a long, lean athlete and a tremendous shooter," Benson said." He was a prolific scorer in high school and will build on that here. His athletic ability will surprise a lot of people."

Rogers, a 6-7 small forward, comes to C-N from Bristol, England, where he was a standout at Cotham School, averaging 19.5 points, 13 rebounds, and 3.5 blocked shots per game.

"Josh is a big perimeter player," Benson said of the Eagles' overseas signee. "He's not a traditional international player though, he's got an Americanized game. He is very skilled on the perimeter, but he attacks the rim off the drive, and is a factor around the rim on defense and offense."

The group joins an Eagle team that returns all of its key pieces from a young squad that went 15-14 this past season, led by All-South Atlantic Conference selections Ishmael Sanders and Antoine Davis, both of whom will be juniors next season.

Carson-Newman will also have the services of Division I transfers Odell Parker (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Cody Henegar (South Pittsburg, Tenn.).

Parker sat out last season after transferring from Wofford, but has been on campus for a full year and practiced for the Eagles all of last season. Heneger transferred at the semester after playing his first two seasons at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where he had 12 points against Florida State as a freshman.

Both give the Eagles an improved physical presence inside. Parker is a versatile 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward, while Heneger is a 6-9 post with good shooting ability.

Benson enters his third season as head coach of the Eagles this fall. He led the Eagles to their first winning record in four years last season with a team comprised predominantly of underclassmen.