Dayton Flyers

April 19, 2007

University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff added to their already strong recruiting class with the addition of forward Thiago Cordeiro (pronounced Tee-AH-go COOR-dair-oh), a 6-foot-9, 220 pound forward from Barton (Kansas) County Community College. Cordeiro, a native of Pernambuco, Brazil, led all junior college players in blocked shots per game (145, 4.3 per game) this season.

Cordeiro, who goes by "Tee," averaged 11.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots in 2006-07 for Barton County CC, helping his team to the NJCAA Region 6 championship game. He shot 56.1% from the field (157-280) and 63.6% (77-121) from the line.

"Tee has the kind of skill set that a lot of international big men have," Gregory said. "He is comfortable away from the basket, can pass the ball and can step out hit the mid-range-to-long-range jumper. That kind of game can pull away the opponents' big man from the basket and open things up for his teammates."

"On the defensive end," Gregory continued, "he's very valuable inside, as a defender and a rebounder. He's a great addition to this year's newcomers, and he meshes with them very well as someone with a great work ethic and strong desire to improve. We're very excited he is joining the Flyer basketball family."

In his two years at Barton, Cordeiro's numbers made a steady climb. After coming to America as a freshman in 2005, he averaged 7.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks in 30 games. Last year, he averaged 9.3 points in the season's first eight games, 10.4 points in the next eight, 11.8 in the next nine and 14.6 in the year's last nine games.

Barton County was 18-12 in 2005-06, and improved to 27-7 in 2006-07.

Cordeiro joins the four players rated by Scout.com as the Atlantic 10's best incoming class - 6-7 forward Chris Wright of Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, OH) High School, 6-9 forward/center Devin Searcy of Romulus (MI) High School, and 6-1 guard Stephen Thomas of Indianapolis Cathedral High School - and a mid-year transfer from Wisconsin, 6-2 guard Mickey Perry as UD's newcomers next season. Wright, Searcy and Thomas have four seasons of eligibility, Perry will have two-and-a-half seasons left when he comes onto the active roster after next year's first semester, and Cordeiro will have two years in a Dayton uniform.

Dayton returns four starters (including two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection Brian Roberts) and its top two scorers (Roberts and A-10 Sixth Man of the Year Charles Little). UD finished the 2006-07 season with a 19-12 record, and ranked #75 nationally in the RPI.

Additional Links on Thiago Cordeiro

• Cordeiro Video Highlights
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• Dayton Daily News Article on Cordeiro
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• DDN Article: JUCO Star Ready to Play for UD
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• Cordeiro Stats During 2006-07 Season at Barton
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• Cordeiro Named Second Team, All-West Selection
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• Cordeiro Bio at Barton
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• Scout.com Article on Cordeiro
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• NBA Draft 2006 List of JUCO Prospects
  2006 Rankings

   

• Barton Students Named to Fall 2006 Dean's List
  Read Release