Keystone Recruiting

Bridges, Turman join 2010-11 Robert Morris recruiting class

Robert Morris University men's basketball head coach Andrew Toole announced today that junior forward Lawrence Bridges (Detroit, Mich. / Columbus State Community College) has signed a National Letter of Intent while the Colonials have also signed freshman forward/center Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) to a scholarship for the 2010-11 season. 

The 6'5", 195-pound Bridges averaged 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 2009-10 for Columbus State while shooting 44.9 percent (107-for-238) from the floor in 26 games. Bridges spent his freshman season in 2008-09 with Central Michigan, appearing in 30 games, including one start.

"Lawrence is an active, versatile forward who fits our style perfectly," Toole said. "He brings both aggressiveness and toughness to our roster, has an incredible ability to defend and is a true athlete. Having played his freshman season at Central Michigan, Lawrence has experience playing Division I basketball, and because of that I expect him to contribute right away."

Turman, 6'8" and 215 pounds, helped lead Mt. Lebanon to a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Class AAAA title in 2010. Turman averaged 10.1 points and 12.9 rebounds per game last season for the Blue Devils, who finished with an overall record of 25-3 and were nationally ranked throughout the course of the season.

Deion is a rapidly developing post player," Toole said. "He's still maturing and growing, but his best basketball is clearly ahead of him. He's understanding what it takes from him to be successful, and we think he can come in and give our lineup a boost."

Bridges and Turman join four other recruits that have signed NLI's with Robert Morris for the 2010-11 campaign, helping complete a class that includes freshmen guards Yann Charles (Longueuil, Quebec / Champlain St. Albert), Anthony Myers (Washington, D.C. / Charis Prep) and Elton Roy (Houston, Texas / Yates) and junior forward Bernard Webb (Bridgeport, Conn. / Barton Junior College).

Robert Morris returns two starters and five letterwinners from a 2009-10 squad that posted an overall record of 23-12, including a mark of 15-3 in the Northeast Conference. The Colonials earned their third straight NEC regular-season championship in 2010, sharing the honor with Quinnipiac, and became the first program in the NEC to win back-to-back NEC Tournament titles since 1994.

RMU earned a 52-50 victory at Quinnipiac (3/10/10) in the 2010 NEC Tournament championship game, helping the Colonials earn their league-record seventh NEC Tournament title. In the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Robert Morris nearly upset No. 2 seed Villanova (3/18/10) as part of the South Regional at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., before falling, 73-70, in overtime.