Iona MBB Completes 2022-23 Recruiting Class With Addition of Four Student-Athletes - Iona University Athletics (2024)

NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Iona College men's basketball head coach Rick Pitino announced the completion of the Gaels' 2022 recruiting class with the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. Cruz Davis (Plano, TX), Josué Grullon (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), Daniss Jenkins (Dallas, TX) and Silas Sunday (Lucan, Ireland) join early signees Sadiku Ayo (Asabi-Kumasi, Ghana) and Keither Florence (Wichita, KS) for the six-man recruiting class for the upcoming 2022-23 season.

CRUZ DAVIS

A 6-3 scoring guard, Cruz Davis played his senior campaign at Huntington Prep School in West Virginia and averaged 16.7 points and five assists per game. He was selected to the 2022 Iverson Roundball Classic 24k Showcase in Memphis, Tennessee, a camp featuring some of the top players in the country. Touted as a four-star shooting guard by ESPN.com, Davis was ranked No. 27 in the country at his position following the 2021-22 season. Prior to Huntington, he starred for iSchool of Lewisville in Texas where he was ranked as a top-30 guard in the class of 2022 by 247Sports and top-20 prospect from the state of Texas. Davis scored 1,153 points during his high school career.

Davis is an athletic lefty with the versatility to play both guard positions. His shooting ability, speed and defensive prowess make him an ideal fit for the Gaels' up-tempo system.

Originally committed to Oregon State, Davis saw interest from several schools from the top conferences in the country before ultimately choosing to attend Iona.

JOSUÉ GRULLON

Heralded as an elite shooter, Josué Grullon played his post-graduate season at Miami Prep in Florida. The Dominican Republic native was the team's leading scorer, averaging 24.3 points per game. He made 164 three-pointers at a 57% clip. Grullon helped his Miami Prep squad to a 50-5 mark in 2021-22. Grullon's top performance of the year was a 45-point effort at Our Saviour Lutheran. In the contest Grullon knocked down 13 threes in the upset victory.

A knock-down shooter with tremendous range, Grullon has also shown that he can put the ball on the floor and finish at the basket. Capable of doing more than catch-and-shoot and running off screens, he has the ability to create separation from defenders and elevate for his shot or get to the rim. Grullon saw time at both guard positions at Miami Prep.

DANISS JENKINS

Daniss Jenkins comes to New Rochelle via Odessa College in Texas. The Dallas native played one season at Odessa following two solid campaigns at the University of the Pacific. The 6-3 guard averaged 15.0 points, 5.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting 47% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc where he helped the Wranglers to a 28-7 record and an Elite Eight appearance at the NJCAA Championship in Hutchinson, Kansas. Following the season, Jenkins was named NJCAA Division I First Team All-American. He was WJCAC Player of the Year and named to the All-Region 5 First Team. Daniss was regarded by JUCORecruiting.com as the No. 3 prospect in the NJCAA in the Class of 2022.

During a COVID 19-shortened sophom*ore season at Pacific in 2020-21, Jenkins appeared in and started all 18 games while leading the team with 12.2 points per game. He averaged 3.2 rebounds and was No. 2 on the team with 2.1 assists per game and was named All-WCC honorable mention. As a freshman, Jenkins was a WCC All-Rookie honoree, appearing in 32 games while making 23 starts. He averaged 6.2 points in 22.1 minutes per game.

Playing both on and off the ball at Pacific, and primarily point guard at Odessa, Jenkins has shown the ability to score at all three levels. He also has superb instincts creating plays and finishing opportunities for teammates.

SILAS SUNDAY

Silas Sunday, a 7-0 post performer, hails from Lucan, Ireland and comes to New Rochelle via Our Saviour Lutheran School in the Bronx. Teaming with early signee Sadiku Ayo, Sunday helped lead OSL to a 27-7 record and its first-ever Grind Session World Championship, a basketball circuit for some of the top prep schools in North America. Sunday was the most outstanding performer of the tournament, capped by a 26 point, 16-rebound effort in the championship game. Our Saviour Lutheran was ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation this season and earned a signature win over Overtime Elite in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sunday is a talented big man who is a tough rebounder, physical rim protector, has great hands and great touch around the rim. He has shown the ability to be a skilled passer from the high and low post.

EARLY SIGNEES

SADIKU AYO

Sadiku Ayo comes to Iona from Our Saviour Lutheran School in the Bronx and hails from Asabi-Kumasi, Ghana in West Africa. A 6-6, versatile two-way wing, who thrives at both ends of the floor, Ayo has been hailed as a strong, mature performer with great leadership ability. On the offensive end, he has been equally successful driving to the rim or shooting from distance. Defensively he is capable of defending all five positions on the floor

Ayo and teammate Silas Sunday, another 2022-23 Iona newcomer helped lead Our Savior Lutheran to a 27-7 record during their senior campaign and the school's first-ever Grid Session World Championship. As a junior, Ayo averaged 13 points, six rebounds and three steals in a COVID-19 pandemic shortened 2020-21 campaign. He helped lead his New York Lightning AAU squad to the quarterfinals at last July's EYBL Peach Jam, in North Augusta, South Carolina and earned All-Breakout honors for his performance.

KEITHER FLORENCE

Florence hairs from Wichita, Kansas and is spent his postgraduate season at Pro Holmes Sports Academy in Tampa, Florida. He is a versatile, two-way performer with good length and athleticism along with a high motor. Florence has shown consistency in his mid and outside range while also being proficient in the post with a knack for rebounding. Florence stands at 6-6½ and 210 pounds and can play all three forward positions.

Early in the 2021-22 campaign, Florence averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds per contest including a 42-point, 12-rebound effort on Halloween. As a senior in 2020-21, Florence spent time at Colorado Prep in Colorado Springs, Colorado and helped guide his team to a 39-12 overall mark. As a junior in 2019-20, he attended Campus High School in Wichita, where he was a Kansas 6A All-State Honorable Mention honoree. Florence's Campus HS squad finished the season with a 23-0 record but was unable to compete for a state championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That season he also set the Kansas state single-season offensive record and was ranked as the No. 1 power forward in Kansas in the Class of 2021 by PrepHoops.

2022 RECRUITING CLASS AT A GLANCE

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