The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Basketball signs Holland, Ridley to National Letters of Intent
04.11.2012 | Men's Basketball
April 11, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas head men's basketball coach Rick Barnes announced Wednesday the signings of Demarcus Holland (Garland, Texas) and Cameron Ridley (Richmond, Texas) to National Letters of Intent. The addition of Holland and Ridley gives the Longhorns a six-man recruiting class that includes guard Javan Felix (jah-VAHN fil-LEEKS), forwards Connor Lammert (LAMM-irt) and Ioannis Papapetrou (yo-ON-nis pa-pa-PAY-troo) and forward/center Prince Ibeh (E-bay).
"Cameron is a true post who sees himself as an interior player," Barnes said. "Demarcus brings versatility to our backcourt and improves our skill level and ballhandling. More important, both guys fit our program and give us quality depth in both our frontcourt and backcourt."
"We're so excited as a staff when you look at our returning players from this past year and combine them with the four players we signed in the fall and the addition of Demarcus and Cameron," Barnes continued. "All these guys come from winning programs and backgrounds, and they all want to win a championship at Texas. When we look at our roster, we see skill, character and work ethic, and we're excited to have them get on the floor together this summer and get to work."
Holland, a guard from Naaman Forest High School who plays under coach Jeff Clarkson, averaged a team-best 11.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and two steals per game as a senior. A teammate of Ibeh at Naaman Forest, Holland helped the Rangers post a 29-8 record and advance to the Class 5A state semifinals.
Ridley, a center from Bush High School who plays under coach Ronnie Courtney, scored 12 points and added nine rebounds and two blocks while helping the West squad to victory in last month's McDonald's All-America Game in Chicago. Ridley is the 15th McDonald's All-American to sign with the UT program. He added 16 points and earned MVP honors for the West squad last week at the All-American Championship in New Orleans.
Ranked as the No. 8 prospect nationally by ESPNU following his senior season, Ridley averaged 21.5 points, 15.2 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game while helping Bush to a 25-5 record during his senior campaign. He averaged 22.4 points, 16.2 rebounds and 7.2 blocks per game as a junior at Bush. In his sophomore season, Ridley helped the Broncos to the 2010 Class 5A state title, the first in school history.
| Name | Yr | Pos | Ht | Wt | Hometown (Previous School) |
| Javan Felix | Fr. | G | 5-11 | 190 | New Orleans, La. (St. Augustine HS) |
| Demarcus Holland | Fr. | G | 6-3 | 170 | Garland, Texas (Naaman Forest HS) |
| Prince Ibeh | Fr. | F/C | 6-11 | 230 | Garland, Texas (Naaman Forest HS) |
| Connor Lammert | Fr. | F | 6-9 | 215 | San Antonio, Texas (Churchill HS) |
| Ioannis Papapetrou | Fr. | F | 6-8 | 220 | Melbourne, Fla. (Florida Air Academy) |
| Cameron Ridley | Fr. | C | 6-10 | 250 | Houston, Texas (Bush HS) |
