IPFW Adds 3 To Men's Basketball Roster

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – IPFW head men’s basketball coach Tony Jasick has announced the signing of three junior college standouts to join the 2012-13 basketball team; Kevin Harden, Luis Jacobo, and Steve Forbes.
 
Harden, a 6-2 guard from Orlando, Fla., was a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America Honorable Mention selection last season, helping lead Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla. to a top-10 National ranking, and a 32-9 overall record. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 47 percent from the floor, 33 percent from long range, and 67 percent from the charity stripe.
 
He was the Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year last season, and was named the NJCAA Player of the Week on December 21. Playing under Mid-Florida Conference Co-Coach of the Year Chris Mowry, he was selected to the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) All-Tournament Team, and was an All-Region VIII Selection.
 
As a freshman, Harden played at State College of Florida-Manatee, where he averaged 19 points and nine rebounds. While as a high school star at Evans High School, he averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per game as a senior, earning All-State Honorable Mention honors as a junior and senior, helping lead his squad to the State Semifinals as a junior. Harden was also recruited by Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Tech and Central Florida out of junior college.
 
Jacobo, a 6-5 forward from Sanford, Fla., helped lead the College of Central Florida in Ocala, Fla., to the NJCAA Regional Championship game, earning All-Tournament honors in the process. He averaged 13.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, while making 78 percent of his free throws, 47 percent of his field goals, and 36 percent on his three-point attempts. He earned First Team All-Mid-Florida Conference honors, as the Patriots finished 25-8 and a top-three ranking in the state.
 
Prior to his season at College of Central Florida, Jacobo spent his freshman season at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. While with the Hatters, he averaged just over nine points and four rebounds per game, starting in 27 of the team’s 31 games during the year, including erupting for 28 points and 11 rebounds against Jacksonville in the season finale. He was named the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team, and was the A-Sun Newcomer of the Week two times during the year.
 
At Winter Springs High School, he led his team to three straight District Championships, and led his team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots as a senior. He was courted out of high school by Kennesaw State, Tennessee Martin, Old Dominion, and Elon, and out of junior college by East Tennessee State, Albany, Wofford, High Point, and Jacksonville.
 
The third and final signee of this class is Forbes, a 6-9 forward from Clermont, Fla. Last year he had his season shortened because of injury, playing in just 18 games, averaging 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in limited action. Last season Brevard ended the year with a 20-11 overall record.
 
As a freshman, Forbes was a teammate with Jacobo at Stetson, where he played in all 31 games, starting 20, while averaging 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, shooting 53 percent from the field.
 
He earned four varsity letters in high school, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for East Ridge High School, where he was named Team MVP as a junior and senior. He was also a member of the AAU National Champion squad Each 1 Teach 1, where he teamed up with Austin Rivers of Duke, James Bell of Villanova, and Brandon Knight of Kentucky. Out of high school he was recruited by Murray State, Central Florida, and DePaul, and by Kent State and Ball State out of junior college.
 
The trio will join Joe Reed and Will Dunn who signed their National Letter of Intent in the early period. The five will join a squad that finished 11-19 last season, with 13 of those losses coming by 12 points or less. The team returns leading scorer, and Second Team All-Region selection Frank Gaines who finished 2011-12 ranked ninth in NCAA Division I in scoring (21.2 points per game), and returns three of their top four scorers from last year.