01/08/10

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk — George Crudgington (Gray’s, Essex) and Michael Warner (Norwich, Norfolk) sign letter of intents with Hannibal-LaGrange College (Hannibal, Missouri USA) and The University of Maine at Presque Isle (Presque Isle Maine, USA) respectively to continue their educational and playing careers.

George Crudginton:

George becomes the first County Upper basketball player to sign with an NAIA Div 1 University and the fifth over all player to sign with an American University in two years.

Hannibal-Lagrange College is coached by Jason Durst who has been part of HLG athletics since 2002. During his time as the head coach, he has coached five AMC All-Conference players, 22 Academic All-Conference players, and three Academic All-Americans. Last season the Trojan’s finished with an over all record of 11 wins and 17 losses and a conference record of 6 wins and 8 losses.

George said: “When I first began playing basketball I always hoped that one day I would be able to experience playing over in America. Coach Johnson always told me that if I applied myself and worked hard, that there would be a chance that this could become a reality for me. After we toured Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota, this started to look more of a realistic opportunity, so I continued to push myself even harder in pursuit of this opportunity. Coach put me in contact with a number of different schools and sent out game tape to them, I had positive feedback from a number of places, which gave me the freedom of choice between 3 schools. I decided on attending Hannibal-LaGrange, because I felt this suited me best with the opportunity to play, but also giving me the education I wanted as well. I would like to thank Coach Johnson and County Upper School for pushing me to work hard and to enable me to have the best chance at these opportunities”.

“This is another great achievement for County Upper School as well as Baddow Eagles and George” said Coach Johnson Director of County Upper Basketball Academy. “George is another student-athlete who came to County Upper Basketball Academy with a main aim of gaining a great education while also pursuing his basketball dream. He has been a great student-athlete over the past two years and has really pushed himself to achieve this opportunity. He knows that it has been his talent which helped him achieve this opportunity, but that it will be the combination of toughness and talent that will make him a success at HLG. I am glad to have been able to help this young man achieve his dream and wish him all the best for the challenging step he is about to take”.

Michael Warner:

Michael becomes the first County Upper Basketball Academy player to sign with an NAIA Div 2 University, and the sixth overall player to sign with an American University in two years.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle is coached by Terry Cummings. Last season (Coach Cummings first season as Head Coach) the Owls finished with an over all record of 6 wins and 15 losses, and with a conference record of 6 wins and 8 losses. Michael is looking to help bolster the Owls roster for the 2010 – 2011 season.

Michael had this to say: “I started playing basketball in year 10 and I never thought that I would have the chance to attend an American university. I played for an ordinary local league team for a couple of years until coach Johnson came to one of our games and told us all about this academy starting in Bury St Edmunds. My parents took it upon themselves to contact coach Johnson to get further information about the academy. I started County Upper School 2 years ago and never looked back. In the 2 years I’ve been coached by coach Johnson my basketball skills have improved greatly. It was a hard 2 years with intense training and being constantly pushed but, in the end it was worth it. With coach Johnson’s contacts and coaching ability he has got me a place at the University of Maine at Presque Isle to continue with my academics and basketball. I would like to thank County Upper school for allowing me to study there, Coach Johnson for his commitment and coaching and finally all my other team-mates and students who have made my time in Bury St Edmunds extremely enjoyable”.

“This is fantastic news for County Upper School and Michael” said Coach Johnson, Director of County Upper Basketball Academy. “Michael came to us two years ago with the goal of gaining a great education while pursuing his dream of playing basketball at the college level in America. Since joining he has been completely dedicated to both his education and basketball, now all his hard work has paid off. I am glad I was able to offer a programme in which helped Michael achieve both his educational and basketball goals, and I wish him all the best for next season”.