Juco Guard McBride Will Join UA Basketball Team for Spring Semester and Redshirt in 2005-06

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - (UA Sports Information) - Ryan McBride, a 6-6, 190-pound shooting guard from Denver, Colo., will not join the Razorback basketball team until December and will redshirt this year, head coach Stan Heath announced on Monday. McBride is completing coursework at Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula College, where he led the Coast Conference in scoring with 21.2 points per game last season. "He will join our team in the second semester," Heath says. "He has been taking classes all summer. He has successfully completed his work for Monterey, however, he still has Southeastern Conference core course requirements to fulfill, and thats what hes making progress towards right now." Heath considered playing him during the second half of the season, but McBride will now redshirt. "We knew during the recruiting process that he would not be ready for the first semester," Heath says. "We anticipated him playing in December, but we have now decided to redshirt him. It is not in his best interest to rush through this. He will have two full years of eligibility remaining." McBride shot 46.2 percent from three-point range as a sophomore at Monterey while also adding 9.5 rebounds. As a freshman, he averaged 15.9 points and 5.7 rebounds, and led the Coast Conference with a .533 three-point percentage. Two newcomers, guard Sean McCurdy and forward Cyrus McGowan, join a squad returning four starters and seven lettermen from last years 18-12 club. Junior guard Ronnie Brewer, who is on the Wooden Award Watch List and was a finalist for the USA Basketball Under-21 national team, tops that group. He is the top returning scorer (16.2) and field goal percentage leader (.475) in the SEC this season, and is the only first-team all-conference selection returning from last year. Other returnees are senior guard Jonathon Modica, who is 24th on UAs all-time scoring list with 1,074 points; 6-10 sophomore forward Darian Townes, who was second on the team in scoring (10.2), rebounding (4.6), shooting percentage (.519), free throw percentage (.698) and blocked shots (1.6); senior guard Eric Ferguson, who is ninth on the schools all-time assists chart with 297 and was fifth in the SEC last year (4.27); 7-0 sophomore center Steven Hill, who was second in the SEC with 1.8 blocked shots per game; and sophomore forward Charles Thomas (5.5 ppg), who started 18 games last year.