SBU Signs Guard from the Netherlands
St. Bonaventure men’s basketball head coach Mark Schmidt announced on Saturday afternoon that Sam de Haas (Den Bosch, Netherlands) from the Netherlands has signed an athletics grant in-aid to join the Bonnies for the 2010-11 season.
A 6-foot-3 guard, de Haas will have four years of eligibility and brings a wealth of international basketball experience to the Brown and White despite being just 17 years old.
“Sam has a tremendous skill set for someone his age and that’s due to his experience at the international level,” said Schmidt. “His ability to shoot the ball is something we needed with the graduation of Chris Matthews and he’ll be a great inside-out combo with Andrew Nicholson. He has a quick release from the outside, but is also a strong kid that will get better off the bounce. Sam is a high-character kid with a tremendous basketball IQ that we can’t wait to have on campus.”
A native of Den Bosch, Netherlands, de Haas is the captain of the U-18 Dutch National Team, which will compete in the 2010 European Championships from July 22-August 1 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is currently in Portugal with the team playing friendly matches in preparation for the European Championships. The team will then travel to Belgium for a week for a final tune-up of friendly games against Germany, England and Slovenia.
Less than a month ago, de Haas was a valuable member of the Dutch team that won the U-20 National Championship in Almere, Netherlands. In a best of three series against Amsterdam in the semifinals, de Haas led the Dutch to a two-game sweep by posting a pair of double-doubles. de Haas went for 32 points and 11 assists in game one, and followed with 28 points and 12 assists in the series-clinching victory. He capped the tournament with a team-high 26 points and eight assists in the championship game win over Rotterdam.
de Haas will bring European Championship experience to next month’s tournament after playing in the U-16 Division B bracket in 2008. Over nine games with the Netherlands’ squad in 2008, de Haas averaged 18.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. de Haas ranked third in Division B in scoring, finishing in double figures all nine games, highlighted by a trio of 20-point outings.
de Haas played club basketball with the Black Eagles from age 6-16 – the second largest basketball club in the Netherlands. He now plays with the Eiffel Towers basketball club on the amateur level. Eiffel Towers also has a professional team that has former Bona great Peter Van Paassen as its starting center. A fellow native of the Netherlands, Van Paassen is in his ninth season of professional basketball.
“Sam’s experiences overseas make him more ready for the college game than the typical freshman,” Schmidt said. “We expect Sam to contribute right away and add to a strong nucleus of returning players.”
St. Bonaventure returns eight players, including four that started 12 or more games, from last year’s team that posted its second straight 15-win season, finished in a tie for eighth place in the Atlantic 10 and picked up its first A-10 postseason win since 2002.
A 6-foot-3 guard, de Haas will have four years of eligibility and brings a wealth of international basketball experience to the Brown and White despite being just 17 years old.
“Sam has a tremendous skill set for someone his age and that’s due to his experience at the international level,” said Schmidt. “His ability to shoot the ball is something we needed with the graduation of Chris Matthews and he’ll be a great inside-out combo with Andrew Nicholson. He has a quick release from the outside, but is also a strong kid that will get better off the bounce. Sam is a high-character kid with a tremendous basketball IQ that we can’t wait to have on campus.”
A native of Den Bosch, Netherlands, de Haas is the captain of the U-18 Dutch National Team, which will compete in the 2010 European Championships from July 22-August 1 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He is currently in Portugal with the team playing friendly matches in preparation for the European Championships. The team will then travel to Belgium for a week for a final tune-up of friendly games against Germany, England and Slovenia.
Less than a month ago, de Haas was a valuable member of the Dutch team that won the U-20 National Championship in Almere, Netherlands. In a best of three series against Amsterdam in the semifinals, de Haas led the Dutch to a two-game sweep by posting a pair of double-doubles. de Haas went for 32 points and 11 assists in game one, and followed with 28 points and 12 assists in the series-clinching victory. He capped the tournament with a team-high 26 points and eight assists in the championship game win over Rotterdam.
de Haas will bring European Championship experience to next month’s tournament after playing in the U-16 Division B bracket in 2008. Over nine games with the Netherlands’ squad in 2008, de Haas averaged 18.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. de Haas ranked third in Division B in scoring, finishing in double figures all nine games, highlighted by a trio of 20-point outings.
de Haas played club basketball with the Black Eagles from age 6-16 – the second largest basketball club in the Netherlands. He now plays with the Eiffel Towers basketball club on the amateur level. Eiffel Towers also has a professional team that has former Bona great Peter Van Paassen as its starting center. A fellow native of the Netherlands, Van Paassen is in his ninth season of professional basketball.
“Sam’s experiences overseas make him more ready for the college game than the typical freshman,” Schmidt said. “We expect Sam to contribute right away and add to a strong nucleus of returning players.”
St. Bonaventure returns eight players, including four that started 12 or more games, from last year’s team that posted its second straight 15-win season, finished in a tie for eighth place in the Atlantic 10 and picked up its first A-10 postseason win since 2002.
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