Redhawks receive verbal commitment from forward

~ Junior college player Mark Caviness committed after visiting last weekend.

Once Mark Caviness paid a visit to Southeast Missouri State, it didn't take him long to decide he wanted to play basketball for the Redhawks.

Caviness, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior college forward, said Tuesday he has given Southeast coaches a verbal commitment.

The soonest Caviness can make it official is Nov. 14, when the early signing period begins.

"I'm very excited," said Caviness, who was in Cape Girardeau over the weekend for his official campus visit. "I like the school and the coaches, and the players I met seemed pretty cool."

Caviness said he was impressed by both Southeast coach Scott Edgar and assistant Ronnie Dean, who primarily recruited him. Dean was recently named the nation's fourth best junior college recruiter by Basketball Times.

"Me and coach Dean talked a lot. I like him, and I'm real confident in coach Edgar," said Caviness, who will have two years of Division I eligibility.

Caviness, a native of Washington, D.C., attends Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Fla.

As a freshman last year on a 22-8 team, Caviness averaged 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He shot 52.7 percent from the field overall, including 41 percent from 3-point range.

IRCC coach Mike Leatherwood said Caviness is a versatile player who last year earned first-team all-conference honors at power forward but will move to small forward for his sophomore season.

"He's very athletic. He jumps very well. He excites crowds with his dunks. And he's strong physically, very chiseled," said Leatherwood, who has been at IRCC more than 30 years and is the winningest junior college basketball coach in Florida history. "He can play inside or outside, he can rebound and shoot.

"I think he's a very good catch for Southeast Missouri. He's got a great attitude, very mature and responsible. He's very coachable. I think he'll really be able to help them."

Caviness said he also had been considering several mid-major programs closer to his home area in Washington, D.C.

Leatherwood said he believes Caviness might have been overlooked a bit because "we're located in a small town. Sometimes the recruiters don't stop by here. I think he is going to be a very good Division I player."

Caviness is the second verbal commitment Southeast has received for next season's recruiting class, joining 6-5 combo guard Martino Brock.

Brock, who played the last three seasons at Ridgeway High School in his native Memphis, Tenn., will play this year for Nashville Christian Advancement Academy, a prep school in Nashville, Tenn. He will have four years of college eligibility.

Under NCAA regulations, Edgar cannot comment on recruits until they officially sign.