Staten Island, NY – Josh Daniell, a 6-8, 205-pound wing forward from national powerhouse St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, NJ and Evan Pierce, a 6-2, 175-pound guard from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, PA, have signed national letters of intent to attend Wagner College and play basketball for head coach Mike Deane. Daniell and Pierce will enroll on Grymes Hill in the fall of 2010 and will have four years of eligibility. 

Daniell, who hails from Old Bridge, NJ, was a reserve on last season's 30-3 NJSIAA Tournament of Champions state championship team, which was ranked No. 4 in the country by USA Today. He is expected to play a more prominent role this season for coach Kevin Boyle's preseason No. 1-ranked team. 

“Josh Daniell is a young man who really adds athleticism, defensive ability at the four spot, with dribble-drive skills and three-point range,” said Deane. “He's a very, very interesting player. With added strength and a different role on his high school team, he can become as good as an awful lot of guys that have come from the St. Pat's program. 

“He plays on a team that probably has the finest collection of high school talent in the country,” Deane added. “His ability is clear cut and he's someone who I think can step in as a freshman and play right away because at St. Patrick's you learn how hard you have to play. I think he's a really classy kid and, to tell you the truth, I can't wait for him to get here.” 

`Wagner is an excellent fit for Josh. It's a really good academic school and they have an outstanding coach in Mike Deane,'' Boyle said. ``This is good for him. He's a good perimeter player. He guards well, he shoots well from the perimeter. Minutes were hard to come by last year. He'll be able to show more of that this year.'' 

Pierce averaged 20 points per game as a junior for the 24-6 Blue Devils, who advanced to the Pennsylvania state AAAA semifinals, where they lost to Philadelphia's Penn Wood HS. Pierce is ranked 278 among the 750 top seniors in the nation by hoopscooponline. 

He comes to the Seahawks, who were 16-14 last season, with a reputation as a dynamic scorer, who also possesses the athleticism to get to the rim on offense and as well as play hard-nosed defense. In addition to his prowess on the high school level, he also led his Pittsburgh-area AAU team to a national title last summer in Orlando, FL. 

“Evan is a guard who can create off the dribble. He can shoot the three and can play the one or two guard position,” said Deane. “Evan is extremely athletic and has unlimited defensive potential because of his length and quickness. He is just the perfect complement to the guys we currently have in the program.
“We have an offensive scheme and an approach this year that has been designed with the addition of both Josh and Evan in mind,” added Deane. “In these two players, we have one who will play on a team that will contend for the national championship in Josh, and another in Evan who will have a very good opportunity to help lead his team to a state championship. 

“I think Evan will be a fine player at Wagner,” said Mt. Lebanon head coach Joey David. “He has the ability to score a lot of points. Evan's mentality is that of a scorer and I think he'll mature into a more complete player in the college game. I think he's with the right coaching staff. I think the coaching staff at Wagner is going to develop him in the right manner and he's going to be fun to watch. He's very explosive, he's a very enthusiastic kid and I think it's going to be a great four years for him there.” 

“Any time you can attract players from winning programs like that, they're more advanced and more ready to take on the challenges of college basketball and the toughness required,” Deane said. “By signing early, each of them can now concentrate on trying to win those championships rather than their recruiting.”