Gilbert To Louisiana-monroe Hoops Program

[GreenBat]

http://ulm.scout.com/2/654969.html

By ULM SID

Guest Publisher

Posted Jun 27, 2007

Forced to vacant his home in New Orleans, Lawrence was moved to Houston where he signed to play for the Miami Hurricanes. Lawrence was a highly recruited SF and was ranked as one of the top 100 players in the nation for the 2006 class.

ULM and Warhawks men's basketball head coach Orlando Early announced Wednesday the transfer of Lawrence Gilbert from the University of Miami. Gilbert will not play until the 2008-09 season and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-7, 201-pound New Orleans, La. native left UM after the end of the 2006-07 season. Gilbert played in 20 contests, starting two, for Miami. He played sparingly, averaging 6.0 minutes per contest in his first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Miami finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 12-20 overall record and a 4-12 mark in the ACC.

"We are very excited Lawrence [Gilbert] is joining our program," said Early. "He is a guy we targeted in high school and were able to watch play before Hurricane Katrina. He is a big-time, athletic wing player that can play a variety of positions on the court. What I am excited about the most is he will have a full year to learn our system and get in the weight room and improve. We have a large senior class this coming year and he will be able to hit the ground running when he becomes eligible to play."

Gilbert played his senior season at Houston Wheatley due to Hurricane Katrina. He averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocks per game while leading Wheatley to a 31-4 record under head coach Marshall Jackson. He was named second team All-State, District Co-MVP, team MVP and team captain.

As a junior at L.W. Higgins in New Orleans Gilbert averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks per game, and was named All-District, team MVP and team captain. Gilbert also competed in track at Higgins where he holds the school high jump record (6-08.00).

In the school's first season of Sun Belt play, Early guided a ULM (18-14) team picked in the league's pre-season poll to finish last in the seven-team West Division to an 11-7 divisional record and co-West Division title with Arkansas State.

Early guided the Warhawks to their best season since 2001-02 when ULM finished 20-12 overall, 15-5 in the Southland Conference. ULM also posted its fourth undefeated record at home with a 14-0 mark in only Early's second season at the helm of the Warhawks.