College Hoops: East heads west, commits to Missouri

Throughout the recruiting process, Sean East studied the college basketball landscape and narrowed his list of schools to six.

On Friday, the former John A. Logan great picked the one.

East, the NJCAA National Player Of The Year, picked Missouri over schools like Brigham Young, Clemson, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon and South Florida.

The 6-foot-3 left point guard was nothing short of electric for John A. Logan College this past year, including a career-high 43 points in the Vols' National Tournament game. East averaged 21 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. He shot 53% from the field, 41% from beyond the arc and was a flawless 89% free throw shooter.

John A. Logan head coach Kyle Smithpeters noted that while his point guards stats were eye opening, it's what East did off the court that impressed him the most.

"You see all the stats and flash with Sean, but what a lot of people don't see is how he makes the team culture better, his teammates better. Sean is a guy that is going to affect people in a positive way and will do more for your program than just wins and losses."

Prior to East playing at JALC, he spent one season at UMass (9.3 ppg) and one season at Bradley (9 ppg).

The Louisville, Ky., native will join current Mizzou commits in small forward Aiden Shawn (Blue Valley, Kansas) and combo guard Christian Jones for East St. Louis High School. The Tigers also have a trio of transfers including two shooting guards in Tre Gomillion and DeAndrew Gholston, along with power forward Noah Carter.

East follows Volunteer greats like Lazeric Jones (UCLA), Jesse Perry (Arizona), Jalen Perry (UAB), Devontavius Payne (East Tennessee State), Javion Eaves (Murray State), David Sloan (Kansas State), Sydney Curry (Louisville) and Jamarion Sharp (Western Kentucky) as players who went on to have successful stints at the D1 level.

Still, Smithpeters knows East is a special talent.

"Guys like Sean East don't come around very often. He made this year very refreshing and very enjoyable. Because of his work ethic, he rubbed off on our guys in a positive way and this one of the better years we have had a John A. Logan."

Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.