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Binghamton Hopes Recruits Will Spark Offense Next Season

Binghamton's incoming recruits boast impressive stats from their high school days. Will they be the spark needed to ignite the Bearcat offense?

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

It's no secret that the Binghamton Bearcats aren't playing their best basketball. With just eight wins in 2015-16, it's clear that the team needs a boost for the upcoming season, and that's where Tyler Stewart, Fard Muhammad and J.C Show come in.

Fard Muhammad

Muhammad is a 6-0 guard from Merriville, IN who averaged 17 points per game last year and hit 41 percent from beyond the arc. He showcased his spurt-ability in one game where he knocked down nine threes en route to 30 points. He's also no stranger to the limelight -- in the 2014-15 season, his Montverde team played in the national championship game at Madison Square Garden, televised nationally on ESPN. He hit five threes in that game. It also doesn't hurt that he's played along side Ben Simmons, who may be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Head coach Tony Dempsey on his incoming freshman:

"It's no secret that we need to shoot the ball better and pass the ball better than we have and Fard will help us in both areas," Dempsey said. "He has played high school basketball at the highest level so he will be well-prepared for the adjustment to the college game."

Tyler Stewart

Stewart is 6-7 and will add some much-needed height to the Bearcats' roster. If Stewart is as good as Dempsey hopes, then he would quickly become one of the most versatile players on the team. .

While Stewart will be new to Binghamton, he comes with a little bit of familiarity with the program. Coming from the DMV region, he was able to watch rising senior Marlon Beck back when he was on his JV team. According to pressconnects.com, he thought Beck was a handful then, and definitely still is now.

"I remember watching Marlon play our varsity when I was on JV," Stewart said. "He did work against us. I didn't like him much then, but he's definitely a good guy now."

In the same article, Stewart's coach at St. Andrew's, Kevin Jones, claimed he was the best shooter on the team. Add that to his defensive stats -- 7.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game -- and Binghamton instantly improves on both ends.

J.C Show

Show is the only non-freshman on this list. He transferred to Binghamton after a year at Bucknell and sat out last season. If there's any person on their roster that looks like a powerhouse match with Muhammad, it's Show. At 6-3, he plays the guard position well, and in a conference where three-point shooting is slowly becoming the next big thing, having a guy who shot 37 percent and is already acclimated to college basketball is a huge bonus for them. Show played in all 34 games at Bucknell, but only started three, averaging 18.3 minutes per game.

Like Stewart, Shaw also has connections to Binghamton. The Bearcats tried to recruit him out of high school, and he's known Dempsey for years due to their mutual roots in northeast Pennsylvania. His decision to leave was partly due to a coaching change at Bucknell and partly because his role on the court wasn't what he wanted. Show says he wanted to be more of a leader than a shooter, and at Binghamton, he will have that opportunity. Though he's been dealing with plantar fasciitis since the end of his season with the Bisons, there's hope that he'll be good to go once November hits.