Oct. 4, 2006

Denver Post - A Compton, Calif., point guard who ranked among the top 50 juniors in the country and a small forward from the Northeastern Junior College pipeline announced they will sign letters of intent next month to play for Colorado State.

Jesse Woodard is a 6-foot-2 point guard for Compton Centennial High School, the reigning California sectional champion. He drew three of five stars on rivals.com and two stars on scout.com.

Shane Edwards is a 6-7 small forward at the Sterling junior college. Northeastern coach Eddie Trenkle said Edwards averaged 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds off the bench in his first season.

Woodard drew extensive recruiting interest, including an offer from Southern Cal before he had a leg stress fracture early in his junior season. He returned in time for the playoffs, then reinjured his leg during the summer all-star circuit.

"A lot of schools backed off but Colorado State was still there pursuing and recruiting me hard," Woodard said. "I took my trip out there. The campus looks beautiful, nothing like Compton. I thought the coaches are great and down to earth." He said his leg has healed and he won't rush it the way he did as a junior when he returned to average nine assists and 12 points for the playoff run.

The injury was an education. "One thing goes bad and (the recruiters) turn their back on you," Woodard said. "As soon as I was hurt people stopped calling. CSU still showed interest and they are showing they are good loyal people."

He described himself as a run-and-gun style point guard who wants to push the tempo and involve the big men. He hopes he'll get a chance to play next year with CSU's 7-foot center Jason Smith but said he realizes Smith could be in the NBA by then.

Edwards follows former Ram Michael Harrison, incoming guard Tyler Smith and former coach Brian Joyce to Fort Collins.

Trenkle said of Edwards, "He's extremely athletic, he's a long 6-7. He really worked on his shot over the summer and had good medium range with his jump shot. He's hard to match up with because he can put the ball on the floor and blow by people. He's athletic to go over the top of people." -