The Lincoln University men's basketball team added another piece to its recruiting puzzle this week with the addition of a junior-college All-American.
Anthony Virdure, a National Junior College Athletic Association Second Team All-American while playing for Mineral Area College, has signed a letter of intent to join the Blue Tigers in the fall.
"Anthony is a great fit for our program," Lincoln head coach John Moseley said about the 6-2 guard. "He has proven to be a terrific player in one of the toughest junior college leagues in the country. He played with one of the premiere AAU programs, the St. Louis Eagles, while he was in high school. He comes from a great family and we welcome him and his family to the Blue Tiger Family."
Virdure led Lutheran North to a third-place finish in Class 3 in the 2012-13 season, averaging 22.1 points, before heading to Mineral Area. There, he averaged 18.6 points per game as a freshman while shooting 49 percent from the field.
This past season, Virdure was the unanimous Region 16 Player of the Year when averaged 14 points a contest while leading Mineral Area College to a 27-4 record and a berth in the NJCAA Tournament. Virdure started all 31 games and shot 45 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range. He also added 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest.
The Cardinals won the NJCAA Region 16 and District 4 championships to qualify for the national tournament for just the third time in program history. Mineral Area entered the NJCAA Tournament ranked No. 10 in the country, with Virdure earning first team all-conference and all-region honors.
Virdure played at Mineral Area for Corey Tate, who recently joined the University of Missouri as an assistant coach.
"It was an awesome experience coaching Anthony," Tate said. "Talent-wise and as a person, he was fantastic. There's not a position on the court you can't play him at. His basketball IQ is at an advanced level for a college player. He will bring a lot of character to the program."
Virdure brings Lincoln's 2015-16 signing class to six members, as he joins fellow juniors O'Shai Clark and Jaylon Smith and incoming freshmen Chase Morfeld, Darrius Spencer and Deionte Wilson.
"We will still be adding a few more pieces before the start of the school year, but we are really excited about the six guys that have chosen to attend Lincoln University," Moseley said.