PITTSBURGH – Duquesne University head men's basketball coach Keith Dambrot announced today that forward Chad Baker (Colonia, N.J./SPIRE (Ohio) Academy), guard Mike Bekelja (Solon, Ohio/International Sports (Ohio) Academy), forward Andre Harris (Mesa, Ariz./Hillcrest Prep) and forward Toby Okani (West Orange, N.J./Cushing (Mass.) Academy) have signed National Letters of Intent, bringing the 2020-21 recruiting class to six.

All four newcomers are coming off postgraduate seasons.

Baker, a 6-7 forward, moved to the U.S. from his native Dominican Republic prior to his junior year of high school at Colonia High School in  Colonia, N.J. He spent last season at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio.

"Chad is a diversified player with ballhandling skills who can play multiple positions," said Dambrot. "He's perfect for what they now call 'positionless' basketball. He has good length and the ability to make shots. As he gets stronger and accustomed to the college game, I think he has the chance to be a real contributor."

Baker will be the first Dominican to play for Duquesne.

Bekelja, a 6-1 guard, teamed with his brother - DU rising junior guard Sincere Carry, to lead Solon High School to the state championship game in 2018. Following his senior year at Solon, Bekelja opted for a postgraduate year at International Sports Academy at Andrews Osborne in Willoughby, Ohio where he averaged 25 points per game this past season.

"Mike has a burning desire to be great," said Dambrot. "He really wants to prove people wrong. He's very similar to his brother in that respect. He's physically strong and has a good skill level in addition to good shooting ability. He's just a winner."

Harris, a 6-7, 225-pound forward, spent his past two seasons at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix where he averaged a near double-double.

"Andre is one of the most skilled big men around," said Dambrot. "He has size and skill, but what sets him apart is his ability to see the floor. He is a versatile athlete who has the physical ability and toughness to develop into a top-flight Atlantic 10 player."

Okani, a 6-7 forward, played at West Orange (N.J.) High School and spent one season at St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) before moving on to Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass. this past season.

"Toby has been a part of winning programs where he has received excellent coaching," said Dambrot. "He is another versatile player with a high skill level. We think he has a nice upside."

The foursome joins guards Tyson Acuff (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech) and Jett Roesing (Gibsonia, Pa./First Love Academy), who signed NLI's with the Dukes in November.

"I think we've improved our toughness, our versatility and shooting ability with this group," said Dambrot of the 2020-21 class. "We needed to get a little bigger at the wing positions and we were able to do that while improving our overall depth. We're building it for the future and we were able to do that by adding a lot of young, talented pieces."

DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL 2020-21 RECRUITING CLASS

NAME	POS	HT	WT	CL	HOMETOWN/LAST SCHOOL
Tyson Acuff*	G	6-4	200	Fr.	Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech
Chad Baker	F	6-7	190	Fr.	Colonia, N.J./SPIRE Academy (Ohio)
Mike Bekelja	G	6-1	180	Fr.	Solon, Ohio/International Sports Academy (Ohio)
Andre Harris	F	6-7	225	Fr.	Mesa, Ariz./Hillcrest Prep
Toby Okani	F	6-7	180	Fr.	West Orange, N.J./Cushing Academy (Mass.)
Jett Roesing*	G	6-4	170	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./First Love Christian Academy

* - signed with Duquesne in November

PRONUNCIATIONS
Acuff - AY-cuff
Bekelja - beh-KELL-jah
Okani - o-CON-ee
Roesing - ROSE-ing


TYSON ACUFF in action
Before Duquesne
• Was a four-year starter who helped Cass Tech to Detroit Public School League titles in 2017, 2019 & 2020.
• Named one of five finalists for 2020 Michigan Mr. Basketball.
• Ranked as the No. 5 recruit in the state of Michigan by 247Sports.com.
• Earned a First Team spot on the MLive Metro Detroit Dream Team and was also named 2019-20 PSL Mr. Basketball.
• With the loss of four starters from the 2019 PSL Championship team, saw his scoring average jump to 27.0 points per game to go along with 10.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 4.2 steals per game as a senior.
• Had 32 points, six rebounds and six assists in the 2020 PSL championship 66-41 win over Detroit Douglass.
• Scored a career-high 44 points, including a game-winning baseline floater, to go along with nine rebounds and five steals in a 65-64 win over Detroit Henry Ford as a senior.
• Averaged 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game and shot 76 percent from the foul line for Cass Tech as a junior. Also shot 35.7 percent from 3-point as a junior in helping Cass Tech to its second Public School League title in three years.
• Was named 2019 First Team All-Detroit and Honorable Mention All-State by the Detroit Free Press.
• Averaged 14.4 points and 6.5 assists per game as a sophomore and 8.1 ppg. as a freshman.

Personal
• Played for former Duquesne assistant coach Steve Hall (2009-12) at Cass Tech.
• Played AAU ball for REACH Legends.


CHAD BAKER
in action

Before Duquesne
• Spent a post graduate season at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio in 2019-20.
• Helped SPIRE to a 23-4 record - including 20 wins in a row - against a national schedule.
• SPIRE, one of 14 qualifiers for the 2020 National Prep Championship, finished the regular season ranked No. 8 nationally.
• Helped Colonia (N.J.) High School to back-to-back Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament Final Four appearances.
• Averaged 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game as a senior in helping 24-5 Colonia to the Greater Middlesex Conference White Division title. Colonia ended up reaching the GMC Tournament semifinal and in the process won the school's first NJSIAA North 2 Group III sectional title since 2015.
• Was named the 2018-19 Home News Tribune Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
• Was chosen to play in the NJSCA Senior Boys All-Star and GMCBCA Senior All-Star Boys games following his final year at Colonia.

Personal
• Was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the U.S. to live with his grandfather prior to his junior year of high school.
• Is the first Duke to hail from the Dominican Republic.
• His father Derrek, who played at South Carolina State, played professionally and has coached overseas.


MIKE BEKELJA in action
Before Duquesne
• Averaged 25.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game - with a high scoring game of 39 points - in one season at International Sports Academy at Andrews Osborne in Willoughby, Ohio.
• Shot 50 percent from the field, including 42 percent from the 3-point arc, for 17-17 ISA in 2019-20.
• Averaged 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a senior for 17-9 Solon in 2018-19.
• Was named honorable mention 2019 Division I All-Ohio by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
• Teamed with his brother, current DU guard Sincere Carry, to lead Solon to the Division 1 Ohio High School Athletic Association state title game in 2018. The two combined for 58 points (a career-high 35 by Bekelja and 23 by Carry) in Solon's regional semifinal win over Shaker Heights.

Personal
• His parents, Melissa and Kevin, are legal guardians of Dukes guard Sincere Carry.
• Mike and Sincere, who formed the backcourt at Solon (Ohio) High School, began playing together in second grade.
• Mike's sister, Dee, the former Gatorade Ohio Girls Basketball Player of the Year, just completed her junior season at DePaul.
• His other sister, Jordan, was a four-year starter and 1,000-point scorer at Clarion from 2016-19.
• Originally committed to play at Division II Fairmont (W.Va.) State following his senior season at Solon, but reconsidered when head coach Joe Mazzulla, a former standout at West Virginia, accepted an assistant coach position with the Boston Celtics.


ANDRE HARRIS in action
Before Duquesne
• Spent his final two seasons at national power Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix.
• Averaged 10.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10 games for the 30-5 Bruins in 2019-20.
• Hillcrest Prep entered the 2019-20 season ranked third nationally by USA Today.
• Averaged 11.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and over two blocks per game in helping Hillcrest Prep to a 35-5 record and No. 5 state rank in 2018-19.
• Transferred from Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.) to Scottsdale Bella Vista Prep following his sophomore year.

Personal
• Chose Duquesne over TCU, Washington State, New Mexico, Grand Canyon and Montana.
• First cousin of former Michigan State and 14-year NBA veteran Jason Richardson.
• Date of birth: 6/6/01 in Scottsdale, Ariz.


TOBY OKANI
 in action

Before Duquesne
• Helped Cushing to a 23-7 record against a national schedule in 2019-20.
• Cushing finished undefeated in NEPSAC Class AA play (15-0), making the Penguins the first AA program to finish without a conference loss since 2014-15.
• Cushing was one of 14 qualifiers for the 2020 National Prep Championship.
• Missed the first seven games of the 2019-20 season due to a hand injury. Made his debut on Jan. 11 vs. Tilton.
• Scored a season-high 20 points vs. Phillips Exeter.
• Had 15 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals in a 60-58 win over Northfield Mt. Hermon and followed that with 14 a team-high 14 points in a win over Cheshire Academy.
• Attended St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J. as a senior and West Orange (N.J.) High School through his junior season.
• Was a two-time All-Super Essex Conference Liberty Division pick while at West Orange.

Personal
• Rated as a 3-star recruit by Rivals.com.
• Cited as the No. 6 prep player in Massachusetts, and No. 28 player in New England, by New England Recruiting Report.
• Played for the PSA Cardinals (NY) on the EYBL circuit.
• Full name is Tochukwu Okani.


JETT ROESING in action
Before Duquesne
• Shot 19-of-26 from the arc (.731) at the three-game Westtown Prep (Pa.) Invitational. Scored 29 points (9-of-12 from 3-point) vs. Rock Top Academy (Pa.) in his final season at First Love.
• Was named First Team at the Atlanta, Ga. Holiday Hoopsgiving event which featured top teams from throughout the south. Averaged 17.5 points, including five 3-pointers in each game, in wins over Legacy Early College (S.C.) and The Skills Factory (Ga.).
• Hit seven 3-pointers in a 26-point outing vs. Rock Creek Christian Academy.
• Averaged 21.4 points (47.6 percent from 3-point), 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game vs. a national schedule as a junior for 18-10 First Love.
• Played at Sewickley Academy as a freshman and sophomore where he helped the Panthers to back-to-back WPIAL Class 2A titles.
• Averaged over 15 points per game as a sophomore for Sewickley's 2017 PIAA state championship team.

Personal
• Played AAU for the Ohio Basketball Club, which finished among the Top 10 nationally four times.
• Was consistently rated as one of the most accurate long-range shooters in the national class of 2020.
• Also played on the Adidas Gold Gauntlet and Nike EYBL circuits.
• Verbally committed to Duquesne on July 31, 2019 - his 18th birthday.
• Played at First Love with 2020-21 D-I recruits Isaiah Wilson (Richmond) and D.J. Gordon (Penn State). All three were McDonald's All-American nominees.
• Was given the name Jett by his father in the hope that he would develop a jet-quick release on his shot.
• His father, Nathan, played professionally for Olimpia Basket Pistoia (1996-98) which competed in Serie A - the top division in Italy..
• Date of birth: 7/31/01 in Wheeling, W.Va.