Nov. 18, 2008
DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's basketball program has signed DeAndre Medlock and Ryan Sypkens to National Letters of Intent, announced head coach Gary Stewart. Medlock is a 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward from Fresno, Calif., while Sypkens is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard from Elk Grove. In addition to their on-court achievements, the future Aggies have also excelled off the court.
Medlock stars for Clovis West High School and helped lead the Golden Eagles to a Tri-River Athletic Conference championship last year as a junior. His team finished with an overall record of 25-7 and an 8-2 mark in the conference.
"DeAndre is an outstanding student-athlete with unlimited potential," said Stewart. " He instantly becomes our most athletic frontcourt player. His speed, quickness and explosiveness will undoubtedly make him a match-up problem for our opponents. DeAndre's potential is only exceeded by the quality of his character. Of all the student-athletes we watched during the recruiting period, he was the best teammate we saw."
In addition to his efforts for Clovis, Medlock has also played overseas in France and China. While in China earlier this year, he coached a group of disadvantaged children. Medlock has been an ambassador for Clovis' Eagles of Honor for the past two years.
Sypkens is currently a senior at Franklin High School. Over the past two years, he has helped lead the Wildcats to a pair of 21-win seasons. Franklin finished first in the Delta Valley League during his sophomore season and was second last year. In addition, Sypkens' team advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinals the past two seasons. He was a DVL All-League selection last season after collecting honorable mention distinction as a sophomore.
"Ryan is a perimeter player with versatility who makes excellent decisions with the ball," said Stewart. "He is sound fundamentally, plays unselfishly and is highly competitive. His ability to shoot the three or get to the basket and finish will afford us the flexibility to play him at the point or the off-guard position. Defensively, Ryan is the best high school perimeter on-ball defender we have recruited."
The Elk Grove product has also been named to the honor roll on several occasions. Sypkens will rejoin former high school teammate Julian Welch, who signed with the Aggies over the summer.
"Our staff worked tirelessly to address our needs, and we are thrilled with Ryan and DeAndre's decision to join our program," said Stewart. "We feel so fortunate to get two student-athletes who have done such a great job in the classroom and on the basketball court. They have been well-coached in high school and AAU. Both are team-first individuals who care about winning."
UC Davis (1-2) is coming off a 64-55 victory against Loyola Marymount on Sunday in Ames, Iowa, at the World Vision Classic. The Aggies are next in action Thursday when they take on Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
