Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Davis inks five to men's hoops signing class
11/10/2016 12:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Head Men's Basketball Coach Kermit Davis announced the addition of five members to the Blue Raider family during the NCAA early signing period on Thursday.
Prep standouts TJ Massenburg, Therren Shelton-Szmidt and Donovan Sims as well as junior college transfers James Hawthorne and David Simmons all signed national letters of intent to join the Blue Raiders in 2017.
"I think our number one thing in this class was that we went after guys that we thought were very talented, had great character and are all good students," Davis stated. "We think they really fit very well and I think there is a lot of versatility in our class with guys that can play multiple positions so we feel very good about them."
Snellville, Ga., native Massenburg stands at 6-foot-8 and has been a powerful post presence at Shiloh High School. During his junior campaign, Massenburg amassed 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per outing.
"TJ Massenburg is a guy that we have worked long hours on as we have with the rest of our class," Davis said. "He comes from a great family. He's 6-foot-8 and already about 215 pounds and has the ability to stretch the floor and make threes. He's very athletic around the rim and we think TJ is going to be an outstanding player for us."
Shelton-Szmidt joins the Blue Raiders by way of the Hamilton Heights Academy in Chattanooga where he averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game as a junior. The 6-foot-5 guard originally hails from Missasauga, Ontario, Canada.
"Therren comes from one of the best academies in the country," Davis stated. "He's very talented, very well coached and has guys on his team going to Virginia Tech and different places like that but he led their team in scoring last year. He has good size, is long, can really shoot and has great toughness."
Hometown product Sims comes to the Blue Raiders from Murfreesboro's Blackman High School where he has served as a three-year starter at the point guard position. A 6-foot-1 guard, Sims dished out 5.2 assists per game to go along with 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest.
Sims and the Blackman Blaze rose to a No. 1 ranking in the state of Tennessee last season and went all the way to the semifinals of the state tournament.
"Obviously Donovan Sims plays for one of the best basketball programs and coaches in our state at Blackman High School," Davis said.
"He has the ability to run a team at the point guard position and led his team last year to a No. 1 ranking. We think he is going to have an outstanding senior year. He comes from an unbelievable family here in Murfreesboro."
Hawthorne, a 6-foot-7 forward, comes to Middle Tennessee from Southwest Mississippi Community College. The Prentiss, Miss., native shot 46.3 percent from the field as a freshman and proved to be a valuable shot blocker for the Bears with 1.4 rejections per contest.
"It's ironic that James Hawthorne plays at Southwest where I got my junior college start as a head coach at 24 years old," Davis said. "It's a fantastic program he's in there.
"James fits kind of the stretch four role. He's very athletic, can shoot balls from behind the arc, very skilled and a good driver. He's a great student and he's been very well coached by Thomas Gray."
Tallahassee Community College product Simmons, the reigning Panhandle Freshman of the Year, earned 29 starts as a freshman and tallied 14 points, seven boards and 3.2 assists per game while shooting at a 51.4 percent clip. The 6-foot-3 guard is off to a fast start again in his sophomore campaign, averaging 10.8 points and eight rebounds per game through the first four contests of the season.
"David Simmons just typifies what we're about with his versatility and great toughness," Davis stated. "He comes from Tallahassee Community College where Mark White is one of the very best junior college coaches in the country.
"They value toughness and for David to be Freshman of the Year in the Panhandle last year proves that he's a really good talent."
With the five signees now on board, Davis and his staff have arrived at the expected outcome of the early signing period just before the start of the 2016-17 season.
"Our staff put in unbelievable hours and did a great job throughout last spring and the summer to try to bring this class together so we're very excited about them," Davis said.
Prep standouts TJ Massenburg, Therren Shelton-Szmidt and Donovan Sims as well as junior college transfers James Hawthorne and David Simmons all signed national letters of intent to join the Blue Raiders in 2017.
"I think our number one thing in this class was that we went after guys that we thought were very talented, had great character and are all good students," Davis stated. "We think they really fit very well and I think there is a lot of versatility in our class with guys that can play multiple positions so we feel very good about them."
Snellville, Ga., native Massenburg stands at 6-foot-8 and has been a powerful post presence at Shiloh High School. During his junior campaign, Massenburg amassed 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per outing.
"TJ Massenburg is a guy that we have worked long hours on as we have with the rest of our class," Davis said. "He comes from a great family. He's 6-foot-8 and already about 215 pounds and has the ability to stretch the floor and make threes. He's very athletic around the rim and we think TJ is going to be an outstanding player for us."
Shelton-Szmidt joins the Blue Raiders by way of the Hamilton Heights Academy in Chattanooga where he averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game as a junior. The 6-foot-5 guard originally hails from Missasauga, Ontario, Canada.
"Therren comes from one of the best academies in the country," Davis stated. "He's very talented, very well coached and has guys on his team going to Virginia Tech and different places like that but he led their team in scoring last year. He has good size, is long, can really shoot and has great toughness."
Hometown product Sims comes to the Blue Raiders from Murfreesboro's Blackman High School where he has served as a three-year starter at the point guard position. A 6-foot-1 guard, Sims dished out 5.2 assists per game to go along with 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest.
Sims and the Blackman Blaze rose to a No. 1 ranking in the state of Tennessee last season and went all the way to the semifinals of the state tournament.
"Obviously Donovan Sims plays for one of the best basketball programs and coaches in our state at Blackman High School," Davis said.
"He has the ability to run a team at the point guard position and led his team last year to a No. 1 ranking. We think he is going to have an outstanding senior year. He comes from an unbelievable family here in Murfreesboro."
Hawthorne, a 6-foot-7 forward, comes to Middle Tennessee from Southwest Mississippi Community College. The Prentiss, Miss., native shot 46.3 percent from the field as a freshman and proved to be a valuable shot blocker for the Bears with 1.4 rejections per contest.
"It's ironic that James Hawthorne plays at Southwest where I got my junior college start as a head coach at 24 years old," Davis said. "It's a fantastic program he's in there.
"James fits kind of the stretch four role. He's very athletic, can shoot balls from behind the arc, very skilled and a good driver. He's a great student and he's been very well coached by Thomas Gray."
Tallahassee Community College product Simmons, the reigning Panhandle Freshman of the Year, earned 29 starts as a freshman and tallied 14 points, seven boards and 3.2 assists per game while shooting at a 51.4 percent clip. The 6-foot-3 guard is off to a fast start again in his sophomore campaign, averaging 10.8 points and eight rebounds per game through the first four contests of the season.
"David Simmons just typifies what we're about with his versatility and great toughness," Davis stated. "He comes from Tallahassee Community College where Mark White is one of the very best junior college coaches in the country.
"They value toughness and for David to be Freshman of the Year in the Panhandle last year proves that he's a really good talent."
With the five signees now on board, Davis and his staff have arrived at the expected outcome of the early signing period just before the start of the 2016-17 season.
"Our staff put in unbelievable hours and did a great job throughout last spring and the summer to try to bring this class together so we're very excited about them," Davis said.
Nick McDevitt LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille (Video) - 2.9.26
Monday, February 09
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs FIU 2/4/26
Wednesday, February 04
Nick McDevitt LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille (Video) - 2.2.26
Tuesday, February 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs WKU 1/31/26
Saturday, January 31
