Trailblazer basketball signs NJCAA All-American Justin Warren

VINCENNES, Ind – The Vincennes University men's basketball team made a massive addition to their 2021 recruiting class earlier this week with the signing of NJCAA All-American point guard Justin Warren.

Warren comes to VU originally from Chicago, Ill. Warren began his collegiate basketball career at Division II Quincy University before transferring to Highland (IL) Community College last season.

As a member of the Cougars this past season, Warren averaged 13 points, five assists and three rebounds per game, which earned him First-Team All-Region 4 and Honorable Mention All-American honors.

"This is a big get for us, to get a player like Justin this late in the summer," VU Hall of Fame head coach Todd Franklin said. "To get a man who was one of the top two vote getters in his Region last year and an Honorable Mention All-American, at a position I thought we needed a little more of a veteran presence."

The 5-foot-11 Warren also helped lead Highland to a 16 – 5 record last season and a spot in the Region 4 Championship game.

"I feel like Justin fit in perfectly, we'll see if it actually turns out that way or not," Franklin added. "Justin thought he was going to be a Division I guy and it didn't quite happen. I think one of Justin's strengths is that he shoots the ball well and I think we needed that. He is also a low mistake guy, which has always been a part of who we are. I think with having Brevin, Justin and whoever else emerges handling the ball, we have a chance to be a low turnover-high IQ backcourt that has really been the key to our success."

With the addition of Warren, the Trailblazers gain a much-needed veteran backcourt presence to go along with returning guard Brevin Jefferson and wing Nigel Martin.

"I liken this to when we signed Ty Gadsden. I thought we needed another guard to make an impact. We had some freshmen coming in also and Ty ended up being that guy we got late who fit right in with "Pun" Tisdale, Keith Clemons was in that freshmen class and we had CJ Hedgepeth coming back that year."

"We're in a similar situation to CJ as well. CJ played well late his freshmen year and came back in more of a leadership role his sophomore year and that's what I'm seeing out of Nigel, so there are some real parallels to that group. Hopefully we have that same type of success," Franklin said. "With Warren and Jefferson, we all of a sudden got old at a position that are vital. Just like in 2017-2018, when we had good guard play and that helped the transition of Lony Francis and George Dixon, we're hoping that helps our young big guys like Dende, Frank, Shilo and Thow."

Warren is the 12th Trailblazer signing this offseason, including; Thow Biel (6-7, 205, Calgary), Grant Brown (6-2, 170, Fairmount, Ind.), Dende Ceder (6-9, 220, Netherlands), Marcus Clarke-Moore (6-1, 200, Scarborough, Ontario), Darrius Davis (6-3, 195, Pittsburgh), Shilo Jackson (6-9, 200, Indianapolis), RJ Jock (6-7, 185, Calgary), Trenton Johnson (6-1, 185, Mishawaka, Ind.), Frank Mitchell (6-7, 250, Toronto), Devawn White (6-3, 185, Montreal) and Ketaan Wyatt (6-2, 180, Toledo).