CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina University head men’s basketball coach Cliff Ellis has announced the signing of four student-athletes in DeAnthony Tipler (Ashland, Miss./Northeast Mississippi Community College), Daivon Stephens (Pittsburgh, Pa./Tallahassee Community College/Eastern Michigan), Tyrik Dixon (Bentonville, Ark./Missouri State University/MTSU), and Kevin Williamson (Aiken, S.C./USC Salkehatchie).
Tipler transfers to CCU following an outstanding two-year career at Northeast Mississippi Junior College. The Ashland, Miss. native, culminated his outstanding sophomore season being named to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America team.
He led all Mississippi JUCO players in scoring averaging 20.4 points per game at Northeast while shooting over 43 percent from the field, 38 percent on his three-point attempts, and 86 percent at the free throw line in picking up first-team all-conference and first-team all-region accolades in addition to his All-America honor. He finished his two years at Northeast with 889 points averaging over 16 points per game for his career.
Tipler led Northeast to a 24-3 overall record and a final ranking of 17th in the nation.
Coach Ellis on DeAnthony: “DeAnthony has won everywhere he has played. He has put up really big numbers against good teams and he is a talented young man who can really shoot and score the basketball.”
Stephens transfers to the Chants’ program after a season at Tallahassee Community College. The 6’-7” forward averaged five points and over four rebounds per game while shooting 38 percent on his three-point attempts while playing in all 33 games.
He helped lead Tallahassee to a 27-6 record and a final national ranking at number 10.
As a true freshman in 2017-18, Stephens played 15 games at Eastern Michigan.
Coach Ellis on Daivon: “Daivon comes to us from a very deep and talented junior college team. He also brings valuable D-I experience from his freshman season at Eastern Michigan. He is a skilled forward who can really stretch the floor with his ability to shoot the three.”
Dixon comes to CCU from Missouri State University with one season of eligibility. He started all 17 games he played in last season at Missouri State. The point guard averaged over seven points per game while pulling down four rebounds and dishing out 2.3 assists per outing. He also showed outstanding outside shooting ability.
Prior to playing last season at Missouri State, he spent two seasons at Middle Tennessee State where he was named to the C-USA All-Defensive Team following his sophomore season while starting 25 of the team’s 32 games. He averaged five points and three rebounds per game and had over 100 assists in his second season. He helped lead MTSU to a regular-season C-USA title with a 25-8 record. MTSU went on to play into the second round of the NIT.
Dixon also stood out as a freshman with the Blue Raiders, being named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team after starting 34 of 36 games. He averaged 5.6 points per game to go along with his three rebounds and three assists per game. He ranked 24th nationally and second in C-USA with a 2.59:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and hit 39 percent of his three-point field goals.
MTSU was both the C-USA regular-season and conference tournament champion his freshman season, earning the conference’s berth into the NCAA Championship. The Blue Raiders would make a strong showing in the tournament playing into the round of 32.
Coach Ellis on Tyrik: “Tyrik is a competitive young man who has been a leader on some very good Division I teams. He is a very good defender and a player who can pass, shoot, and score on the offensive end.”
Williamson was an early commit to the Chants during the fall. He transfers to CCU from USC-Salkehatchie. Another outstanding leader on the court, Williams helped USCS to a 27-4 overall record and a final national ranking of No. 7.
The 6’-5” guard averaged 10 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per outing. He was an outstanding shooter and finished the season shooting 37 percent from beyond the three-point line. He also did an outstanding job distributing the ball, averaging a 2:1 assist/turnover ratio.
Coach Ellis on Kevin: “Kevin is a winner and he does all the little things. He is a long-armed athlete that defends, rebounds, make shots and values the basketball. He does a lot of things really well.”
Courtesy – Coastal Carolina Athletics