SAN FRANCISCO – Eager to return to the top of the Pacific West Conference after winning the PacWest Tournament title and appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, Academy of Art men's basketball Head Coach Scott Waterman and his staff have announced the addition of nine student-athletes to comprise the Fall 2022 recruiting class. Joining ART U in the fall semester will be Stephon Hall (Oklahoma City/Univ. of Science and Arts of Oklahoma), Jamal Fuller (Toronto/Hill College), Rodney Munson (New Orleans/Independence CC), Will Balata (Montreal/Simon Fraser University), Eli Taylor (Elizabeth, N.J./Ranger JC), Richard Rivers Jr. (North Hills, Pa./Andrew College), Kyle Houston (Toronto/Torrey Pines HS), Malachi Guice (Schertz, Tex./Samuel Clemens HS), and Shawn Woodson (Fairfield, Calif./Cathedral HS). 

"Our program is extremely excited about the addition of these nine student-athletes to our program," Waterman said. "They are not only great players on the court, but are going to help us continue to build a strong ART U basketball culture. With a strong core of returners, each member of the incoming class fits a specific need to help us build upon our PacWest Tournament Championship last season and compete on a nightly basis in the extremely competitive PacWest Conference. Sept. 1 can't get here fast enough so we can start to get to work."

Stephon Hall (Oklahoma City/Univ. of Science and Arts of Oklahoma)
Hall comes to Academy of Art as a graduate student after spending the previous four seasons at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, culminating an impressive career with an NAIA All-American honor during his senior campaign when he averaged 15.2 points per game and 4.5 assists per game, numbers that were respectively second and first on the Drovers. In addition to his totals of 470 points and 138 assists setting career-bests for the six-foot point guard, Hall also showed up on the defensive end with a new career-high in steals with 52.

Each of Hall's final three seasons with the Drovers he averaged 14.9 points or above, with his single-season best coming during the shortened 2020-21 season when he dropped 15.3 per game over 20 contests. Twice in a season he reached the century mark for assists, and nailed 40 or more 3-pointers in all four campaigns. All of this combined to help the Oklahoma City native to become the program-record holder for assists (417) while also ranking second in steals (166), third in 3-pointers made (213), and tied for fifth in points (1,530). 

Prior to his collegiate career, Hall attended Mount St. Mary's Catholic High School where he played varsity basketball for four seasons prior to graduating in 2018. While there, Hall earned numerous accomplishments such as being named to both the All-City and All-State Teams, while also being selected to the Prep Hoops All-Star Game. Outside of high school, Hall has spent time with the club team, Oklahoma Power. Hall will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies upon his arrival at ART U.

Jamal Fuller (Toronto/Hill College)
Entering ART U as an athletic sophomore, Fuller spent the previous two seasons with Hill College where he appeared in a total of 52 contests, averaging 12.0 points per game on the strength of 55.4 percent shooting from the floor. Last year with the Rebels, the six-foot-four forward knocked down 44.7 percent of his attempts from three-point range leading to his career-best average of 12.6 ppg. Working hard on the glass, Fuller snatched a total of 261 total rebounds (5.0 per game) with 161 of those coming on the defensive end. After both campaigns, Fuller would be named to the All-Conference Second Team. 

Prior to college, Fuller attended Central Technical School where he played basketball, quickly becoming an integral piece to the Central Tech lineup and helping the squad ascend to the top of the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association's (OSBA) East Division. During his senior season, the combo guard and forward was one of the top scorers in the OSBA East, finishing with the sixth-most points per game at 21.6 on the strength of 50.4 percent shooting over just 15 contests. Additionally, Fuller closed the campaign with the fourth-most assists on the squad with 29 (1.9 per game), and showing his tenacity also collected 23 steals (1.5 per game). 

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, the Toronto native will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Rodney Munson (New Orleans/Independence CC)
Munson comes to the Knights as an athletic sophomore, most recently spending the previous season at Independence Community College where he totaled 410 points in 31 games played. He averaged above 40 percent from both the field (45.0 percent) and three-point range (40.7 percent), and ended his only campaign with 93 assists (3.0 per game) and 40 steals.

Prior to Munson's stop at Independence, he spent the previous two years at LSU-Alexandria where after a redshirt season the guard led team with 15.2 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting, including a conference-leading 23.6 ppg in league play. Not only did he pace the team in scoring in just 19 games, but he also topped the Generals in field goals made (102) and assists per game (3.7), and led the league with 6.6 assists per game in league-only games. The year would culminate in Munson being named the Red River Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, First Team All-RRAC, and the conference's Offensive Player of the Year. 

Prior to his time in college, the New Orleans native attended Bonnabel Magnet Academy High School where he played varsity basketball for four years prior to graduating in 2019. Additionally, Munson has appeared for other basketball clubs such as the New Orleans Rising Stars and the L.A. Supreme. Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, Munson will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Will Balata (Montreal/Simon Fraser University)
Balata spent the previous four campaigns with Simon Fraser University, playing over 1,000 minutes over the course of 77 contests while averaging 13.1 points per game, but the graduate student joins ART U with one more year of eligibility. The six-foot-four guard started nearly every game of his freshman season, totaling 393 points with an average of 13.6 per game on the strength of 42.5 percent shooting from the floor, all of which were career-best marks. Not only was his average among the best on the team, but was 12th in all of the Great Northeastern Athletic Conference and was the second-best of all freshmen.

Year two was when the Montreal, Quebec native had a more complete season, posting his the best numbers of his career in rebounds (191), assists (62) and steals (36). During his final campaign, Balata chipped in an average of 12.1 points per game over the shortened season, while also averaging 2.7 assists per game over 20 contests. 

Born to an athletic family, both of his siblings William and Wayny play soccer, with Wayny currently competing at Southern Methodist University where she has scored nine goals and four assists over 35 career games. Balata will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies upon his arrival at ART U. 

Eli Taylor (Elizabeth, N.J./Ranger JC)
One of four underclassmen, Taylor joins Academy of Art in his sophomore campaign after spending the previous season with Ranger Junior College where he appeared in 28 games, starting 26 of those contests while totaling over 400 points. It was an average of 14.9 points per game on 41.0 percent shooting for the five-foot-nine guard, while he was also a threat to dish the rock with a total of 129 assists for an average of 4.6 per game. Taylor was also able to take care of the ball by posting a +2.3 assist-to-turnover mark, and also tallied a total of 48 steals for 1.7 per game. 

Prior to college, the Elizabeth, New Jersey native attended Wylie High School in Texas where he played varsity basketball all four years. After he was named 2019 Newcomer of the Year, Taylor's crowning season was the 2020 campaign that culminated in his team winning the 2020 State Championship, which he lists as his favorite sports moment. A crucial piece of the team, Taylor would be named the 2020 Offensive Most Valuable Player and selected to the All-Region Team. Outside of high school, Taylor has also spent time with the basketball club Basketball Means More. 

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, Taylor will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Richard Rivers Jr. (North Hills, Pa./Andrew College)
Rivers Jr. comes to Academy of Art as an athletic junior, spending last year with Andrew College in Georgia where he earned Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) All-Region Honorable Mention honors. The seven-footer started all 28 games for the Tigers while averaging the second-most points per game on the squad (12.8), and he did so by way of 52.4 percent shooting from the field to tie the team's best mark. Using his size, Rivers Jr. also led the Tigers with an average of 7.5 rebounds per game (sixth-most in the GCAA) while also blocking an average of 1.7 shots per game (third-most in the GCAA). 

In addition to attending Andrew, the native of North Hills, Pa. spent the 2020-21 season with Lincoln Trail Community College, appearing in a total of 13 games including eight starts and averaging 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. His best outing came in just his second contest of the campaign when he dropped 20 points on 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) shooting from the floor, with half of his buckets coming from downtown where he was 4-for-5 (80.0 percent). Rivers Jr.'s debut collegiate season came with Mississippi Valley State in 2019-20, appearing in 16 contests including a pair of starts with an average of 3.8 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. 

Prior to his collegiate career, Rivers Jr. attended Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Ga. where he played basketball before graduating in 2018. Born to an athletic family, Rivers is related to Eddie George, former professional football player for the Tennessee Titans who had a robust collegiate career at Ohio State. Upon his arrival at ART U, Rivers will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies. 

Kyle Houston (Toronto/Torrey Pines HS)
Houston will enter Academy of Art as a true freshman, most recently graduating from Torrey Pines High School where he played varsity basketball for two seasons. Last season as a senior, the six-foot-one guard was a member of the Torrey Pines squad that finished 23-7 overall while going a perfect 10-0 in Coastal Conference play, appearing in 13 games while hitting 43 percent of his looks from the field.

During Houston's junior season, Torrey Pines steamrolled to a 30-1 record, once again sweeping conference action with an 8-0 mark in the Coastal standings. In addition to the Coastal Conference titles, Houston and Torrey Pines were 2021 San Diego Section Open Division Champions. Outside of high school, Houston has also appeared for the basketball club West Coast Elite. Even with the impressive prep career, Houston's favorite sports moment was when he was able to play for Team Canada during an international children's game in 2018.

Houston will enroll in the School of Communications & Media Technologies upon his arrival at Academy of Art. 

Malachi Guice (Schertz, Tex./Samuel Clemens HS)
The third underclassman of the recruiting class, Guice also joins the Urban Knights as a true freshman after most recently graduating from Samuel Clemens High School in Texas. Last season during his senior campaign, the Buffaloes finished with a 27-7 overall record while ending 10-4 in district action, with the six-foot guard appearing in 31 of those contests. Over the course of the season, Guice totaled 63 points and hit on 39 percent of his looks from the floor, while he also nailed 31 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Showing off his all-around game, he closed the year with 29 assists and 22 steals with a +0.97 assist-to-turnover mark. In addition to his prep career, Guice has spent four years with the Schertz Cowboys basketball club and one year with the Arnold Elite club. 

A member of an athletic family, Guice has a pair of relatives who previously played football at LSU, Derrius Guice and Kary Vincent Jr., both of whom also played in the National Football League (Guice with the Washington Commanders, Vincent with the Philadelphia Eagles). Additionally, his relative Jalen Barnes played football at Texas Tech. 

Guice will enroll in the School of Animation upon his arrival at Academy of Art with the goals of one day becoming an animator in Japan. 

Shawn Woodson (Fairfield, Calif./Cathedral High School)
A true freshman, Woodson comes to ART U after most recently attending Cathedral High School where he played varsity basketball for two seasons before graduating in 2021. During his time with Cathedral, the six-foot-four combo guard and forward averaged 13.4 points per game over the course of 28 contests, which he paired with an average of 5.4 rebounds per game. His best campaign scoring the rock came as a junior in 2019-20, dropping 15.2 points per game (303 total points) on the strength of 55 percent shooting from the field. Though it was a shortened 2020-21 campaign, Woodson still totaled 73 points over eight contests on 49 percent shooting from the floor, and snagged an averaged of 6.0 rpg. 

Prior to Cathedral, the Fairfield, Calif. native attended Servite High School in Anaheim, Calif. where he played varsity basketball for two seasons. During what would be his sophomore and final season with Servite, Woodson appeared in 27 games and contributed 13.1 ppg while staying active on the glass with an average of 5.4 rpg, the respective best and second-best totals on the Friars that season. Another two-way presence, Woodson was able to average 1.0 steal per game and chipped in 23 assists. 

Upon his arrival at Academy of Art, Woodson will enroll in the School of Industrial Design with the goal of one day building his own car.