NOTE: After the release of this story, Jerard Moret decided not to attend Xavier.
Gold Rush remembers the Titans on recruiting trail
For immediate release . . . April 11, 2007

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana has signed forwards Jarrel Lake and Jerard Moret, both of Los Angeles, to men's basketball scholarships for the 2007-08 school year, Coach Dannton Jackson announced Wednesday. (pronunciations: juh-RELL Lake and juh-RARD more-et)

Lake and Moret are transfers from Cal State Fullerton, an NCAA Division I college, and both will compete as sophomores for the Gold Rush during the 2007-08 season. They were teammates at Los Angeles' Westchester High School, which won state, city and league championships in 2003 and 2005.

"Both Jarrel and Jerard will make an immediate impact for us next season," Jackson said. "They have significant experience — both in Division I and on two state-championship teams — and they will compliment our nucleus of returning players who took us to the sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament."

Lake, 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, played in four games for Cal State Fullerton in 2006-07 and averaged 3.3 points and 1.8 rebounds. He scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 20 minutes, including five points and five rebounds in the Titans' opener. At Westchester he averaged double figures in scoring and rebounding.

"Jarrel is a versatile player," Jackson said. "He could play several different positions next season."

Moret (6-5, 215) averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 23 games for Cal State Fullerton in 2005-06. Moret had eight points and nine rebounds in his collegiate debut against Pepperdine and had high games of 13 and 11 points. As a senior at Westchester he averaged 17 points, was a consensus first-team All-Western League selection and teamed with Lake to lead the Comets to a 25-3 record and their second state championship in three years.

"Jerard is big and strong and defends extremely well," Jackson said. Westchester is the same school which produced NBA players Hassan Adams (New Jersey Nets) and Trevor Ariza (Orlando Magic). Another Westchester alum, Amir Johnson, played for the Detroit Pistons earlier this seaason.

Xavier was 22-10 this past season, earned a share of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship and won 10 consecutive GCAC games for the first time in 20 years. The Gold Rush played in the NAIA tourney for a program-record third consecutive time and upset third-seeded Georgetown (Ky.) 82-79 in the opening round for its first NAIA tourney victory since 1973. Xavier next season will return 10 of 11 lettermen, including point guard Shaun Dumas, a third-team NAIA All-American, and shooting guard Mark Stewart, who made a Xavier-record 109 3-pointers and was third-team All-Louisiana.