Anteaters sign two big men

Barry Faulkner

UC Irvine men’s basketball, with three seniors among its top four big

men this season, solidified plans to restock its front line as two

players signed national letters of intent to join the program next

season, the school announced Friday.

Darren Fells, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound senior forward at Fullerton

High, and Adam Metelski, a 6-10, 270-pound center in his sophomore

season at Grayson County College in Denison, Texas, took advantage of

the early signing period to commit to Coach Pat Douglass’ Anteaters.

Fells averaged 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Indians as a

junior, helping them finish 22-6 and advance to the second round of

the CIF Southern Section Division II-A playoffs.

He earned second-team All-CIF Division II-A recognition and was

first-team All-Freeway League. He was also the MVP of tournaments in

Hawaii and Fullerton.

A highly regarded tight end, Fells leads the Fullerton football

team with 26 catches for 483 yards (an 18.6-yard average) and eight

touchdowns this fall, heading into Friday’s first-round CIF Division

IX playoff contest with Pomona. Fells helped the Indians forge a 9-1

regular-season record and earn a share of the Freeway League

tri-championship.

Metelski, a native of Poland, reportedly averaged 18 points and

eight rebounds last season. In six games through Thursday, he was

averaging 13.1 points and 6.7 rebound this season.

As a freshman out of Ignacy Jan Paderewski High in Poland, he was

first-team All-North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference. He was

also named the best center in the 2002 and 2003 Polish Shootouts.

“Both of these players will fill a gap in our program next season,

considering three of our four seniors this year are front-line

players,” Douglass said. “Adam, being a third-year player next

season, will have more game experience coming in, but Darren will

also get consideration for playing time.

“Both are mature kids and wide-bodied players who can help us

inside. Adam is a true post player and Darren is an inside-out

player. We felt an immediate need to recruit inside players and I am

excited to sign these two players who can make an instant impact next

season.”

Fells and Metelski will try to lessen the impact of the loss of

seniors Adam Parada, a 7-0, two-time second-team All-Big West

Conference performer, Stanislav Zuzak, a 6-11 senior forward, and

Matt Okoro, a 6-7 senior forward.

In addition to the newcomers, Greg Ethington, a 6-8 junior this

season, and Jim Paullin, a 7-1 freshman from Washington being

redshirted this season, will be counted on to complement the solid

backcourt trio of Jeff Gloger, Mike Efevberha and Ross Schraeder, who

are all sophomores this season.