Nov. 8, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. – University of Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey has announced the signings of Tim Abromaitis (Farmington, Conn.), Tyrone Nash (Queens, N.Y.), Ty Proffitt (London, Ky.) and Carleton Scott (San Antonio, Tex.) to national letters of intent. The four will enroll at the University in the fall of 2007.
Abromaitis (pronounced ab-row-My-tis), a 6-7, 210-pound forward, earned first-team all-state honors from the Hartford Courant and New Haven Register as a junior after averaging 25.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He also blocked 58 shots and and shot 80.0 percent from the free-throw line. Abromaitis ranked third in the state in scoring during the 2005-06 prep season.
As team captain, he led his Farmington High School squad to an 18-5 overall record and a second-place finish in the Northwest Conference, in addition to a first-round appearance in the state tournament. Abromaitis also garnered first-team Class LL all-state recognition from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) and was an all-Northwest Conference honoree.
A two-year starter at Farmington, he averaged 10.9 points and 7.0 rebounds as a sophomore during the 2004-05 campaign and helped his team to a 13-10 record and a first-round appearance in the Division III state tournament. He has been a three-year starter for the Connecticut Gold under-17 team and has led that squad to a 38-13 record and averaged 31.0 ppg. during the ’06 AAU National Tournament.
“Tim is a versatile player who can play a couple of different positions for us on the floor,” Brey says. “He’s a great fit for what we do offensively, and I think with time, will develop into a very good BIG EAST player.”
Nash, a 6-7, 215-pound guard graduated from Lawrence Woodmere Academy in 2006, and is currently attending Northfield Mount Hermon in Northfield, Mass., where he will play during the 2006-07 season before enrolling at Notre Dame. The two-time All-Long Island honoree, averaged 17.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots during his senior season and led his team to the IPPSAL and NYSAIS crowns.
A four-year member of his school’s varsity team, he missed the 2003-04 campaign due to injury. During the 2005-06 season, he garnered first-team all-state selection and was named conference MVP for the second consecutive year. In addition, Nash was a first-team all-Long Island selection following his junior and senior seasons and started every game he played during his career.
As a junior, he averaged 17.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 blocked shots and registered averages of 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks during his freshman season in 2002-03.
“Tyrone is going to be able to make himself valuable to us right away,” Brey says. “His style of play is going to fit very well in the BIG EAST; he has a great mindset for what we want to do defensively. He’s a strong defender and rebounder and a solid all-around player at both ends of the floor. His versatility will allow us to use him at a couple of different positions in the lineup.”
Proffitt, a 6-4, 193-pound guard, has been a three-year starter at South Laurel High School and has been a member of the school’s varsity team since the eighth grade. He has averaged double figures in each of this three seasons as a starter, while leading his team to a 80-20 mark since the 2003-04 campaign.
Proffitt averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 assists during the 2005-06 season as South Laurel finished with a 28-6 record overall en route to winning both the regional and district titles. In addition, he was one of two juniors to earn first-team all-state recognition and an all-state tournament team honoree.
As a sophomore in 2004-05, he averaged 14.5 points and 5.5 assists as his team finished with a 32-4 record winning regional and district championships on the way to the Kentucky state championship. In addition, Proffitt was named to the state championship all-tournament team and was an honorable mention all-state selection after garnering MVP honors at the regional championship. In his freshman season, he averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 assists as South Laurel won the district championship and finished with a 22-10 mark.
Profitt has enjoyed a highly successful career on the AAU circuit. A member of the Kentucky Heat, he led that squad to a third-place finish at the AAU National Tournament ’05 after back-to-back state titles beginning in ’04.
“Ty has a great feel for the game and handles the ball extremely well,” Brey says. “He’s an excellent shooter who will fit well into our offensive system. He comes from a winning high school program. What I like most about him is that he has been a player who has made big plays in big games. He has a winner’s mentality.”
Scott, who has been hampered by injuries and sidelined the past two seasons, averaged 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds during the 2003-04 season. A 6-8, 205-pound forward, he transferred from San Antonio Roosevelt to James Madison during his sophomore year and played with the school’s junior varsity program after the transfer. At the time of his transfer, he was averaging 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
For the past two seasons, he has played with the T-MAC All Stars and led that team to two Texas Classic championships. He also has been a member of the Houston Jr. Hardballers and Texas Ambassadors AAU teams. This past summer, he averaged 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
“Carleton gives us a body type that we haven’t had in this program,” Brey says. “He has great length and wingspan and is extremely skilled for a player his size. Carleton is going to be able to give us a good defensive presence on the floor.”
“All four of these players,” Brey continues, “are excellent students who fit the University’s theme of competing in the classroom as well as on the basketball court. We look forward to having them join our Notre Dame basketball family.”