ENMU adds pair of transfers to men's basketball team

PORTALES — A pair of junior college transfers are the first signings of the Brent Owen era at Eastern New Mexico University.

The school announced Tuesday the additions of Cornell Greenwood and Jared Perry.

Greenwood is from Yuba College in Marysville, California, and Perry from Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas.

“With this first recruiting class we are looking much deeper than just basketball talent,” Owen said in a school release. “We want to recruit high-character guys who have toughness, work ethic and who are relentless about winning.”

Greenwood, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard from Marysville, California, was named the Yuba College Male Athlete of the Year in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Yuba went 24-6 last season, and Greenwood averaged 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds during his two seasons.

“We are very excited to add Cornell to our program.” Owen said, “On the court he can do it all. He is a scorer and adds a much-needed shooting presence to our team, but he can also create for others, rebound and really defend.

“One thing that stood out during the recruiting process was that his high school and junior college coaches both said that he was one of their ‘favorite players they had ever coached’ and both talking about his toughness.

“Cornell will bring the toughness and work ethic we are looking for with him to Eastern, and that will allow him to be an impact player right away.”

Perry, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward, was named a top 20 recruit in Arizona by D1Nation.com for the class of 2018 after averaging 14 points per game and 12 rebounds per game for Paradise honors High School his senior season. He missed the 2019-20 season due to injury, and will have three years of eligibility when he joins the Greyhounds.

“Jared is a major key for now and for the future.” Owen said, “Big men who are physical, tough and play hard every day are extremely hard to find. Jared has all of those qualities to go along with his skill set and ability to play above the rim.

“He added 20 pounds of muscle after his freshman year of college and was ready for a great sophomore run before an injury in October ended his season.

“Jared has already completed his associate’s degree with above a 3.0 GPA and we could not be more excited to add Jared to the Greyhound family. His work ethic and toughness are exactly what we were looking for as we work to build a culture of success in this program.”