May 9, 2002

Poughkeepsie, NY - Marist College head men's basketball coach Dave Magarity announced the signing of Utah Valley State College (UVSC) teammates Chris Handy (Salt Lake City, UT) and Pierre Monagan (Chicago, IL) to National Letters of Intents to play at Marist beginning in the Fall of 2002. The duo joins Carl Hood (Houston, TX) as the signees for the Red Foxes rookie class.

"We are very excited to have Chris and Pierre join the Marist basketball program," said Magarity. "Both players bring collegiate playing experience with them to our program and we look forward to having them contribute over the next two seasons."

Handy, a 6-foot-8, 220 pound, power forward and center, will join the Red Foxes after playing at UVSC last year. He was the seventh leading rebounder in the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC), pulling down 6.7 boards a contest, while adding 7.9 points per game, shooting 48 percent from the floor. Handy was an Honorable Mention All- League selection as well.

Monagan is a 6-foot-2, 180 pound combo guard who averaged 11.3 points per game for UVSC. He ranked tops in the SWAC with 7.7 assists per game, and was 4th in the conference with 2.2 steals per contest. A Second-Team All-SWAC selection, Monagan also ranked 13th in the league with 5.5 boards a contest. Monagan provides an outside threat for the Red Foxes, having shot 39.7 percent from behind the three-point line last season.

Monagan and Handy led UVSC to a 21-10 overall record last season and a 10-8 mark in the SWAC, which is regarded as one of the top Junior College leagues in the nation. Dixie State, a member of the SWAC, went on to win the NJCAA Division I National Title this past year.

Marist is coming off of its best season in the five years that it has been a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Red Foxes posted a 19-9 record overall and were 13-5 in league play, earning a share of the MAAC Regular Season Championship.