Blackbirds Sign Queens Product Bey
May 18, 1999

The Long Island University men's basketball program has received a National Letter of Intent from Cheshire Academy (CT) forward JaJa Bey to attend the Brooklyn Campus in the fall. He is the fifth player to sign with the Blackbirds under first-year head coach Ray Martin, joining forward Lee Jones (Albany, NY) and guards Antawn Dobie (Queens, NY), Keith Leslie (Long Island City, NY) and Maurice Yearwood (Brooklyn, NY). Jones, Dobie and Leslie committed to LIU in the early signing period.

A wiry 6'6" swing player from Corona, NY, Bey graduated from Forest Hills High School before moving on to Cheshire Academy. He averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in leading Cheshire to a 17-5 mark in the 1998-99 season. It reached the quarterfinal round of the New England Class A Tournament.

"I am extremely happy to have a multi-talented small forward like JaJa in our program," Martin said. "He gives us great versatility on the perimeter and allows us the flexibility to play him at different spots. He is an outstanding young man who has worked hard to reach this level in his life."