In order to compete against the best basketball teams at the Junior College/Community College level, Sandhills head coach Aaron Denton knows his team needs to get better.

He is hoping that this year's incoming crop of players will help the team do just that.

The first two players to commit to the Flyers for the 2009-10 season are Wesley Harrell and Floyd Clegg, a pair of players from South View High School.

"Both of these guys add a lot of depth and also rebound the basketball extremely well," Denton said.

Harrell, a 6-4 forward, averaged 18.6 points and 11.3 rebounds last year for a high school team that finished 8-17.

Clegg is a 6-1 guard who scored 8.5 points and grabbed nearly five rebounds per game.

Both players said they felt comfortable with the SCC, talking about how nice the campus was and how they felt they would fit in with the current players.

"The talent here is really good, and there is a lot of competition," Harrell said.

"All the guys are hard workers," Clegg added. "None of them take it easy on the court, and that will help make me a better player."

Both players said they are excited to come to the next stage of their academic and athletic career, and are happy that they are doing it at the same school.

"We are like brothers," Clegg said of his relationship with Harrell. "I feel comfortable around him."

In addition to Harrell and Clegg, the Flyers also welcome Joe Harp to the team. Harp, a 6-3 guard/forward from Raleigh's Millbrook High School enrolled at SCC in December and sat out as a redshirt. He will be eligible to join the team this fall.

"I wanted to help last year, but I didn't want to lose the redshirt, so I had to be patient, but sitting and watching made me more determined and focused to help this team."

Harp gives the Flyers a big-bodied perimeter player who can take the ball to the basket, score in transition and defend.

Denton said he hopes to add several more players to his roster in the coming weeks.

"We are being more targeted in the type of student-athletes we're are trying to bring into the program," Denton said.

Denton wants to play a faster-paced game that calls for players who have the ability to score on the offensive end, rebound and shut down the opponents on the defensive side of the basketball. That up-tempo style calls for a deep roster.

Last season at times the Flyers struggled due to a lack of depth, and to injuries.

Denton said he's hoping to bring in two to three point guards and some inside players.

The Flyers finished 11-19 last season, and the team returns a host of players including two of the top two players in the region in 6-3 guard Germann Bostic, an honorable mention All-American selection this past season, and 6-6 center Phillip Moultrie.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.