Pigford Headed Back to Tar Heel State, C-USA Style
C.J. Pigford, the skilled 6-6, 230 pound combo/power forward from Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Tex., has signed a national letter of intent to attend Charlotte in the fall.
A native of East Arcadia, N.C., Pigford cancelled upcoming visits to schools such as Tulsa and Xavier so that he could ink instead with the 49ers. He also had seen interest from schools like Washington State, Ole Miss, Rutgers and Wyoming this spring.
Advertisement
Pigford rescucitated his basketball career at Lon Morris in 2002-2003, averaging 18.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for the Bearcats. He shot a crisp 61 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the charity stripe.
Out of high school, Pigford detoured to Hargrave Military Academy for a year before signing with Virginia Tech. However, he played sparingly for the Hokies in 2001-2002, prompting his transfer to the junior college ranks.
He was ecstatic to have the opportunity to head back home to North Carolina for college next fall.
"It was a perfect fit," Pigford said on Thursday night. "Charlotte was on my list when I first came out here to Texas, and they have everything that I would want."
"The offense if perfect for me, and the school and city are close to home," Pigford continued. "They just lost three big men, so there's a chance to come in and start."
Pigford said that the 49ers plan to utilize him as a face up four next year. With the losses of forwards Tyler Best, Kevin Johnson and Tory Reed of this year's squad, Charlotte is likely looking for immediate help in the frontcourt.
Pigford is the second junior college big man to sign with Charlotte this spring and the third overall JC hoopster to ink with the 49ers this year. Dedric Spooner of Colby C.C. in Kansas signed with Charlotte as well this spring, while Schoolcraft's Marcus Bennett inked with the Niners back in the fall.