South Dakota State men’s basketball has received paperwork from three student-athletes this month to join its 2024-25 roster, while including four individuals that signed National Letters of Intent this past fall during the early signing period, that are expected to make up seven additions to the Jackrabbit program for the upcoming season.
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BROOKINGS — South Dakota State men’s basketball has received paperwork from three student-athletes this month to join its 2024-25 roster, while including four individuals that signed National Letters of Intent this past fall during the early signing period, that are expected to make up seven additions to the Jackrabbit program for the upcoming season.
SDSU opened the regular signing period last week with the additions of senior transfers in Oscar Cluff and Isaac Lindsey, as well as incoming freshman Andrell Burton Jr.
Cluff was a major contributor to a Washington State program that finished second in the Pac-12 Conference and saw its 2023-24 season end with a 25-10 overall record in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Iowa State.
The Australian native played 35 games and started 23 for the Cougars during his first season at the Division I level. He played over 20 minutes per contest while averaging 7.0 points, on a 53.8% field goal percentage, and 4.4 rebounds per game. Cluff recorded 31 blocks and had a 1.2 assist/turnover ratio.
Cluff played a season-high 35 minutes at Oregon. He had 10 double-digit scoring performances with a career-high 20 points versus Oregon State on Jan. 4. He had one double-double of 12 points, 14 rebounds at Stanford on Jan. 18. He had another 12-rebound effort against the Cardinal on Feb. 17 and had 17 games of five-plus rebounds.
Prior to his stay in Pullman, Cluff played two seasons of college basketball at the junior college level for Cochise College in Arizona.
There he helped the Apache record 58 victories over a two-year span while helping Cochise to a national tournament appearance as a freshman in 2022. That season, Cluff led the nation in field goal percentage with a 75% clip while averaging 12.5 points and 10.8 rebounds. His second year at Cochise saw Cluff score 18.2 points per game and average 9.8 rebounds. Cluff had a stellar 74.8% mark from the field en route to earning Second Team All-America accolades.
“Having a previous relationship with Oscar by recruiting him when he was at Cochise College was a huge factor,” said SDSU head coach Eric Henderson. “His experience, his physicality and his production over time has been incredible. To bring all of that to our program will be a huge asset to our team, especially with how young we are.
“Coach (Jerry) Carrillo does such a terrific job at Cochise having his guys play with a great amount of enthusiasm and effort. The skill development piece that he helped with Oscar was incredible and through his hard work, Oscar was able to produce and start at the Pac-12 level. With him coming to South Dakota State, Oscar will have more of an impactful role. He’ll provide a body that we can throw the ball into that people will need to respect and guard.”
Isaac Lindsey has spent the previous three seasons at Wisconsin and played in 46 games for the Badgers. This past year saw Lindsey match his single game career high of eight points on 3 of 6 shooting in a season-opening victory over Arkansas State. During the 2022-23 season, Lindsey played in 23 games for the Badgers and had a four-rebound performance versus North Texas in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals. In his first year in Madison during the 2021-22 campaign, Lindsey was a member of a Wisconsin program that won the Big Ten regular season title.
Lindsey joined the Wisconsin program after he spent a season at UNLV as a redshirt. A 2020 graduate from Mineral Point High School, Lindsey was a two-time First-Team All-State selection and two-time All-Area Player of the Year. He totaled 1,420 points, 272 assists and 137 steals for the Pointers. The three-sport star also played baseball and football at Mineral Point. He started all four seasons at quarterback in football and shortstop in baseball. In baseball, Lindsey helped Mineral Point qualify for the WIAA state tournament two seasons in a row, marking the first time the school had been there since 1974. Coming out of high school he was a three-start shooting guard (247 Sports) and ranked as the No. 5-ranked 2020 prospect in Wisconsin.
“Our relationship with Isaac started during his high school career,” Henderson said. “It certainly was a big factor in why it was such a good fit here at South Dakota State. Isaac has been part of a Mountain West program and played in the Big Ten. They may have been minimal minutes, but I’m excited for him to come here to increase his role. Not only on the floor, but the experiences he’s been through will help these young guys that he will step in and be a voice for this next season.”
Andrell Burton Jr. will be an incoming freshman to the Jackrabbit program for the 2024-25 season.
Burton Jr. has been a standout for Campus High School in the Wichita, Kansas, area for the last three years. As a junior, Burton Jr. averaged over 20 points and nine rebounds per game. Those numbers increased as a senior as he scored 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and nearly two assists, two blocks and two steals per game.
The end of his senior season saw Burton Jr. be named to The Wichita Eagle’s Class 6A All-State First Team. He was a first team all-conference and all-metro selection while leading the Colts to an appearance in the Kansas Class 6A State Basketball Championship tournament. The incoming guard previously signed a National Letter of Intent this past fall with Drake.
“Andrell’s talent speaks for itself,” Henderson said. “He has great size and length on the wing and his skill is incredible. Andrell has the ability to make others around him better. To be able to work with a young man with his skill set is exciting.”
The additions of Burton Jr., Cluff and Lindsey also include the Jackrabbits’ four signings during the early signing period this past November. They include Stoney Hadnot (Houston, Texas), Jaden Jackson (Bellevue, Neb.), Owen Larson (Estherville, Iowa) and Alec Squires (Volga).
