Temple University Athletics
PHILADELPHIA LUTHERAN'S DIONTE CHRISTMAS SIGNS NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT
5.2.05 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - Dionte Christmas, a 6-5, 190-pound guard/forward out of Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Academy, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Temple University, announced Owls' head coach John Chaney. Christmas is the second men's basketball student-athlete to sign a NLI with Temple, joining Semaj Inge, a 6-4 guard out of Woodrow Wilson High in Camden, N.J.
"Dionte is certainly going to be a very important part of our family," said Chaney. "His growth and development during his time in prep school is very important to us. He is a tremendous offensive player and a gifted talent. He will add strength to our overall wonderful cast of players."
"Dionte is a great shooter," added Lutheran head coach Darryl Schofield. "He got better and better as the season went on. He really learned the value of playing defense this year."
Christmas, ranked among the Top 40 prep school players in the nation by Hoop Scoop's Clark Francis, averaged 18 points per game in his one year at Lutheran. An all-tournament selection at the 2005 National Prep Invitational held at the University of Rhode Island, he led his squad to a 35-3 record and a #5 ranking by theinsidershoops.com. He is one of nine Lutheran players that will be on NCAA Division I basketball rosters in 2005-06.
Prior to his year at Lutheran, Christmas played four years at Samuel Fels High in Philadelphia. As a senior in 2003-04, he earned first team all-Public League and third team all-City. He was also the leading scorer in the City with a 26.5 scoring average. Christmas averaged 17.7 points per game as a junior in 2002-03, earning honorable mention all-Public honors.
