UAF latest athletic information:

FAIRBANKS, AK- Alaska men's basketball head coach Clemon Johnson announced the signings of Mason King of Naknek, Alaska, Tony Wilson of Anchorage, Alaska, and Kyle Rische of Norwalk, Conn. on Friday. King enters the University of Alaska Fairbanks as a freshman and will have four years of NCAA eligibility remaining, while Wilson and Rische both enroll as juniors, giving them two years of eligibility for the Nanooks.

A 6'0" guard, King comes to Alaska after four successful seasons for Bristol Bay High School, having helped the Angels to two Peninsula Conference championships in the past two seasons. Named the small-schools player of the year by the Anchorage Daily-News in his senior season, King led Bristol Bay to a spot in the championship game of the 2A State tournament by putting up 99 points over three games, including a 44-point performance in the team's 71-70 semifinal victory over Point Hope.

His heroics in the tournament earned him a spot in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd segment, and marked the third straight season which King led all scorers at all the 2A state tournament.

"What caught my eye about Mason was his ability to do the things that I am looking for from the guard position," Johnson said. "He is able to create his own shots, he's a good ball handler, and he's a competitor. Those are outstanding attributes coming from a high school ball player. He is definitely one of those pieces that will be the future of Nanook basketball: part of the nucleus for the future."

King rounded off a well-decorated high school career by earning the state's 2A boys most valuable player honor in 2008. He also received all-state honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons, and earned two 2A regional MVP awards as well.

While attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks, King plans on pursuing a career as a pilot.

Wilson, meanwhile, is a 6'5" forward from Anchorage, playing two years of high school ball for East Anchorage High School. Prior to his 2003 graduation, Wilson averaged 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists per game in his senior season, and 12 points and eight rebounds a game in his junior year with the Thunderbirds. He won the men's basketball teams' "Hustle Award" in both the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

"David Wilson is someone who caught me eye when he came up here on an invitation along with a number of other JUCO players," Johnson said. "He played with our guys and showed me that he is capable of handling his own with what we have now, and helping us to move forward and improve within the GNAC. He is a scorer and his efforts on the defensive end are very strong also. He will be a wing player, and at that position, he has a nice size body compared to what I saw in the GNAC last year."

After leaving East Anchorage, Wilson played two seasons (2002-2004) of junior college ball with Yakima Valley Community College in Yakima, Wash. He averaged five points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals per game in his two seasons with the Yaks.

Also an avid skier, Wilson plans to major in education at UAF, looking to become a teacher one day.

Rische, meanwhile, joins the Nanooks after two seasons at Yuba College in Marysville, Calif. A 6'7" forward, Rische exploded onto the college basketball scene after his athleticism was featured on ESPN's City Slam dunk competitions, where he qualified for the 2006 semi-finals by winning the St. Louis regional contest.

Developing his game at the junior college level, Rische set a Yuba College record for blocks in a game, turning away 13 shots in 28 minutes against Merritt College during his freshman season. He has helped the 49ers to a 59-12 records in his two seasons at the junior college, leading the team to the California Community College Elite Eight both years. Rische averaged 5.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game last season for Yuba College.

"I'm thinking this guy here [Rische] is going to be a double-figure rebounders, and with his long arms and ability to jump, he is going to be a great shotblocker for us as well," Johnson said. "I have been talking with him consistently about developing his offensive skills as well: I am working with him on a couple of shots and getting to the offensive glass, because he will be able to outquick a lot of the guys that he's going to be matched up against."

The trio become the latest acquisitions in a busy offseason for Johnson: the Nanooks also previously added guards Emmanuel Jenkins (Tacoma, Wash.), Kevin Buggs (Compton, Calif.), forward Demetrius Love (Long Beach, Calif.) and center Evan Matteson (Lynnwood, Wash.) to their 2008-09 roster.

Though he still eyes a few more signings before basketball season tips off, Johnson is pleased with the shape his team is taking.

"We are putting together a very exciting team," Johnson said. "We are going to be very competitive and very deep. We are building for today, but also building for tomorrow as well."