Josh Stroud, a 6-foot, 5-inch forward from Louisville, Ky., has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Southeast Community College.
Stroud, a 2011 graduate of Fairdale High School, was ranked among the top 20 high school players in Kentucky heading into his senior season. He attracted attention from several colleges shortly after his freshman season at Fairdale.
Aaron Block, assistant men’s basketball coach for SCC, said Stroud has enormous potential.
“Josh is a young man blessed with a lot of talent,” Block said. “He plays with a lot of energy. He plays above the rim, runs like a greyhound and will ‘D’ you up. We feel that Josh has barely touched his potential, and when that happens, he will have a chance to make a big statement on the national scene.”
The Storm finished with a 20-11 record this past season, losing to Bismarck State College in the district championship game 85-83.
Stroud averaged 20.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game his senior year of high school. As a four-year starter, he passed the 1,000 career point mark midway through his senior year and ended his high school career just above the 1,300-point mark. He scored 20 or more points in 13 games as a senior and recorded three games of 30 points or more. He had back-to-back games of 30 and 31 points in rivalry games in late January 2011.
He earned Third-Team All-Sixth Region as a junior and entered that season as one of the top basketball prospects in Kentucky. He averaged nearly 10 points per game as a sophomore.
After that sophomore season Stroud received scholarship offers from Oregon State and Oklahoma State. He also received letters from Iowa, Marshall, Colorado, Morehead State, Wright State, and Georgetown College.
Stroud, the son of John and Gloria Stroud, studied his year out of high school at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn., but he did not play basketball.