Ottumwa -- In putting together the roster for his first team, new Indian Hills basketball coach Hank Plona realizes that a solid, deep backcourt will be crucial to the Warriors' success in 2015-16. And the running and pressing style of play he expects to implement should be made-to-order for a talented quartet of guards that has signed with Indian Hills. The four recruits include three transfers from NCAA Division I programs and one who played at a Texas two-year school as a freshman.

The former DI players are Jorge Rosa from Florida A&M, Ria'n Holland from Wichita State and Dederick Lee from Oral Roberts. Dontay Caruthers, who played last year at Midland College, is also headed to IHCC.

"We knew we had to address our backcourt right away," Plona said, "and these are all older, experienced college guards who will be ready to step in and have major roles for us in the upcoming season. These guys can all play both guard positions, score the ball in different ways and play an up-tempo style that will help us win. Just as important, all four are very impressive young men who will be a great fit in our community, and are people that everyone will enjoy getting to know."

Of the four newcomers, Rosa had the most individual success last season, averaging 11.3 points a game for a team that won only two games. He made 55 3-pointers and scored in double figures in over half of Florida A&M's games.

Rosa is a big-time scoring guard whose game experience will be a positive for the Warriors, according to Plona, who says the 6'4", 190-pound native of Orlando, Fla., has a "great jump shot and is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor." Rosa earned all-district and all-state honors while playing at Lee Christian Academy.

Holland, 6-feet and 150 pounds, comes to IHCC after spending two years in the powerhouse Wichita State program, redshirting his first year on campus. He played behind two guards in Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker whom Plona says are future pro players. He saw action in 27 games for the Shockers, averaging 1.9 points. Holland was a high school basketball standout at South View HS in Hope Mills, N.C., scoring over 1,000 points and breaking the school record for made threes.

"I like the fact that Ria'n has been playing against pros in practice for the past two years," Plona said. "He had some big games last year and I think his experience at Wichita State, along with his incredible character and work ethic, will lead to him having a great year for us."

Another player who took a redshirt year his first year out of high school, Lee appeared in 20 games and made two starts for Oral Roberts last season. He was a prolific scorer in high school in Clarksville, Ark., tallying over 2,500 points, only the third player in state history to eclipse that number. The 6'2", 165-pound Lee was a four-time all-conference selection in high school and earned all-state honors three times, winning state MVP recognition once.

Plona said Lee is a very good three-point shooter whose ball-handling has really improved, something the coach hopes will continue to develop so Lee can play some point guard minutes for the Warriors. "Dederick had the chance to develop into a more complete player at Oral Roberts and we hope to see his hard work pay off for us this year," said the IHCC coach. "He possesses a solid work ethic and a desire to be better."

Caruthers' Midland team played in the same league as South Plains, where Plona was an assistant coach the past four years, and the two teams met twice last season. Caruthers, a 6'2", 190-pound product of East HS in Rochester, N.Y., averaged 10.1 points in 30 games overall and 12.1 in conference contests. He's a versatile guard who can play the point and off the ball as well.

"Dontay was a big-time scorer in high school, scoring 50 points once and 53 in another game," Plona said. "His time playing point guard at Midland, in one of the toughest junior college leagues in the country, is very valuable and will prepare him as he continues to play against high-level competition in our conference. We will give him the opportunity to show what he can do running the team as well as scoring the basketball."

These signees will combine with four returners from last year's IHCC team - Jerrelle DeBerry, Jan Svandrlik, Christian Musoko and TreDarius McCallum, who redshirted at Indian Hills a year ago - to form a solid sophomore core on next year's squad. "We will make sure to take advantage of the summer and work hard to help each of these guys improve, as well as continue recruiting and finding the right pieces for our team," Plona said. "With Jerrelle being our only returning guard, we knew we had to address our backcourt right away and we feel great about the potential of these four guys. All four signees come from great families and very successful high school and college programs. It is rare that you have an opportunity to sign four guards with this combination of experiences, character and talent before the summer really gets started and we are very excited that we were able to do that."