CARSON -- With the beginning of the 2016-17 school year right around the corner, Cal State Dominguez Hills men's basketball head coach Steve Becker has finalized his recruiting class by signing five players he feels collectively will make an immediate impact this season.  Junior forward Marquis Godfrey will be joined by guards in graduate student Khaliq Bedart-Ghani, juniors Khalil Bedart-Ghani and Deondre Otis, as well as freshman Gabe Hicks as the Toros look to move into the league's upper echelon and earn a berth into the postseason conference tournament.

The Bedart-Ghani brothers, who signed Conference Letters of Intent, will bring experience and skill to the guard position after competing at a pair of Division I institutions.  Khaliq, who comes to Carson as a graduate student after four years at Yale University, played a key role in the Bulldogs reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament after winning the Ivy League.  Khalil, meanwhile, played two years at the University of San Diego, seeing action in 16 games off the bench last year.

"Khaliq is an experienced, intelligent young man who we are excited to have in our program," begins Becker.  "He possesses great size and athleticism and really shoots the ball well from the perimeter. Khaliq was a part of Yale's historic season winning the Ivy League and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and we expect Khaliq to have an immediate impact on our program both academically as well as athletically."

Becker adds, "Khalil is a great student, an exceptional athlete, and is someone we feel will thrive in our style of play. He has a winning pedigree, playing at Loyola High School for coach Jamal Adams, as well as having WCC experience at San Diego. Khalil's best basketball is in front of him and we are eager to get him to campus."

A monster scorer from Monterey Peninsula College, Deondre Otis inked his National Letter of Intent and brings his 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game averages to Carson after being named a CCCAA All-State and 1st-team all-league selection, following a prep career during which he led his squad to a pair of state finals en route to 1st-team WCAL and 1st-team All-Metro honors, as well as MVP nods from the San Francisco All-Star Game and MLK Classic at Cal Game.

"We are excited to add a player with Deondre's winning pedigree to our program," says Becker.  "Deondre was one of the most versatile guards in California's JUCO league this year, and with his ability to impact the game on both sides of the ball, score, facilitate, and rebound the basketball, we expect Deondre to impact the winning process as soon as he steps foot on campus."

The lone forward on the list, Marquis Godfrey from the College of Southern Idaho brings a 6'9" frame to Carson after averaging 6.2 points, 6.0 boards and 1.0 block epr game as a junior.  Also inked to an NLI, the Oakland native scored in double figures six times, and pulled down at least 6 boards in 14 games, with a monster 17-board effort against Western Wyoming as one of four contests with at least 10 rebounds.

"Marquis will add athleticism, shot blocking, rebounding and versatility to our post position," Becker says.  "He comes to us from one of the top junior colleges in the country in CSI, where he played a major role in their success. We are excited to get to work with Marquis."

The lone freshman on this list, Gabe Hicks signed his NLI to play in Carson after averagingn 20.7 points per game at Valley View HS in Moreno Valley, also averaging 5.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a 6'3" shooter.  "Gabe is a pure shooter, and we are eager to see him grow in our program," says Becker.  "Gabe comes to CSUDH from Valley View High School, as well as the Inland Empire Basketball Program (IEBP) AAU program, the premier basketball program in the Inland Empire, and is someone we see a bright future for."

The Toros, who return a pair of All-CCAA selections in 2nd-teamer Vincent Golson and honorable mention selection Justin Sadler, kick off their 2016-17 season on November 11 against Holy Names in a neutral site contest.