May 22, 2002

Chicago, Ill. - The UIC men's basketball team has added two Chicago area natives to its roster as they announced the signing of 6-foot-4 guard/forward Rickey Dominguez out of Feather River Junior College in Quincy, Calif., and 6-foot-6 forward Justin Bowen, who will transfer to the Flames after playing last season at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.

Dominguez, a native of Aurora, Ill., who played at East Aurora High School, has spent the last two seasons honing his skills for the Golden Eagles at Feather River JC. Last year, he averaged 24 ppg to finish third in the state of California in scoring, while helping his team to a 14-11 record.

"Rickey can shoot the basketball and he's a very athletic young man," UIC Head Coach Jimmy Collins said. "We hope he can fill the void that Jon-Pierre (Mitchom), Jordan (Kardos) and Cory Little have left vacant.

"He's 6-4 and he's exactly the type of player that we've been looking for," Collins continued. "He's a junior so he has experience and maturity, so he can come and fit right in."

Bowen, who will have to sit out the 2002-03 season due to NCAA transfer guidelines, is returning to his hometown of Chicago where he was a standout at Marshall High School. In his lone season at UMES, Bowen played in 28 games, averaging 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, which was second best on the team.

"Justin is about 6-7 and he can play on the wing," Collins said. "He will come in and have three years of eligibility, once he sits out this year.

"I am confident he will come in and help us to make the strides that we want to make."

Collins has now stockpiled a strong core of talent for the future. The 2002-03 roster will feature seven new faces with the addition of transfer Bowen, freshmen Elliott Poole, Mike Smith and Jovan Stefanov, along with junior college transfers, Richard Lesko, Josip Petrusic and Dominguez.