News Photo by Jonny Zawacki Five Northeast Michigan standouts hold up their jerseys after officially signing to play basketball for Alpena Community College and head coach Mark Jacobs on Sunday afternoon at Park Arena. Left to right: Oliver Rice, Cam DeCaire, Tristan Smith, Keaton Brewer, Azaiyah Bell and Mark Jacobs.

It hasn’t taken new Alpena Community College men’s basketball coach Mark Jacobs to make an impact with his new program. On Sunday, Jacobs and five of his newest commits officially signed on to help and begin this new era of Lumberjack basketball for the 2017-2018 season.

Cam DeCaire (Alpena), Oliver Rice (Hale), Azaiyah Bell (Whittemore-Prescott), Tristan Smith (Gaylord) and Keaton Brewer (Onaway) all made it official on Sunday that they will be continuing their basketball careers at ACC.

“This is my most important recruiting class in my career due to the fact that this is the foundation. I brought in five area kids who are Mark Jacobs type athletes. They are all hard workers, academically strong and are all high character guys,” Jacobs said.

DeCaire will be staying right at home as he will still proudly where Alpena across his jersey. DeCaire is a 6’2, 160 pound shooting guard who is a good streaky shooter that can hit the three when needed.

“I’ve known Cam for a long time and he is a high character young man and will do whatever it takes to win and is willing to do whatever it takes to improve, Jacobs said. “He has improved every single year that he has played and that is important. He is a good shooter and I’m excited to have him in this program.”

DeCaire played under Alpena coach John Pintar and was a leader the past several years for a Wildcat basketball program that has been in a bit of a rebuilding stage.

“This has always been a dream of mine to play college basketball and compete at the next level. It’s great to be apart of this new era of basketball. Mark is a great coach and just a great guy and I’m looking forward to playing for him,” DeCaire said. “I’m going to try and be a leader on this team and make sure everyone is doing the right things. It’s going to be nice staying in Alpena to play for the college and stick around the area and community I know so well. I’m really excited for the opportunity.”

Rice is a 5’10, 150 pound point guard who took the area and state by storm this past season as he was named to the second team Detroit Free Press All-State team.

Rice scored 1,103 points during his time at Hale and averaged 20 points, five rebounds and four steals per game during his stellar senior season.

“The first day I was named head coach I went up to watch Oliver play and was immediately impressed with what I saw and in talking to him found out that he would be a perfect fit for my program,” Jacobs said. “He is a leader and a hard worker who I believe could make an impact for us right away.”

Rice is a quick guard who is not afraid to attack the basket. Rice will also run cross-country for Jacobs as he is a two-sport star who also recently qualified for states in the 3,200 meter run.

“This day means so much because of all the hard work that I have put in and all the hours put in the gym has all paid off. I’m excited to come in and put in a lot of work for coach Jacobs,” Rice said. “I’m going to do my best to not only be a vocal leader, but lead by example as well. I am going to work hard and do whatever I can to help this program.”

Bell is a similar point guard in terms of size as Rice, but Bell is a lefty. Bell had a solid senior campaign as he averaged 18 points, five steals and four assists. Bell ended his Cardinal career with 1,044 career points.

“Azaiyah is a speedster who is very talented with a left handed shot. He plays hard all of the time and as good as he is on the offensive end, I’m looking forward to his defense. He is going to be all over the court,” Jacobs said.

Bell is tough to defend when he gets in a rhythm and he is also a dual-sport stud as he will be heading to the state track meet to compete in the 100, 200 and 4×200 relay.

“This is a blessing. It’s very exciting for me to be able to sign and play at the next level. It’s really cool to have played around the area and now be able to stay around the area and play the next level is just an honor,” Bell said. “You think about day’s like today happening, but until it happens it’s just hard to believe and now that it’s happened it’s really just a dream come true.”

Smith comes in as the big man of the bunch as he is a 6’6, 254 pound center. Smith is a true big man with huge upside and caught the eye of Jacobs while playing in the Big North Conference.

“Tristan is a big man who wants to play big, which can sometimes be hard to find today. We are going to work on his footwork and some other things, but I think he has a ton of potential who can really help us out underneath,” Jacobs said.

Smith is a hard worker both on the floor and in the classroom as he is a 4.0 student which Jacobs always looks for in his recruits.

“I’m very excited to be apart of this new era because I know they have struggled in the past so I’m hoping that I can help turn this program around,” Smith said. “I’m a big guy, I’m physical and I love to play down low and grab a bunch of rebounds and make my living down low. I’m thankful for all my previous coaches who have all helped me get to this point.”

Brewer is 6’4, 165 pound forward who took his game to another level during his senior year at Onaway. Brewer was a first team all-area player that led the area with 23.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Brewer recorded double digits in each of Onaway’s 21 games and scored at least 20 points in 14 games.

“Keaton is one of those quiet guys on the court and then you look at his stat sheet. He can do so many things on the court and we’re going try and bulk him up a little bit. He is also someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to get better and do what he can to help the team,” Jacobs said.

Brewer also provided leadership for a Cardinal team that won a regional championship two years ago and made it to the district semifinals this past season.

“This day is so important to me because I’ve always wanted to play at the next level. I always pushed myself and I thank coach Eddy Szymoniak for being hard on me and pushing me to be better and ultimately help me get to this point,” Brewer said. “I feel like my ability to be quicker than most guys my size really helps me out no matter where I’m at on the court, whether its under the basket or around the three point line. I’m just going to do what’s asked of me and it’s hard to describe this feeling right now. I’m just so happy.”

All five of these guys are among the large crop of new talent coming to Park Arena in hopes of building a foundation under Jacobs.

“All of these young men have one thing in common, they love the game of basketball. They are willing to do whatever it takes to continue to improve and build our program here at ACC,” Jacobs said. “I always look for high character guys because these athletes tend to listen more, work harder and do things the right way. These are the types of kids I am always on the lookout for.”